April 9, 2026 3.6 stars
My wife and I are here in the PI - Makati on vaycay from San Fran (I dont really talk like that :-)
A Porterhouse steak from Chingolo is on her bucket list and the cost be damned.
Their website has a ton of pictures of raw beef but I see no assurance we can eat cooked steak there. A call to Chingolo and we are assured by an employee that they do serve cooked food and they do have Porterhouse steak.
We arive. The place looks clean. Slightly upscale and is well aircond. It looks zero like a Deli or a Butchery.
We place our order. The Porterhouse steak, a chili cheese empanada and a Ceasar salad. A coke for her and a pilsen for me. Beer is not on the printed menu for some reason. I had to ask to find that they have it.
Two minutes later we are informed they are out of Porterhouse. Disappointed, we settle for Striploin .
The salad is brought out. We ask for silverware and napkins to eat it with as we have been given none. We get those and our drinks.
They might have pre-split the salad for us. We make due splitting the salad from a large bowl in two using knives and forks. It is a nice sized and tasty salad to me. The vegetables are very fresh. Wife thinks anchovies(?) might have added to much saltiness.
My wife bites into her empanada and then I have a taste. She thinks the waiter should have warned us about the spice level. She thought "chili" meant chili beans American style and not a heavy dose of chili powder in saucy ground meat. I love the flaky crust and I always enjoy a little heat.
A bit of a wait and the steak shows up on a sizzling hot metal platter. Looks like charred deliciousness.
Steaks are often pre-sliced in the Philippines. Ours is. I'm not sure why. Maybe to check for doneness?
We both take a bite from different ends of the steak. She says "Delicious".
I say "Yea OK but its pretty damn chewy for 3,395 pesos. ($57)"
(The charred parts are delicious.)
Some of the meat strip sides are too rare for my liking and my Wife is surprised I didn't send the raw parts back. We continue on and as I get to Her end of the steak and the meat is much tenderer.
Chef: Probably next time turn the steak strips over so they finish cooking on the hot platter at the table?
My beer has long been empty by now and my empty bottle pushed to the end of the table as a flag has been ignored. I wave a server down for another.
Time to use the restroom. Lucky I am Phillipines wise and I brought toilet tissue with me. Chingolo has nothing for you but an empty Kleenex box.
By the way...
They charge a 10% Service Charge. The billl came to 4,802 pesos.
Marcel was helpful getting us a taxi home read more