First Bite: Boa Kitchen + Socials

Breakfast spread never fail to make my eyes sparkle and mouth drool. And when I got word that Boa Kitchen + Socials offers some of my favorites, I made sure to visit this new foodie haven along Scout Rallos. 

Hello, Boa Kitchen + Socials.

Boa is one of the newest establishments in Quezon City's foodie district. Located on the mezzanine floor of ABDC building, make sure to look for a purple signage when you get to the corner of Scout Rallos and Scout Tuazon. 

Industrial with splashes of greens and browns are what you can expect once you enter Boa. I like that the tables are spaced apart making the restaurant roomy. 

We were quickly given the menu and we opted to go for Grilled Chicken Salad (PHP285), Torched Salmon and Avocado Toast (PH245), Tapsilog (PHP245) and Cheesy Meatball Linguini (PHP285). We also ordered Lychee Iced Tea (PHP80).

There were only two other tables occupied when we dropped by but service was insanely slow. We had to follow up our request for water twice and our bowl of salad arrived after over 30 minutes. 

We were told that they wanted to serve all the dishes in one go so I tried to wait for a while before touching the salad. But I realized that it was just an excuse as the other dishes were served 15 to 30 minutes after. Yes, some dishes took an hour before it was served!

I was already 'hangry' and about to flip when the salad was served. Thankfully, it tasted great! The greens were fresh and the chicken chunks grilled with rosemary was superb. The honey mustard sauce beautifully complemented the herb infused white meat and the slightly soft boiled eggs added extra protein to the dish making it filling.

The Torched Salmon and Avocado Toast was served 45 minutes after we placed our order. It was an grueling long wait for a simple dish but it would be worth the wait if have time to spare. Our plate had a generous serving of salmon and avocado. The fish was perfectly torched and I couldn't help myself comparing it with my favorite aburi in Sushi Tsumura. The avocado too was divine as it has that zesty flavor which I think was from lime. The sourdough was excellent too. It was crisp and gave that lovely contrast in texture.

I was told that Cheesy Meatball Linguini is not Boa's bestseller but I opted to go with this as the cheese stuffed meatballs intrigued me. One bite of this dish made me regret not listening to the server who took my order. 

Don't get me wrong. It wasn't bad. But it's not something I'd order again. It lacked that tangy tomato flavor I wanted from marinara. The meatballs were also a tad too salty for our liking. 

At 58-minute mark, I finally got my bowl of Tapsilog. 

The bowl was picturesque. Garlic rice topped with glistening marinated tapa, crispy sunny side up egg and pickled papaya (atsara), it was the dish I was looking forward to try the most. 

It was pretty good. The tapa had that nice blend of sweet and savory flavor and each bit was tender. But I've had better tapsilog elsewhere. 

The lychee iced tea was pretty good. Make sure to mix the lychee puree and brewed iced tea as the puree's too sweet and the brewed tea's too bitter.

Boa is open as early as 9 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. (or midnight on weekends). Note that the menu for lunch and dinner varies. I also read reviews that you cannot request for the dishes only available for lunch for dinner and vice versa.  

Also, the building's elevator is still being installed so we took the stairs to the mezzanine. Though this is not a problem for us, this could be an issue for senior and PWD guests.  

Overall, I couldn't say anything bad with the food. It was bang for the buck especially when you dine with Zomato Gold. They also gave us some vouchers for future use. But service really needs to improve as to wait for an hour for tapsilog is too much. 

Boa Kitchen + Socials is located at Mezzanine Floor, 45 ABDC Building, Scout Rallos Corner Scout Tuazon, Laging Handa, Quezon City.