State of the Nation: BBQ Republic

"BBQ REPUBIC"

   
    I really feel excited trying out a new place to eat at. BBQ Republic is a newly opened restaurant along Wilson St in San Juan specializing in BBQ items grilled with their "rotating griller". I've tried this restaurant a couple of times with friends and family and at all occassions I felt disappointed. 

    They have different grilled items on sticks (Php25-Php50) like beef, chicken, pork and seafood as well as value meals (Php 99-Php189) with all you can eat rice and soup priced quite high considering it should is a value meal.

    The restaurant is themed to be hip, modern, appealing to many age groups. What is nice about this restaurant is that you will not leave the place smelling like what you ate. Laughter and chatting amoung people in the restaurants, which can be heard from other tables, tend to bounce off walls which make it a bit too noisy inside.

    They take pride in their rotating grill which I kind of find weird since they still have to grill it in a normal griller afterwards. I'm sure this machine has its advantages that I completely do not know of though. 

    A tea cup? Not quite. One of the few things i found amusing in this restuarant is this small plastic cup where you can place all your used sticks after eating, how practical.





(From Lower L-R) Chicken Karaage, Pork with Leeks,
Chicken with Leeks,
Bacon Wrapped Fish, Beef with Garlic

Chicken Karaage, Php40/stick
Rating:

These two little Chicken Karaage pieces were not too bad. the skin tasted pretty good but the meat part lacked seasoning, just like most fried chicken we get to eat. A bit of Togarashi made this a whole lot better. Definitely something i will not pay Php 40 for.

Pork with Leeks, Php 35/stick
Rating:

This is one of the many items I disliked from this place. The Pork with Leeks skewer is too sour, not the good, calamansi kind of sour. Because of the overpowering sourness from the sauce, it was pretty hard to taste the flavor of the leeks and the small cuts of pork.

Chicken with Leeks, Php 35/stick
Rating:

Just like the Pork version of this skewer, it has the exact same overpowering sour taste. Just the the pork skewer i still couldnt taste the leeks and the chicken. Very disappointing. 70 pesos of disappointment. I paid to get disappointed, sucks to be me. 

  

Bacon Wrapped Fish, Php45/stick
Rating:

The Bacon Wrapped Fish just had so much MSG on it I can still feel it now after 3 weeks! Ok, exageration. Another pay to get a headache menu item.

Beef with Garlic, Php50/stick
Rating:

The Beef with Garlic is one of the very few I liked.
The combination of the beef and the spice and flavor of the garlic is really just a good match. I feel though that Php 50 for 3 puny pieces of beef and maybe a clove of garlic is too expensive. Php 35 maybe?








(From Lower L-R) Pork Belly BBQ, Chicken Gizzard,  
Chicken Liver, Chicken Tail, Chicken Thigh Fillet BBQ

    They used the same sauce for all these skwerers which made them kind of taste alike. On a seperate visit I got to try the Chicken Heart which I really like and consider as the best among the selection of items here. Too bad i didn't get to take a photo of it.




Pork BBQ, Php 25/stick
Rating:

This Republic has an abundance in MSG. Something i could get for Php15 that i'm sure would be a lot better. Enough said.







Chicken Thigh Fillet BBQ, Php 25/stick
Rating:

                                      


 This one too. I hope they change how they season the meat and make the serving size larger. Not Worth Eat.



Chicken Tail, Php 35/stick
Rating:

I liked the Chicken Tail, although they used the same MSG-y sauce with the Pork BBQ and Chicken BBQ, the taste of the chicken tail is just very good that it overpowers the taste of the sauce. I don't like their sauce, obviously. A dish like this i wouldn't mind paying Php35.

My Ratings:

Food:                     -Was there any planning done here?

            Service:                                    - Satisfactory

Ambiance:             -Was there any planning done here?

Price Level:                    - A bit of adjustments would do the trick

Overall:                  - Out of respect, only if someone is celebrating

                                                                   something, but why there?

Substitutes:

JT's Manukan:                          - Pretty similar menu items, cooked in a different, a lot better way.

Aristocrat:                      - Very good Chicken and Pork Barbeque, pair it with Java rice and 
                                                                                make sure to eat it with their peanut sauce.

             Kikufuji:               - Their Yakitori and other menu items are as authentic as it can
                                                                                  get here in the Philippines. 

      I hope they make adjustments with the amount of MSG they put in their dishes, the price and the serving size. I remember having to wake up in the middle of the night wanting a glass of water cause i could still feel the MSG in my mouth. I really think that this restaurant is very Not Worth Eat. Hats off though to the crew and the group of owners of this restaurants who entertained every question they received from my group.

Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you! 

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