High steaks at a luscious dinner
Millie: Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Grill opened its fourth outlet in the Philippines at City of Dreams Manila and Karla and I were personally welcomed at the opening by none other than Wolfgang Zweiner himself and his wife, Elena!
Wolfgang’s is rated as one of the best steakhouses in New York and the newest outlet in Manila is the 32nd in the world. This restaurant is the first grill concept with a posh space replete with a cozy whisky lounge and a long bar, mood lighting and wait staff clad in crisp whites.
Karla: As we were ushered into the restaurant, servers swarmed us to offer wines and a selection of small bites. Some were new on the menu such as Reuben sandwiches and pastrami on rye, while others were classic favorites such as tuna tartare, salmon crostini and my favorite, Wolfgang’s crab cake.
For dinner, we were served a burrata and arugula salad. The burrata came with a grilled portobello mushroom, roasted red and yellow capsicums, pesto and a generous drizzle of balsamic glaze.
New on the menu is lomo saltado, a skirt steak with tomatoes and onions. Mom and I absolutely enjoyed the grilled barbecue short ribs glazed with barbecue sauce. To top it off was a classic favorite from the regular menu, the dry-aged USDA prime Porterhouse steak. Alongside the mains were sides of creamed corn, mashed potatoes and creamed spinach.
Millie: Wolfgang’s dashing banker son Peter Zweiner came and sat at our table as he shared his insights on the business, concepts of the other restaurants and expansion plans in the Philippines, which includes opening a Wolfgang’s Steakhouse soon in Boracay.
While his parents happily live in Hawaii, it's Peter who travels frequently to visit the other Wolfgang restaurants around the globe.
At the end of the evening, Karla and I realized we didn't even check out the menu to see if there was anything new and interesting we could feature so we decided to come back the next day. Luckily, Karla knew the chef, Chris Oronce, so she messaged him and scheduled a face-to-face interview, to which chef Chris gladly obliged.
Karla: Chef Chris Oronce, executive chef of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Manila, is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and spent years working at restaurants in New York and Las Vegas. Chef Chris mentions that Wolfgang’s Grill features grilled items using premium cuts of USDA Black Angus Prime. Just like the classic steakhouse, the meats are flown in weekly from a single purveyor. It is flown in chilled, which assures tenderness, texture and flavor quality compared to frozen meats.
Since this is the first Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Grill concept in Asia, chef Chris was given a free hand to build the menu. However, Wolfgang and Peter Zwiener still have the final approval before it hits the grill.
In fact, the shrimp and pomelo salad was requested by Wolfgang himself. Chef Chris concocted the dressing, a mix of Vietnamese and Thai sauce, which is a great balance of sweet, sour, salty and a little zing of heat. The dressing is tossed in mixed greens with poached shrimp, fresh pomelo, candied walnuts, onions, mint, cilantro, and cucumbers. It was such a refreshing salad that we would definitely go back for.
The grill concept features a couple of Peruvian dishes on the menu as a tribute to Wolfgang’s wife, Elena. One of which, as previously mentioned, is the lomo saltado and the chicken a’ la brasa, a whole chicken cooked a la minute.
What I look forward to trying next time are the skirt steak tacos, roast beef sandwich with Gruyere and au jus and the katsu sando, Japanese-style sandwich with prime fillet mignon cutlet, served with tonkatsu sauce. This originated from Wolfgang’s Japan, where they have seven branches already. It was widely welcomed in the Japan branches, so it made sense to offer it on the Manila menu as well.
Millie: Worth coming back for are the grilled barbecue short ribs, which were thick and juicy! I’m eager to try the barbecued baby back ribs and will definitely try it next time.
For the perfect meal ender, the best desserts are three of my absolute favorites: New York Cheesecake, Pecan Pie and Key Lime Pie.
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Wolfgang’s City of Dreams is open daily from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. For reservations, contact 8536-9287 via landline, 0956-794-0075 via mobile, or email reservations@wolfgangssteakhouse.ph.
For deliveries, head to https://delivery.wolfgangssteakhouse.ph/. Delivery hours are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. only (5 p.m. cutoff for same-day delivery on all orders).
For more information and announcements, visit @WolfgangsSteakhousePH on Facebook and Instagram or head to www.wolfgangssteakhouse.ph.
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Send email to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and quichethecook.ph@gmail.com. Find us on Facebook: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes Instagram: @quichethecookph.
