Another Sunday and this time we went to Torch in Greenhills. I’ve read mixed reviews and I wanted to judge the food myself.
Torch is located at the side of Home Studio in busy Connecticut St. in Greenhills. This residential street is now becoming a restaurant row thus all the traffic. 
We were there on the day Filipino boxer Donaire beat Montiel and the game was on tv in the restaurant and everybody was watching and cheering. Maybe the waiters were watching too that’s why the service was so bad. More on that later. 
The nice thing about Torch restaurant is they have something for everyone. They have sushi, pizza, burgers and even steak. Normally I don’t care for restaurants which have no specific cuisine. How can a restaurant be good in all types of food? Surprisingly Torch pulls it off with some room for improvement. 
Peppermill signature roll P399.95
I really liked their signature roll filled with soft shelled crab and salmon skin and topped with kani (faux crabmeat) and spicy mango sauce. I didn’t really taste much of the crab or the salmon skin but it added crunch to the sweet and spicy roll. My only complaint was the rice was very mushy. For sushi the most important is getting the right texture and flavor for the rice. Too bad since I loved the overflowing topping. 
In contrast the Cowboy Roll had very little U.S. Angus beef and shitake mushroom. All I could taste was mushy rice and the sesame sauce. 
cowboy roll P389.95
The Cowboy Roll was dipped in tempura batter, fried then sliced. I didn’t enjoy this roll at all. 
Their pizza was fabulous! The crust was amazingly thin and it remained crunchy despite the weight of all the steak, mozarella and cream cheese. You must order their pizzas!
Philly Cheese steak pizza P349.95
The chicken yakitori was a nice complete meal by itself. The chicken pieces were tender but a bit bland. The fried rice was good but again the rice was mushy. 
chicken yakitori P384.95
Jason’s ribs were very tender and flavorful. 
jabañero babyback ribs P484.95
I wasn’t able to try the steak but Christine said it was just ok. 
salpicao medallion P449.95
I wasn’t impressed with the truffle fries. It smelled like truffles but I didn’t taste any truffle flavor on the potatoes or the dip. The dip was good and tasted of mushrooms but it wasn’t enough to save the soggy, oily fries. 
truffle fries P234.95
Young Andrew’s chicken fingers were bland. 
chicken fingers P294.95
There was a malfunction with their decor. The leaves kept falling on Jason. 
For a restaurant that has been open for a few months their menus were in terrible shape. Most of the menus were even missing pages while some had double pages. All the menus were partially torn and the edges looked like it was fed into a shredder and pulled back. 
The food came out one at a time with several minutes interval in between. Some in our group have finished with their meals while others have yet to eat. The popcorn shrimp that the waiter enthusiastically recommended never arrived. The U.S. Angus steak roll was on the bill but it too never came out. I think they didn’t have enough waiters that day and the place was filled to capacity. Maybe because the restaurant was relatively new, maybe it was because of the boxing match on tv. Whatever the reason, the service was spotty but that could easily be improved.
I would stick with their sushi and pizza and skip the others. And for those two dishes I would go back and brave whatever service I get.
Torch Restaurant’s menu
starters, sandwiches & burgers, pork & beef,
lamb, chicken & seafood, Italian fusion, Japanese fusion,
desserts
Torch Restaurant
Home Studio Building,
63 Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Philippines.
Telephone: +632-477-3771, +632-502-0000
Shoot First Eat Later 
Worst restaurant ever! I went there on a Sunday lunch the place was packed; my appetizer took an hour to get to me and it was cold, people were waiting for hours to get their food, it was obvious the kitchen was incompetent. I cancelled my entree and left. Horrible, slow service!
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