Honestly, I was skeptical about the Todd English Food Hall. I have read bad things about the celebrity chef that it’s named for, and the food hall concept seemed for me, a little too easy. It is a huge space, and the acoustics travel a bit, so expect to hear a bit from your neighbor’s table, and hear plates being put down here and there. It’s pretty, with white, black, wood, marble and leather all around, with the splashes of color being the food, the items for sale around open shelves all on the walls, and the decorative Ferris Wheel on the dessert bar that carries different, brightly colored macarons. A buffet type concept, you don’t really eat all you can, but there are stations that are separate through the 900 sqm space where the restaurant is.

Confused yet?

To make it simple, it’s the same as any sit down restaurant, just that the chefs aren’t all in one crowded kitchen in the back of swing doors. They are the kings of their domains, with separations for sushi, the raw bar, the grill, pasta, brick oven, and desserts.

The menu is pretty well curated. It offers everything for all types of eaters, from the traditional meat and potatoes to those watching their weight, or those who love their pasta.

I am a steak girl (thus, please slap me when in new posts, I will say I’ve turned vegan, because that is a load of boo-hockey and shouldn’t be believed. Nothing gets me more excited than a well-cooked steak.) and thus, asked the person who recommended the joint if the Hanger Steak with Bone Marrow (P590) was good. She said it was her favorite thing to order, and bone marrow (!) so I had to have it.

This was what I got:

Unfortunately, they didn’t have the bone marrow that night, but offered me truffle fries to trade before he left to get my order fired up. Having never had truffle fries before, I agreed, but was still a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, the truffle fries were really good. Awesome, in fact. But if you were expecting marrowy goodness, it’s still a bit of a letdown to get an alternate. Kind of like going to a play and finding out that the lead is out for the night. It’s capable and probably some people prefer it, but you were expecting something else.

I also had half the Food Hall burger (P390), as the menu had a whole section for burgers, we figured it would be hard to go wrong.

And it didn’t. The patty was cooked well and was juicy with just enough bite. The Gorgonzola made it a bit more interesting, and definitely not for the faint of heart. Only caveats for me were, the brioche bun fwas too soft, I should have asked for it to be toasted, and I couldn’t taste the bacon. And if there’s anything that is sad, it’s not tasting your bacon. I was having too much fun with the fries in the beginning to notice though.

And now on to dessert.

We got recommended the OMG cake here:

(I have to confess, I forgot to check the price, I just started digging into the 3 plates we ordered. Yes, three plates. I looked it up and ShootFirstEatLater said it was P420)

It was a chocolate lover’s dream. All kinds of textures, and different temperatures. The piping of the mousse prompted a poop joke here and there but we forgot about all crudeness after we dug in. I couldn’t stop myself from decimating those plates. It was definitely a return item, and my favorite from all the things we ordered.

Verdict: Go try it. There’s bound to be a dish for you to like. Don’t forget the OMG cake!
Price per head: Around P700-900

TODD ENGLISH FOOD HALL
5/F SkyPark, SM Aura Premiere, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Operating hours: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., Monday to Sunday
Email: toddenglishfoodhallmnl@gmail.com
Telephone: +632 621 4002