THE word “brutal” isn’t exactly one we would normally use to describe a good lunch, but a restaurant in Quezon City might just change that.
A boy’s christening in January held at and catered by Brutal by Wadoughs brought us into the orbit of chef Wado Siman, who transitioned from a career in television, pastry, then restaurant consultancy (their initial patisserie, Wadough’s in Maginhawa, has a degree of online fame). Brutal is Mr. Siman’s first venture into a full-service restaurant, opening late in 2024. “I hope you had a brutally good time,” he said in a text message.
During our lunch at Brutal, we had the pleasure of sipping their Talaba Chowder, and the soup made us forget we were at a family gathering and we began to work. For one thing, the flavor of oysters, delicate as it was, was still clearly expressed in the chunky soup, a rarity in this city. There were their signature wings, coated with nori and a hint of wasabi in the mayo dip, though this sat behind the Inasal Ribs. Think of the flavors in Bacolod’s chicken inasal (barbecue): earthy annatto and lively lemongrass, but given a heavier, more filling texture in pork ribs. Their Callos (beef tripe stewed in tomato sauce) was a surprise. It was clean-tasting, eliminating the sometimes-gamey taste of tripe that puts off other people. It dispensed with the tomato sauce, so the result was a clean and light dish, with just a hint of fragrant spice (Mr. Siman said that the recipe comes from Quezon where he grew up; incorporating Lucban longanisa sausage and kiping, a local rice wafer). There was a beef kare-kare (meat stewed in peanut sauce) too, with a sauce thinner than the ones served in other restaurants — which might seem a disadvantage, but here, it gained home-cooked familiarity.
Just as well: the space in Quezon City was once occupied by his mother’s former food venture.
The name derives from the building’s Brutalist architecture. The postwar Brutalist style became popular in the Marcos years (1965-1986) in the Philippines, characterized by angular shapes executed in concrete (think of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Philippine International Convention Center). Around the world, it became shorthand for Cold War style, but it was also favored for its economy in a world rebuilding after the Second World War and the haste to industrialize in a Cold War world. While it has its detractors for its supposed coldness and monumental inapproachability, some have become attached to it due to its clean lines and no-fuss attitude.
“My mom used to have a Filipino restaurant, but not really highlighting or emphasizing the Brutalist exterior since it was a low-end restaurant, so they didn’t care much about how the outside looks like,” he told BusinessWorld. For him though, “Brutal is such a powerful word, but naisip ko din na (I thought that) when you translate it to food, it can be very straightforward, unapologetic, and then in-your-face, no fuss, no muss, good food,” he said. “We wanted something more comfortable and straightforward,” he said, noting that they didn’t aspire for something “out-of-this-world” or “genius high end.” “We wanted to be not intimidating comfort food that you can eat or consume every day.”
Brutal is located at No. 6 Sto. Tomas corner Nicanor Ramirez St., Quezon City. Reservations can be made through Instagram at @brutalbywadoughs. The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. — Joseph L. Garcia
