The Braghouse Whiskey Lounge is Your New Man Cave in the South
Alabang finally has a place for dang good whiskey, Spanish-Mindanao cooking, and coveted fashion collabs.
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When you first walk into the speakeasy-esque den called The Brag House Whiskey Lounge, you'd think it was someone's hallowed man cave or escape from the mundane.
Well, the golden gorilla statue and shelves stocked with highly sought-after Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and motorsport collaborations would signal you were walking into the living room of someone of a particular taste for luxury and culture.
The Brag House also aims to reconcile the oftentimes dark and frigid atmosphere of other bars with an ambience bathed in warm amber and hearty Spanish-Mindanao cooking.
The walk-in closet-esque interior of The Brag House Whiskey Lounge at Versailles Town Plaza
Esquire Philippines was invited to the grand opening of the new vintage/cigar room-inspired lounge and was met with the carefully curated wall of coveted luxury good collabs, watch cases, and two Ducati motorcycles parked inside the joint.
Accoutrements that caught our eye were the Takashi Murakami x Louis Vuitton clutch bags and classic monogram bags and a swanky cowhide rug that anchors the seating area.
If you fancy nabbing these bags and garments, you can actually buy them directly at the store to quell your desire for menswear and limited edition items.
The Brag House also boasts a menu that consists of heavy helpings of Spanish and Mindanao comfort dishes, a pairing that gives a nod to the superb culinary options from places like Dapitan.
Queen of the South Sardine Pasta
We tried out their endearingly dubbed "Queen of the South Sardine Pasta" dish, cooked with spaghetti, blistered cherry tomatoes, charred lemon, and whole sardines laid on top with some heat running through them. This is an ode to the Dapitan and broader Zamboanga del Norte regions, which are famous for Spanish-style sardines. This translates to distinctly regional flavors that don't settle for being a run-of-the-mill plate of pasta. Kudos for keeping things away from the derivative.
The Brag House's Rockefeller-flavored mussels.
A staple of lounge food that pairs profoundly well with a glass of whiskey on the rocks is a hearty plate of mussels, which The Brag House definitely gives stern attention to.
The green-lipped mussels are baked into chorizo breadcrumbs, and an appropriate amount of cheese overflows. They also drizzle the plate with a generous amount of Himalayan salt spaced out enough to adjust the saltiness to your liking. You might feel guilty ordering this as a solo endeavor, and we recommend you get this as a sharing-type operation.
Spam Fries
Another finger-food essential is a savory order of fries, and a lot of these bars try to add a bit of pizazz or a twist to them, which usually doesn't work. The Brag House's spam house may look ridiculous on paper and even in photos, but they were genuinely addictive. when we tried them. You may have to slow your roll in approaching this and share this option with a decently sized group since they are very rich in flavor and could fill you up in a short period of time.
Lastly, we ended our brief menu tour with the Serrano Supreme Pizza, where the kitchen heavily leans into the Spanish half of the menu equation. You get your standard thin crust, serrano ham draped across the entire pie, and arugula piled on top, finished with a balsamic drizzle. It is a well-executed pizza dish without reinventing the wheel, which a speakeasy/man cave whiskey lounge doesn't have to do.
While there isn't a dearth of places like The Brag House in areas in Makati and even those up north in Quezon City, the sophisticated South desperately needed more spaces to close deals, to grab a drink with an old friend, and to chow down in a place that feels like an extension of your own man cave.
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The Braghouse Whisky LoungeAlabangSouthWhiskeySpanish CuisinesLuxuryLouis VuittonOn Cloudteam-03022