When in Manila, there are a lot of burger places within the metro but only a handful can stand out from the pack and one of them is Garage88. Located in Bonifacio Global City, this burger and beer place is one of the best places to get burgers. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to drop by and sample some of their wonderful dishes.
One of Garage88’s Dining Area
Take a look at these bottles on display at Garage88
Already in its third year, Garage88 is stationed within the heart of the Bonifacio Global City and to me is placed in a prime location. The balcony of Garage 88 has one of the best views of the BGC skyline at night. Garage88 offers a garage like vibe upon entry with its wall decorations among other things. A couple of note-worthy mentions for Garage88 are the bar are and the DJ booth which add to the dining experience.
Garage88 is always alive and kicking with some sick beats from this DJ booth
Garage88 is known for two things, beer and burgers. For the drinks, their menu packs a wallop with a selection of beer, wine, and other beverages that would keep the customer happy. But Garage88 is not limited to housing good beer and wine.
The Houseblend Iced Tea of Garage88
The Houseblend Iced Tea is one example of Garage88’s best selling non-alcoholic beverage. I had the chance to take a sip of this fine ice tea and it did wonders. It was some sort of ‘love at first sip’ experience for me when I took this thing head on. For the food, I have to say, Garage88 gave me and my friends a whole new experience on eating burgers. Let’s just say that a certain dish proved to be rather ‘monstrous’ that even our combined appetites couldn’t fully conquer. More on that certain burger as we go along this article, for now, we show you some of Garage88’s best hits.
The Garage Sampler
The Garage Sampler of Garage 88 served the following trio: nachos, sausage and peppers, and also chicken tenders. We had quite a pleasant time of digging into this dish. The nachos were crisp and its toppings added a delectable flavor to our tastebuds. The sausage was tasty in its own respect while the chicken tenders, for most of us, was the highlight of the dish. The chicken tenders were indeed tender and the blue cheese dip added more ‘kick’ into the experience of tasting the chicken. No doubt, this was a strong introduction for us as we went on with our dinner at Garage 88.
Sisig Taco Melt
Garage88 also made a believer out of me in their Sisig Taco Melt. If you’d tell me that sisig would work as a filler for taco, I’d be strongly doubting your hypothesis. However, Garage88 pulled this one off by making the sisig taste awesome in taco form. I’m not sure what it was, but it surely gave me a unique and eye-opening experience to the possible partnership of sisig and taco shells. By far, this was one of my favorite appetizers to date and I’ll surely come back for this one.
Chicken Bandito
Another Garage88 favorite of mine would be their Chicken Bandito. This one features chicken wings with a side of onion rings, and for me, Chicken Bandito can now fall in my ‘favorite chicken wings’ list after eating it. The wings had a tangy and slightly spicy taste to it, which was the perfect combination in my books. So if you’re a chicken wings enthusiast, I’m sure you’d get a kick out of Garage88’s Chicken Bandito.
Chicken Marinara
The Chicken Marinara of Garage88 is another chicken dish that was unforgettable. The breaded chicken was given some good add-ons in the form of the marinara sauce as well as some nacho cheese to give a unique twist that only Garage88 could deliver for their dish. It’s one solid meal and I also recommend getting this one when you drop by.
Garlic Steak
Garage88 also has some fine rice meals such as their Garlic Steak. The steak was cooked to perfection and was rather tender upon eating it. The garlic sauce did wonders to add more flavor to the thinly sliced tender beef of the dish, which adds up to one fine steak to eat.
Crispy Beef Tapa
Another notable feature of Garage88’s menu would be the all day breakfast menu which is highlighted by their Crispy Beef Tapa. The tapa comes with fried egg as well as some garlic rice for the customer to enjoy it with.I found it really good and solid for a tapa dish. This is is something that tapa lovers must have to try when they stop by at Garage88.
Ultimate Mushroom Burger (Front) with the 12-Wheeler Burger (back) lurking around
But if there’s one thing you should go to Garage88 for, it’s for their famous burgers. One of Garage88’s famous burger, the Ultimate Mushroom Burger, is a testament of their dedication to providing their customers an awesome burger experience. The burger has a soft, thick, and juicy burger patty while it also includes mushrooms to give the ultimate mushroom experience for the person who’s about to devour this burger. I found the burger to be slightly sweet but nonetheless it was a nice mushroom burger and I’d say you should try it as well.
The 12-Wheeler Burger
However, if you really want the ultimate burger experience in the world, you must try Garge88’s 12-Wheeler Burger. This burger boasts an INTIMIDATING 12 inch diameter that could possibly fill up a family of 4 people. Inside this burger lies a huge and thick juicy beef patty with chili con carne, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese sauce, and pickles. On top of this huge burger, you’d also see a handful of onion rings gallantly spread on the top of its big burger bun.
Comparing the size of the 12-Wheeler Burger (left) to the Ultimate Mushroom Burger (right)
The 12-Wheeler Burger of Garage88 was so big that in order to consume it, we had to slice it per person to just sample its humungous portion. I had a taste of this mammoth-sized burger and I could tell you that it was magical. The huge beef patty, combined with the chili con carne and the other toppings, would give your taste buds a wonderful symphony that’s surely going to send you into burger bliss. My one ‘slice’ of this humungous burger was good enough to make me full for the rest of the night at Garage88.
A look inside Garage88’s 12-Wheeler Burger
If you are up to the challenge, try to take on Garage88’s 12-Wheeler Challenge. If you get to consume this bad boy before 20 minutes is up, you’ll get it for free. But I warn you, oh dear reader, that this burger is not to be taken lightly. So, do not expect this to be an easy one if you do try this herculean-like challenge.
The 12-Wheeler Burger: the perfect substitute for a birthday cake
My visit to Garage88 was truly amazing. Not only did I get to witness and feast out on the wonderful food, but we also got to celebrate the birthday of our fellow WIM blogger Aileen Adalid. Thanks once again to Mr. Charton and Ms. Grace of Garage88. Special thanks also go out to Joanne Tan and Mark Davis Tan for the invite.
When in Manila and you want an awesome burger experience, head on over to Garage88 where you will indeed find one of the best burgers in town.
WIM Photos by: Joanne Tan
Garage88 Menu pictures
GARAGE88 – Bar and Diner
Address: 2nd Floor, Karport Compound, Brgy. Fort Bonifacio, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Metro Manila, 1634 Philippines
Operating Hours: 6pm – 4am (Mondays to Saturdays)
Contact: (02) 846-2309
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/garage88burgersandbeers
E-mail: garage88info@yahoo.com
