Taupe Dining in BGC: Chef Francis Tolentino’s Culinary Playground of Filipino Delights
Taupe Dining, led by Chef Francis Tolentino, is a Michelin Selected restaurant located at The Meridien Tower 2 in BGC, Taguig, offering contemporary tasting menus that showcase Philippine ingredients through global flavors, seasonal produce, and modern culinary techniques.
IMAGE from Taupe Dining’s Instagram account
The intimate dining room, which seats approximately 30 guests, provides a minimalist yet sophisticated setting that allows the tasting menu and its ingredients to take center stage.
IMAGE from Taupe Dining’s Instagram account
Chef Francis Tolentino began his culinary journey in Miami and New York before returning to the Philippines, where he built a career as an executive chef and restaurateur. Over the years, his culinary philosophy evolved toward championing Philippine ingredients through a more elevated and intentional approach, ultimately leading to the creation of Taupe, his first fine dining concept.
Chef Francis Tolentino/IMAGE from Taupe Dining’s Instagram account
At Taupe Dining, local ingredients are transformed into refined dishes that balance familiarity and innovation. Every course highlights the restaurant’s commitment to supporting local farmers and producers while presenting Philippine ingredients in new and unexpected ways.
The Elements Tasting Menu, is a seasonal menu that explores the elemental forces of fire, air, water, and earth. Guests may choose from a 10-course menu (Php 8,000), 8-course menu (Php 6,900), or 5-course menu (Php 4,900), with the five-course option available Tuesdays to Fridays.
Among their must-try dishes is the Blue Crab Ice Cream Sandwich, featuring poached blue crab transformed into a savory ice cream layered between chicken skin biscuits with mango gel, Osetra caviar, and cold-smoked roe.
Blue Crab Ice Cream Sandwich/IMAGE from Taupe Dining’s Instagram account
Another standout is the Wet-Aged Hamachi, prepared with longan, calamansi snow, and avocado purée through curing and brining techniques that enhance its clean and delicate flavors.
Wet-Aged Hamachi/IMAGE from Taupe Dining’s Instagram account
The menu also features a reinterpretation of Filipino flavors through Dry-aged A5 Wagyu Ribeye wrapped in black squid ink pasta and paired with kadyos purée and beef tendon demi sauce.
Dry-aged A5 Wagyu Ribeye/IMAGE from Taupe Dining’s Instagram account
Through its tasting menus, Taupe continues to showcase how local ingredients, modern techniques, and global influences can come together in a dining experience that is both distinctly Filipino and internationally inspired.
