Now, an all-you-can-drink wine buffet for P900, wow!

Ian Padilla’s excitement over his new restaurant, Brasserie Girolle, is contagious when chatting with him over drinks — outside of work. “We have an all-you-can-drink wine buffet for P900 every day from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with 15 kinds of wines, including a great Italian sparkling (Le Contesse Prosecco Frizzante). Most other bars and restaurants do not offer sparkling wines or prosecco during their happy hours.” 

“We have US prime dry age bone-in rib eye, and CAB prime rib eye, with homemade foie gras butter. We are also serving cheese and charcuterie platters (15 kinds of cheese and eight cold cuts where you can mix and match) that’s good for sharing. Our Champagne is the same one that’s served in Joël Robuchon’s restaurants, Bruno Paillard. And we are open till 2 a.m.”

The extended service hours cater to the nightlife crowd at the Fort Strip, where the new Brasserie Girolle is located, right next to URBN. While outside of work, Padilla is relaxed and energetic; when he is in his restaurant, Padilla means business. Recently married to the former Carol Valenzuela, the chef/owner who received his culinary education from the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont, trained at the Michelin-starred L’Essentiel in Chambery, and two Michelin-starred Taillevent in Paris; and ILO and Brasserie 8 in New York City, can be found hard at work in the kitchens of both La Girolle and Brasserie Girolle every day — personally cooking and plating the dishes alongside his team.

Simple, traditional cooking

While La Girolle tries to push boundaries and experiments with methods like sous vide cooking, the brasserie is more casual and banners on simple traditional cooking. Barely a week old, it opened its doors only last May 31, and is currently still on soft opening (best to bring cash if you plan to visit this week.) The space, designed by architect Aris Tan, is beautiful, with wooden panels, Machuca tiled floors, an open kitchen, and a gorgeous full bar. Tables are set simply with paper placemats, utensils and proper steak knives in a ceramic jar. It’s sophisticated yet not intimidating.

I was pleased to find one of my favorite dishes, Tartare de Boeuf (P620) on the menu. Served with a side salad and a heaping of fries, I enjoyed it very much. It was simple and straightforward — but with a dash of piquancy. When forked with the fries, it enveloped me with the same kind of comfort that the arrival of a weekend brings after a busy week. I asked friendly maitre’d and manager Joel Perea for a nice, relatively inexpensive red to go with it. (He is the go-to person for any wine and food recommendations — and don’t be afraid to tell him if you are on a budget.) He suggested a Mont Gras Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (P170/ glass; P950/ bottle), which he said has a spiciness that would pair well with my tartare and my boyfriend Chad’s burger. The medium-bodied wine made our dining experience a lot more pleasant, and we finished it in no time. We also had the Saint Jacques Poele (P900), which were pan-fried US scallops sitting on mashed potatoes and a mushroom cream sauce. “I really liked the flavor,” my cousin Beverly remarked. “You could taste a little bit from the bacon and the mushrooms. It’s not overly salty like short-cut French food. Some other French places just over-season to rush things and it ends up too salty.”

15 wines by the glass

One of the great things about Brasserie Girolle is that if, after finishing a bottle and you are bitin — yet don’t want to over-drink with another bottle — you don’t have to downgrade to a glass of the crappy house pour that will go straight to your head in the form of a migraine the morning after.

At Brasserie, the 15 kinds of wine served by the glass (also part of the daily P900 wine buffet in the afternoons) are all premium. I had a Vino Frizzante Sparkling Chardonnay (P195/glass; P940/ bottle) to “wake” me up since we were moving to a club, and Chad had the Le Contesse Merlot 2011 (P160/ glass; P875/ bottle), which was a smooth transition after the Chilean wine. And our night at Brasserie Girolle was complete.

Take note, though, that while it is a more casual French restaurant, rock-bottom prices are not to be expected. This is because Padilla only uses fresh ingredients — no powders and extenders. “I believe Brasserie Girolle will please even the die-hard French, and even they will say it tastes or reminds them of home.”

Plus, with the well-curated selection of over a hundred kinds of good wine — and reasonably priced, too — I predict it will soon be one of the more popular places in town for wine.

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La Girolle is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. It is located at the ground floor of the Fort Strip (below URBN). For reservations, call 478-4119 (please indicate it is for the Brasserie). 

You can reach me at http://www.twitter.com/cheryltiu or e-mail inbetweendeadlines@gmail.com.