Came here twice, and loved it both times.The dishes we ordered were Liempo / Pork skewers (least favorite), sizzling buffalo steak with bone marrow, bone marrow salpicao, miso cod, truffle mushroom tofu sig, and the Gugu express.Favorite dishes were sizzling buffalo steak and bone marrow salpicao. Both of their marrow dishes are absolutely delicious. Also recommend the Gugu express for vegetables.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sara Mathew
Excellent food and and great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Diego DMP
GUGU Room after some friends recommended it and I really enjoyed itFor drinks I tried the GUGU MIDORI SOUR (decent) and theSPICY YUZU GINGER (MOCKTAIL VERSION) (really good flavor and a nice ginger kick. Surprisingly, I actually liked the non-alcoholic drink better.For starters we ordered: TAKOYAKI (4 small balls of takoyaki with good flavor but little octopus meat inside),KUSHIYAKI SAMPLER (6 different skewers of salmon, longaniza, liempo (pork belly), shrimp, rib eye, and chicken). I personally liked better the liempo and the rib eye but all skewers had the same sauce so taste quite similar.BLISTERED SHISHITO PEPPERS (perfectly cooked and salted, exactly what you would expect from some shishito peppers).Then as entree I had the KAMPAI STEAK RICE which is a steak fried rice, with Japanese soy, wagyu fat, garlic and onion topped with seaweed salad and egg sunny side up. (This dish was my favorite, I wouldn't have thought the seaweed would combine that well with the rice, it also came with ginger with gave it a fresh touch but the egg seems more like a soft boiled egg than a sunny side up, it was much less cooked)I will go back to try more dishes!SPANISH:I came to gugu room after some friends recommended it to me and I really enjoyed it.To drink I tried the GUGU MIDORI SOUR (decent) and theSPICY YUZU GINGER (MOCKTAIL VERSION) (very good flavor and a nice touch of ginger. Surprisingly, I liked the non-alcoholic drink better.For appetizers: TAKOYAKI (4 takoyaki balls with good flavor but little octopus meat inside),Varied KUSHIYAKI (6 different skewers of salmon, sausage, liempo, shrimp, beef and chicken). I personally liked the liempo and beef better, but all the skewers had the same sauce, so they tasted pretty similar.SHISHITO PEPPERS (perfectly cooked and salty, exactly what you would expect from this dish).Then for the main course the KAMPAI STEAK RICE which is steak with fried rice, soy sauce, wagyu fat, garlic and onion, topped with seaweed salad and sunny side up egg. (This dish was my favorite, I would not have imagined that the seaweed combined so well with the rice and it also came with ginger which gave a refreshing touch although the egg looks more like a soft-boiled egg than a fried one, it was much less cooked)I will come back to try more dishes!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Earnest Ly
Tried the Kamayan feast. Food was great. Service was exceptional, especially for large parties. Front of house was also extremely helpful.
Leon So
Skewer and ribs were okay but not great, but not much variety and quantity. Fish had lots of bones which is fine. Essentially, each person had one rib, one skewer, one piece of shrimp, rice, and a bit of fish (most people weren’t full).Definitely felt like there should be more food given the price. I’ve had Kamayan before at other places which was much better and cheaper, and gave more food and variety.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
C J
Was very disappointed by the meal here. For drinks, we got the midori sour and wasabi margarita which were both not very good. We ordered the rock shrimp tempura which was not rock shrimp (just some regular shrimp), the skewer platter which all tasted the same because they were all basted in the same sauce, and the bulalo which they made more “fun” excuse they torch the bone marrow tableside but otherwise was pretty unremarkable too. Had higher hopes for this Filipino place - which I think would be better served being solely Filipino and not some weird Filipino-Japanese mix.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
gia !
• midori sour - delicious.• rizal highball - stupendously strong. we requested more syrup to be added but each sip still felt like a car crash. it’s worth your buck but it’s not for me.• sampler platter- liempo: the best outta the bunch while the rest were forgettable for its price. compared to the kanto flavors that i long for, this was a letdown.• spicy yuzo adobo ribs - my partner actually asked for the spicy sizzling chicken adobo. i’m not sure how it even got mixed up but we were far too hungry to care. it was tender and moderately seasoned.• soft shell crab aligue palabok - i don’t have much to say other than you can get this at jollibee for less. the crab was good but again, nothing exceptional.notes:the menu delivered an elevated experience that harmonized japanese and filipino inspiration but it lacked an edge that separated them from the rest of fusion restaurants. however, they nailed the vibes. this place is undeniably magnetic, oozing romance and secrecy. we went here around 10pm and the music is far too loud for dates where you actually want to converse but vibes are vibes. overall, the food was lackluster but the scene is something that you might want to check out.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
TravelingGayPanda
An interesting twist to elevate and evolve Filipino food. Some dishes were top notch, straight up deliciousness, while other dishes were lacking in quality. Let’s start with their drinks. They have a nice happy hour with $10 sangria and some cocktail options. I enjoyed the calamansi margarita. It was sweet, sour, spicy and strong. The ube cocktail, not a part of their happy hour, was like an ube milkshake - so tasty. Now the food. I was with a group of friends so we got to sample a few dishes. The skewer sampler was good. The sauce and the way the meats were cooked were perfect. The nori spam fries was a little disappointing and gimmicky. It was literally just spam cut in the shape of fries. There wasn’t any change in the taste of a regular spam. The nori truffle fries weren’t anything too special. It was tasty, but nothing new. The beef bone marrow salpicao was chef’s kiss delicious. The soft shell crab palabok was probably my favorite dish. The palabok was traditional but the fried soft shell crab added a salty, briney, crispy addition to a very traditional dish. I plan to order this every time I’m here with a group of people. The biggest disappointment for me was the bagnet kare kare which is a traditional kare kare sauce (fantastic) but with a crispy pork belly instead of a stewed oxtail. The pork to me was chewy and dry. It was either overcooked or stale because it also had a strange taste.A couple of the dishes were real knockouts so I’m interested in tasting a few of the other dishes on the menu. I’d love to try the short rib kare kare, the sinigang, and the bulalo next time. The staff was very nice. The bartender makes killer drinks. The inside has a dark and sexy but casual vibe.As a filipino, I love supporting filipino businesses. Also as a filipino, I’m a purist when it comes to filipino food, so I’m always a little reluctant trying filipino fusion or modern-takes to filipino cuisine, but this restaurant had plenty of dishes where I tasted both nostalgia and innovation, so I absolutely plan to come back to check out the other dishes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Kevin Xu
Great food, drinks, and vibes!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
VJ Saez
Great place to dine in or just hang out. Great food, good drinks, exceptional staff! I would definitely recommend this place!
Things were… fine. Food was salty and mediocre at a price point where you would expect better. Staff were very friendly, but didn’t know their way around the complicated menu that had too many categories to be done on a QR code. Oddly so few tables in a large place. Wanted to like it but probably won’t return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
ivanna
This place was soooo good. My brother and I had wanted to go here for a while and finally had the opportunity to on his birthday with a group of his friends. Jack took really good care of our table and was super kind and accommodating throughout the dinner. We all ordered different dishes, but in my opinion the Sizzling Bulalo Steak and the Soft Shell Crab Palabok are their hits. The Manila Mule was also really good. Would definitely come back again
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Blake Wilder
The food was wonderful. First time having Filipino food in a fine dining setting. Waiter was super nice also. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jane H.
My boyfriend took me here for our anniversary and while I enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the food, I thought the service could've been better. They didn't even give us anything complimentary to celebrate. While we had reservations, we still had to wait at the bar for 10 minutes, which was fine. I ordered a calamansi margarita, not knowing what it was but it turned out to be refreshing and citrusy. We started strong with the bonito caesar salad and pork skewers. I love caesar salad and Gugu Room did it well, from the dressing to a twist with crispy dried herring. Pork skewers were real tender! The bone marrow salpicao is a must get and paired well with the garlic fried rice. I was torn between the short rib kare kare and the beef sinigang, but our waiter recommended the sinigang. I thought this was a horrible choice as the sinigang was WAY too salty. We ended up taking it home and ate it the next morning after diluting it with water. Still, I won't let this dish take away from the experience and I would actually want to come back to try the kare kare.
Susie L.
The food is sooooo good here. A little pricey? But I could say it's worth it because of how delicious the food is! The people are super friendly and it seemed like a lot of people are regulars here (at the bar at least!)
Came here twice, and loved it both times.The dishes we ordered were Liempo / Pork skewers (least favorite), sizzling buffalo steak with bone marrow, bone marrow salpicao, miso cod, truffle mushroom tofu sig, and the Gugu express.Favorite dishes were sizzling buffalo steak and bone marrow salpicao. Both of their marrow dishes are absolutely delicious. Also recommend the Gugu express for vegetables.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent food and and great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
GUGU Room after some friends recommended it and I really enjoyed itFor drinks I tried the GUGU MIDORI SOUR (decent) and theSPICY YUZU GINGER (MOCKTAIL VERSION) (really good flavor and a nice ginger kick. Surprisingly, I actually liked the non-alcoholic drink better.For starters we ordered: TAKOYAKI (4 small balls of takoyaki with good flavor but little octopus meat inside),KUSHIYAKI SAMPLER (6 different skewers of salmon, longaniza, liempo (pork belly), shrimp, rib eye, and chicken). I personally liked better the liempo and the rib eye but all skewers had the same sauce so taste quite similar.BLISTERED SHISHITO PEPPERS (perfectly cooked and salted, exactly what you would expect from some shishito peppers).Then as entree I had the KAMPAI STEAK RICE which is a steak fried rice, with Japanese soy, wagyu fat, garlic and onion topped with seaweed salad and egg sunny side up. (This dish was my favorite, I wouldn't have thought the seaweed would combine that well with the rice, it also came with ginger with gave it a fresh touch but the egg seems more like a soft boiled egg than a sunny side up, it was much less cooked)I will go back to try more dishes!SPANISH:I came to gugu room after some friends recommended it to me and I really enjoyed it.To drink I tried the GUGU MIDORI SOUR (decent) and theSPICY YUZU GINGER (MOCKTAIL VERSION) (very good flavor and a nice touch of ginger. Surprisingly, I liked the non-alcoholic drink better.For appetizers: TAKOYAKI (4 takoyaki balls with good flavor but little octopus meat inside),Varied KUSHIYAKI (6 different skewers of salmon, sausage, liempo, shrimp, beef and chicken). I personally liked the liempo and beef better, but all the skewers had the same sauce, so they tasted pretty similar.SHISHITO PEPPERS (perfectly cooked and salty, exactly what you would expect from this dish).Then for the main course the KAMPAI STEAK RICE which is steak with fried rice, soy sauce, wagyu fat, garlic and onion, topped with seaweed salad and sunny side up egg. (This dish was my favorite, I would not have imagined that the seaweed combined so well with the rice and it also came with ginger which gave a refreshing touch although the egg looks more like a soft-boiled egg than a fried one, it was much less cooked)I will come back to try more dishes!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Tried the Kamayan feast. Food was great. Service was exceptional, especially for large parties. Front of house was also extremely helpful.
Skewer and ribs were okay but not great, but not much variety and quantity. Fish had lots of bones which is fine. Essentially, each person had one rib, one skewer, one piece of shrimp, rice, and a bit of fish (most people weren’t full).Definitely felt like there should be more food given the price. I’ve had Kamayan before at other places which was much better and cheaper, and gave more food and variety.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Was very disappointed by the meal here. For drinks, we got the midori sour and wasabi margarita which were both not very good. We ordered the rock shrimp tempura which was not rock shrimp (just some regular shrimp), the skewer platter which all tasted the same because they were all basted in the same sauce, and the bulalo which they made more “fun” excuse they torch the bone marrow tableside but otherwise was pretty unremarkable too. Had higher hopes for this Filipino place - which I think would be better served being solely Filipino and not some weird Filipino-Japanese mix.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
• midori sour - delicious.• rizal highball - stupendously strong. we requested more syrup to be added but each sip still felt like a car crash. it’s worth your buck but it’s not for me.• sampler platter- liempo: the best outta the bunch while the rest were forgettable for its price. compared to the kanto flavors that i long for, this was a letdown.• spicy yuzo adobo ribs - my partner actually asked for the spicy sizzling chicken adobo. i’m not sure how it even got mixed up but we were far too hungry to care. it was tender and moderately seasoned.• soft shell crab aligue palabok - i don’t have much to say other than you can get this at jollibee for less. the crab was good but again, nothing exceptional.notes:the menu delivered an elevated experience that harmonized japanese and filipino inspiration but it lacked an edge that separated them from the rest of fusion restaurants. however, they nailed the vibes. this place is undeniably magnetic, oozing romance and secrecy. we went here around 10pm and the music is far too loud for dates where you actually want to converse but vibes are vibes. overall, the food was lackluster but the scene is something that you might want to check out.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
An interesting twist to elevate and evolve Filipino food. Some dishes were top notch, straight up deliciousness, while other dishes were lacking in quality. Let’s start with their drinks. They have a nice happy hour with $10 sangria and some cocktail options. I enjoyed the calamansi margarita. It was sweet, sour, spicy and strong. The ube cocktail, not a part of their happy hour, was like an ube milkshake - so tasty. Now the food. I was with a group of friends so we got to sample a few dishes. The skewer sampler was good. The sauce and the way the meats were cooked were perfect. The nori spam fries was a little disappointing and gimmicky. It was literally just spam cut in the shape of fries. There wasn’t any change in the taste of a regular spam. The nori truffle fries weren’t anything too special. It was tasty, but nothing new. The beef bone marrow salpicao was chef’s kiss delicious. The soft shell crab palabok was probably my favorite dish. The palabok was traditional but the fried soft shell crab added a salty, briney, crispy addition to a very traditional dish. I plan to order this every time I’m here with a group of people. The biggest disappointment for me was the bagnet kare kare which is a traditional kare kare sauce (fantastic) but with a crispy pork belly instead of a stewed oxtail. The pork to me was chewy and dry. It was either overcooked or stale because it also had a strange taste.A couple of the dishes were real knockouts so I’m interested in tasting a few of the other dishes on the menu. I’d love to try the short rib kare kare, the sinigang, and the bulalo next time. The staff was very nice. The bartender makes killer drinks. The inside has a dark and sexy but casual vibe.As a filipino, I love supporting filipino businesses. Also as a filipino, I’m a purist when it comes to filipino food, so I’m always a little reluctant trying filipino fusion or modern-takes to filipino cuisine, but this restaurant had plenty of dishes where I tasted both nostalgia and innovation, so I absolutely plan to come back to check out the other dishes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Great food, drinks, and vibes!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place to dine in or just hang out. Great food, good drinks, exceptional staff! I would definitely recommend this place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Harumaki, Kamayan Night Special, Spicy Sizzling Chicken Adobo, Lechon Kawali, Tocino Skewer, Chicken Karaage, Garlic Fried Rice, Rock Shrimp Tempura
Restaurantji Recommends
Things were… fine. Food was salty and mediocre at a price point where you would expect better. Staff were very friendly, but didn’t know their way around the complicated menu that had too many categories to be done on a QR code. Oddly so few tables in a large place. Wanted to like it but probably won’t return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
This place was soooo good. My brother and I had wanted to go here for a while and finally had the opportunity to on his birthday with a group of his friends. Jack took really good care of our table and was super kind and accommodating throughout the dinner. We all ordered different dishes, but in my opinion the Sizzling Bulalo Steak and the Soft Shell Crab Palabok are their hits. The Manila Mule was also really good. Would definitely come back again
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was wonderful. First time having Filipino food in a fine dining setting. Waiter was super nice also. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
My boyfriend took me here for our anniversary and while I enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the food, I thought the service could've been better. They didn't even give us anything complimentary to celebrate. While we had reservations, we still had to wait at the bar for 10 minutes, which was fine. I ordered a calamansi margarita, not knowing what it was but it turned out to be refreshing and citrusy. We started strong with the bonito caesar salad and pork skewers. I love caesar salad and Gugu Room did it well, from the dressing to a twist with crispy dried herring. Pork skewers were real tender! The bone marrow salpicao is a must get and paired well with the garlic fried rice. I was torn between the short rib kare kare and the beef sinigang, but our waiter recommended the sinigang. I thought this was a horrible choice as the sinigang was WAY too salty. We ended up taking it home and ate it the next morning after diluting it with water. Still, I won't let this dish take away from the experience and I would actually want to come back to try the kare kare.
The food is sooooo good here. A little pricey? But I could say it's worth it because of how delicious the food is! The people are super friendly and it seemed like a lot of people are regulars here (at the bar at least!)