Dinner at Beso Cucina Vinoteka

Last June I went to Europe specifically to Spain, Italy and France. The trip which I’ve started to chronicle here  made me realize which cuisine I liked best based on the food I ate in those countries. In order of best to least it’s Spanish, French and last is Italian. Since I’ve been back I’ve already eaten at Cova and now Beso wishing to replicate those fond food memories.

Beso Cucina Vinoteka is located at Bonifacio High Street right next to Mango Tree and Elias.

I went to Beso with my Europe travel buddy Rochelle and her hubby and son. She said the best Margarita is still at Chili’s. In short this failed her taste.

Margarita P200

Rochelle loved her soup.

spiced red lentil, bacon & chorizo soup P230

I never saw the combination of chorizo and chocolate on bread in any of the places we ate at in Spain.  As strange as it may seem the saltiness of the chorizo was a nice contrast with the subtle sweetness of the chocolate spread.

chorizo & chocolate on toast P210

The ingredients of the croquetas were all so finely mashed together that I wasn’t able to taste the distinct flavors of each ingredient. The bechamel sauce was a bit too rich and honestly these croquetas could have been filled with anything or even just sauce. It was nicely fried and crisp though.

jamon, chicken & manchego croquetas P410

This gambas appetizer had 5 large prawns and cost only P380 and that’s a good deal. The only problem was the prawns were hard and overcooked. On a positive note, the sauce was heavenly. There was a generous amount of chorizo and the white wine sauce was delicious. We had to order bread just to mop up all the remaining sauce.

gambas sauteed in chorizo, white wine & parsley P380

The menu said the bread was warm sourdough. I’m sorry to say it was more like a giant warm pandesal. The spicy, garlicky olive oil dip was good though.

bread & extra virgin olive oil P55

We love lengua and this dish looked pretty good right? When I tasted the tender and succulent ox tongue I exclaimed, “madre mia, que horror!!” It was so freakin’ sweet!! It seemed like they poured a cup of sugar into the pot. No exaggeration. I asked the waiter if it was supposed to be that sweet and he replied, “I don’t know since I’ve never tried it.” I don’t know what Rochelle did with the leftovers she took home.

braised ox tongue P520

The black squid ink paella came out still very wet. As you can see from the picture you can hardly see the shape of the rice. I really liked the briny and tangy flavor of the paella. It tasted very lemony which Rochelle found too sour. Different tastes for different folks. I liked it she didn’t.

squid ink paella (2-3 pax) P580

If you’re expecting the traditional paella made with saffron and broth this is not it. Beso’s paella was loaded with tomato paste or sauce. It wasn’t bad at all just not very traditional.

Beso paella (2-3 pax) P580

One look at the churros and I knew it wouldn’t be good. One bite and I knew I was right. The churros was very hard and seemed to have been previously cooked and just re-fried. The oil tasted rancid too. The chocolate was very watery and tasteless. I had to return this and ask it to be removed from our bill.

churros & chocolate P180

Rochelle’s young son had good taste and ordered the rice pudding which was surprisingly very good. It was creamy and had the perfect level of sweetness with a hint of vanilla. This erased the nasty after taste of the churros and we left a little bit happier.

Spanish rice pudding with vanilla & almonds P155

The prices were quite fair and you get a good amount of portions. Would I go back? Maybe. Would Rochelle? Probably not.

Beso Cucina Vinoteka’s menu

Beso Cucina Vinoteka
7th Ave. corner 29th St. South, Bonifacio High Street Central,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
cellphone: +63926 614-9695, 0917-819-5831
Facebook