Burnt Bean — Restaurant in Mandaluyong

Overall experience was good with some improvements needed.

The Potato Pave (4/5) felt like it lacked flavor for me. The cream and the potato itself lacked flavor. The cheese helped though bring some much needed saltiness.

The Wood-Fired Lasagna (4/5) was great. The crispy outer layer gives a good texture and flavor that matches well with the soft and flavorful inner layer. The beef was good and made it taste different than other lasagna. There was cheese that tasted great. And the sauces matched well with the lasagna. In my opinion though, there needed to be more cream to match the acidity of the tomato sauce. I ran out of cream with half of the tomato sauce left with the lasagna. The cream helped balance the dish more, but it was lacking in quantity.

01/21/25: I tried the Smoked Bacon Katsudon (3/5) and I would not recommend it unless you like salty bacon. It is bacon in breading. It felt a bit too salty for me as you feel your tongue dry. The rest of the components though don't have much taste probably to compensate for the saltiness of the bacon. Also the bacon was also 1/3 fat which seemed too much for me. Maybe the dish just isn't for me. But I think other dishes they offer might be a lot better. July 2025 Ate there again and had the reuben sandwich 4/5. It was great especially with the dipping sauce. It was yummy. *note this is not in the menu anymore in August August 2025 Salmon Poke 2/5 I felt it was very lacking in flavor, specifically the saltiness. The salmon was overwhelmed by everything else even when it was torched. The rice did not fit the dish as well. Not...

I’m not quite convinced if eating here is really worth the price & “hype”, so I’ll have to dine here again some time soon and try other dishes but here’s an honest review based on my first time at burnt bean podium.

Service is great. Greg was kind and took care of our needs. Food was served quickly.

Potato pavé is not bad. I think we didn’t spread the foam enough. Compressed watermelon is okay. Watermelon and honeydew pieces were sweet and went well with the salad. Tomatoes were ripe and were so good! My mom liked this one a lot. Peruvian Chicken has a lovely smokey taste. The sauce wasn’t enough though imo. Cajun rice had some uncooked pieces at the bottom (we only noticed at the end). Coleslaw that went with it was superb. Overall, this is my top recommendation among everything we ordered. Roasted Corn Panna Cotta was served on a chilled plate. Tasted fine. It comes with mixed berries compote but the blueberries are more visible. Honeycomb & biscoff crumble was heavenly and complemented the panna cotta and compote really well.

So as you can see, I’m on the fence about their food for now. I’ll have to visit again soon and re-write this review. Bottomline for now is you’re getting a bigger plate of the fine dining/degustation/tasting menu food at a slightly more affordable price. :)

Also, I think the gelato is no longer offered at this location. :( I’ve read in previous reviews recommending the pistachio gelato but I was told that they no longer serve gelato (or maybe it’s just not available at...

We’ve always wanted to try Burnt Bean and we’re glad that they finally have a branch in Podium. Servers were attentive, and our server Edson was quick to get our orders and serve our dishes and drinks.

We went here for dinner with family and we ordered a bunch of items:

Potato Pave - Our family’s fave! We really enjoyed it Seafood Frito - Squid and shrimp were nicely cooked and the garlicky aioli sauce was so flavorful Lasagna - Good for 2-3, and my parents finished the entire dish Torched Poke - This was good, but a bit heavy on the furikake. It had sliced mango, cucumber and pickled (onions or daikon?) which helped balance the dish Beef Rendang - Brother liked it (though he wished there was more sauce lol) Pistachio Pasta - Sister-in-law really liked it, finished her bowl Sea Bass - Mother-in-law finished the serving! Steak Frites - Cooked to husband’s liking, but the sauce and fries were a bit on the saltier side

Even the desserts fit the “burnt/smoked” theme of the restaurant.

Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner and will definitely dine again. Great for people wanting a new take on the usual classics, but not too out there that it’ll stop you from going back.

We ate on a Thursday night. The restaurant was semi-packed but servers were quick and didn’t see/hear any...