I have been looking for a place with real Filipino like Bonifacio for the 4 years that I have been in Ohio. It is a dining experience for your palette that you will not forget.
I actually heard about Bonifacio when they did a pop-up Filipino Kamayan night up in Cleveland, where I currently live. (FOODIES - YOU NEED TO GO TO A BOODLE NIGHT ONCE IN YOUR LIFE)! Every time I come through Columbus, I try to make it a point to stop through Bonifacio.
We made it out during a huge snowstorm so we would have missed our anticipated reservation time. We were coming at the end of the night so we were lucky to be able to push our time back. I was introducing three of my friends to Filipino food and I'm so glad to have turned them on to the heavenly goodness that this culture brings. As a Filipino myself, I was impressed by their mix of both popular dishes but also keeping many of the more traditional (and I hate to use the word) "exotic" dishes that I have grown up with and have loved.
I'd highly recommend going family style and ordering a few different dishes to share. Many of the main dishes give you the option to have a side of rice (get that garlic fried rice omg), which will go with almost everything in true Filipino fashion. We started off with drinks - they found a way to take traditional flavors used in Filipino desserts and incorporate them into their drink cocktails. They also have the infamous San Miguel, whic his an easy and refreshing drink to go along with the meal. I love everything ube so I had to go with their Oooh bae drink, which had a lovely subtle ube flavor. We ordered lumpia, sisig, crispy chicken skin, adobo baby back ribs, and inasal na manok to share. The lumpia, sisig, pancit, and adobo are MUST HAVES when you are having Filipino food for the first time. For the more brave, I'd recommend Dinuguan but I'll leave that up to you.
There is something about the Filipino cuisine that I did not realize until that night - how they use sauces and acidity to cleanse the palette. That being said, DO NOT FORGET about the atchara (papaya slaw) or the sweet chili sauce or the dipping sauces that are included with the plates. Or the vinegar (suka?) they they provide on the table. I can eat that atchara on its own, to be honest, it is SO refreshing. Maybe even that garlic fried rice.
The pork adobo ribs. Just, omg. No doubt, it was the crowd favorite at the table. Nothing ever competes with your Filipino mother's home cooking, but Bonifacio's adobo probably comes a close second.
Save some room for dessert, because you have got to get the turon. If you're not completely stuffed by then, turon is a good way to end the meal on a sweet note, without overdoing it. Or, you can be like me and also get the ube ice cream sandwiches. The ube ice cream sandwiches were honestly more of a "foodie" sort of pick. I love me some ube, but they were way too sweet and lacking of the ube flavor that I was hoping for. I would have preferred a scoop, or 4, of the ube ice cream itself. It did look pretty, I guess.
I love the ambiance of the restaurant itself. I had expected it to be a bigger space, but I love the intimacy of Bonifacio. It reminded me of family dinners and how food is an anchoring point in the Filipino culture. How you can come together over this amazing spread of food and feel that sense of community.
Lastly, I know they mentioned that they were updating their menu, so I'm not sure what they will keep or what will be new. They hold Boodle nights a few times a month and I'd highly recommend anyone to check it out. I have heard good things about their brunch menu, so I'll have to check it out when I'm in town again. Check online for their hours because I definitely missed out twice because they were closed. :'(
I sincerely hope this restaurant gets more recognition for their amazing food. I'm so glad that there is at least one Filipino place in Ohio that I can cherish and share with people (if anyone else knows of other places, please let me know!!). Until next time, Bonifacio. I'll be dreaming of that adobo. read more