Greyhound Cafe: The Bangkok Food Chain Serving “Thai Food with a Twist” is Now in the Philippines!

Finally, I’ll be visiting Thailand this year! For the meantime, I will have to satisfy myself with authentic Thai food here in the Philippines. One recent discovery is Greyhound Cafe.

Greyhound Cafe is a chain of restaurants based in Bangkok. Interestingly, it started out as a fashion line and later expanded to the food business. It has several branches in Thailand and abroad, reaching as far as London. It opened in the Philippines in 2022 and has three branches (Rockwell, SM Aura, and The Podium) as of the time of this writing.

They employ a “basic with a twist” style in their fashion line. So they use the same philosophy with their food, as seen in their tagline: “Thai food with a twist.”

Let’s now talk about these “twisted” food (LOL). But first, we were served with complimentary bread, which is soft and warm. (We were given this courtesy at The Podium branch but not in the Rockwell one. So I’m not sure if we just got lucky at the former or the waiters at the latter forgot to give me one.)

Of course, we ordered the quintessential Thai dish, Pad Thai (stir-fried noodles). It’s sweet, tangy, and smoky. Then the noodles are chewy, its bean sprouts add crunch, and the egg makes it creamy. It’s one of the better Pad Thais I have ever had!

Another item we got is the Minced Pork with Sweet Basil Leaves and Hot Chilies, which the menu labels as “super duper signature dish”. The pork is savory but borderline salty (that’s why it needs to be eaten with rice). It took some time before I could taste the sweet basil. And the egg, though I wished that it was runny, add creaminess to the dish.

This dish is cooked like a Pad Krapow (holy basil stir-fry). I’m just not sure why it isn’t called one. Maybe because sweet basil is used?

An item that caught me is the Super Beef Lover Hot Pot, which is another Greyhound Cafe signature dish. Its broth is sour, slightly sweet, and flavorful (I can taste the cilantro). It has bouncy and beefy beef balls, and super tender beef brisket. It also has tendon, which is so soft, absorbing all the flavors from the soup.

Then there is deep fried lard swimming in the soup. When bitten, it burst with richness…and deadliness. LOL. But to offset, there are bean sprouts and water spinach in it, which add crisp to the entire dish.

The hot pot is served with plain rice and springy rice noodles. Albeit pricey (it’s P1050), this dish is good for sharing. It’s a world of flavors and textures, and easily my favorite dish in Greyhound Cafe and for 2023!

What drink and dessert would be good with the Thai food? Of course, Thai Milk Tea and Mango Sticky Rice (theirs is a Sticky Rice + Mango Parfait!). The milk tea is refreshing and rightly sweet.

The parfait is composed of coconut milk, cold coconut sherbet, sweet mangoes, and warm sticky rice. It’s a symphony in the mouth!

In my visits to Greyhound Cafe, I leaned more on ordering dishes that are more on the traditional side. So I have yet to try their food with twists, such as the Complicated Noodles (a D.I.Y. Thai salad set), the Ribeye Steak with Green Curry Sauce and Rice, and Spicy Fried Salmon Cubes with Holy Basil Leaves on Rice. It sounds intriguing and elevated!

But all of my Greyhound Cafe visits were pleasant. The ambiance is modern, the plating/presentation is nice, and the food is delicious. I highly recommend Greyhound Cafe to you!

Which of the dishes above have you tried or would like to try? Comment below!

For Greyhound Cafe branches and operating hours, visit their Facebook, Instagram, and Website.