At first, we found the concept of Geisha a bit strange — an Indian-owned Japanese restaurant, patronized mostly by Filipinos and Indians, that is known for its vegetarian dishes.
It’s the higher-end version of Red Kimono, with an elegant ambiance but relatively affordable menu.
Bonifacio High Street Central Restaurants:
- Jamba Juice Opens in Manila!
- SutrA Christmas Dinner: Our First Taste of BHS Central
- ARIA Mania in Manila?
- GEISHA, an Indian-owned Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant You’ll Love 🙂
- ELIAS and the Spirants
- Mango Tree: Finally, Thai Fine Dining in Manila!
- A Beso Cucina Vinoteka Date
- The Cake Club Dessert Haven
- A SLICE of Pia Cayetano
- SARIWON, Authentic Korean Barbecue – First Branch outside Korea
- Village Tavern, a Higher-End Friday’s?
- STELLA, Sister of Chelsea & the Star of BHS Central
- ‘CUE, Modern Barbecue
- NOLITA (North of Little Italy): A Taste of the Real New York Pizza in Manila?
- BHS Central: A Guide to the BEST Eats in Bonifacio High Street Central
I liked the clean, classy feel of the interiors, which was not too intimidating.
We were focused on having an all-out vegetarian dinner since a lot of foodies were raving about their vegetarian menu.
Geisha Menu: Vegetarian Selection | Soup & Salads | Starters | Sushi Rolls | Signature Entrees | Noodles, Donburi | Rice, Sides, Desserts
Geisha Drinks: Sake, Sake-based Cocktails, Wine, Liquor, Beer, Premium Tea, Non-Alcoholic Drinks
★ Kabocha Soup (P95 +10% service charge). Grilled Squash, Wakame, Tofu Croutons.
The soup had just the right creaminess with a nice touch of tofu croutons.
Tip: Better eat it immediately while the soup is hot and the tofu is still crunchy!
Sakejito (P195 +10% service charge). The Sake version of a Mojito.
The sake portion was quite mild and nothing really different from a mojito. Plus, it was a bit overpriced. You can pass on this drink–you won’t miss anything.
★ Wakame Salad (P215 +10% service charge). Watermelon, Japanese Cucumber, Japanese Seaweed, Creamy Sesame Dressing.
I must admit we ordered this salad because of the roasted sesame dressing, which was perfect with the cucumber and seaweed, but most specially with the watermelon.
A little bit of soy sauce enhanced the taste of the dressing. 🙂
★ Florentine Maki (P240 +10% service charge). Spinach, Cream Cheese, Vegetarian Chicken, Pineapple.
Another good combination! It had a good chunk of cream cheese, some spinach, mock chicken and a sweet touch of pineapple.
Tip: Dip it in soy sauce (with wasabi) and dip it again in the creamy sesame dressing of the salad. Yum!
★ Quatro Udon (P300 +10% service charge). Shiitake, Enoki, Shimeji, Oyster Mushrooms, Tofu shavings, Udon noodles.
For our main dish, we had four kinds of mushroom served with fat udon noodles, with chili on the side and green ginger sauce.
We enjoyed eating the mushrooms one at a time, paired with some noodles and a bit of the ginger. This well-presented dish is good for sharing.
★ Edamame Risotto (P240 +10% service charge). Baby Soy Bean, Wakame, Cream Cheese.
It’s a vegetable risotto with the subtle taste of edamame. For me, it had a good balance of creaminess and slight crunchiness.
Rache did not think it tasted anything special, but I thought it was interesting that one can enjoy risotto with the simple taste of edamame beans.
★ Mangga Premium Tea Blend (P120 +10% service charge). Manggo, Pineapple, Orange Tangerine, Strawberry, Calendula, Safflower.
Our favorite premium tea Da-u-de from Mercato Centrale, originally by tea master Renee Sebastian, is served here in Geisha. 🙂
We chose the Mangga flavor, which came highly recommended because of its sweetness.
I liked the “drama” of having a tea timer to educate drinkers on the importance of the right heating time for tea.
For Mangga, it is recommended to let it steep in hot water for 5-7 minutes to get the right flavor level.
We were trying to figure out where the filter was to pour the tea leaves in. Later on, we found out that we just had to put the container on top of the glass and the water will automatically pour out.
Tempura Brulee (P150 +10% service charge).
This creme brulee fried in a dimsum-like wrapper was just OK. The serving of chocolate was nice, though.
★ Macha Cheesecake (P165 +10%service charge).
The cheesecake had a more gelatinous consistency. Scoop it up with the berry, a little brittle and chocolate for a light yet tasty dessert experience.
Overall, Geisha offers a good combination of flavors. It is a perfect place not only for vegetarians, but also for the health-conscious and those abstaining from meat this Lenten season.
Geisha, Modern Japanese Restaurant
7th Ave. corner 29th St. South, Upper Ground Floor West Superblock
Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Mobile: +63 917 569-2181
Facebook: Geisha Modern Japanese Cuisine
★ – Recommended Dishes
Bonifacio High Street Central Restaurants:
- Jamba Juice Opens in Manila!
- SutrA Christmas Dinner: Our First Taste of BHS Central
- ARIA Mania in Manila?
- GEISHA, an Indian-owned Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant You’ll Love 🙂
- ELIAS and the Spirants
- Mango Tree: Finally, Thai Fine Dining in Manila!
- A Beso Cucina Vinoteka Date
- The Cake Club Dessert Haven
- A SLICE of Pia Cayetano
- SARIWON, Authentic Korean Barbecue – First Branch outside Korea
- Village Tavern, a Higher-End Friday’s?
- STELLA, Sister of Chelsea & the Star of BHS Central
- ‘CUE, Modern Barbecue
- NOLITA (North of Little Italy): A Taste of the Real New York Pizza in Manila?
- BHS Central: A Guide to the BEST Eats in Bonifacio High Street Central
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Contact me: anton@diaz.ph
Full Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. We paid for our meals. We are not connected with the restaurant or any organization promoting it.
P.S. We have not tried the non-vegetarian dishes yet. Do let me know if you have any feedback. 🙂
The servings look really small. The risotto, which I am curious to try, is only about 3 tablespoons worth.
not too pricey for its location…
so its the same owners as Red Kimono?
hope they keep the quality and service up after a few months
The vegetarian concept looks promising, though I feel that I could eat 5 servings of that Quatro Udon. 🙂
Thank you for the fantastic write up Anton! We are so glad you enjoyed our vegetarian selection. We also have a wide variety of meat, chicken and seafood dishes for the non vegetarians! Hope you’ll be back to try those soon 🙂
i loved the edamame risotto and their sakejito 🙂
The only thing that I like about Indian food is their food are mostly vegetables and a little meat if ever.
You should definitely try the Geisha carpaccio and the spider roll. The sea bass was also quite nice. 🙂
The place is really high end and the food is plated accordingly, very pleasant to look at. the quality though of the vegetarian dishes is probably the same as Red Kimono except for the few dishes which they dont serve at Red Kimono like the Quattro Udon which is great. The mock chicken though very much tastes the same, same with the serving. Hope they can either up the serving size a tiny bit.
Thanks Andre for the comment and review…
Hi! I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed the photo of the Tea for my personal blog (my photos were wiped out by a phone virus). I linked back to this post and credited your site for the photo. Let me know if it’s ok. If not, I can take down the photo. 🙂
BTW nice blog entry. I didn’t know Geisha was a vegetarian restaurant. The non vegetarian dishes are delightful, loved their Gyudon but I personally find the servings small (except for the Gyudon which was very filling).