Smith & Wollensky Holds Official Grand Opening Event at The Finance Center, BGC Location
Smith & Wollensky is now officially open in the Philippines at the iconic building The Finance Center in BGC, Taguig City. This Manila location is the first Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Southeast Asia.
The grand launch event in the evening of July 8 was attended by USA Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay L. Carlson and Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, who gave their welcoming messages to the man who brought the iconic American steakhouse to Asia: John Hardyment, chairman of Granville Restaurants Philippines, Inc. (GRPI) and Bayshore Pacific Restaurants, Inc. (BPRI).
USA Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay L. Carlson, John Hardyment, chairman of Granville Restaurants Philippines, Inc. (GRPI) and Bayshore Pacific Restaurants, Inc. (BPRI), and Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano at the Smith & Wollensky Manila Jazz Lounge and Bar during the July 8 grand launch dinner in the Philippines
“This evening is not just about world-class steak—though certainly, we will all enjoy that. It’s a celebration of the enduring friendship between the United States and the Philippines—as friends, partners, allies, and foodies. Let me start by congratulating John and the entire Smith & Wollensky team for your great endeavor here—this teamwork with your Philippine partners. Bringing a brand with this kind of heritage and swagger across the Pacific is no small feat,” USA Ambassador Carlson said in her speech.
“This isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a slice of Americana, a symbol of hospitality, quality, and tradition. And as you can imagine, bringing this symbol of American hospitality to the Philippines—that’s like coals to Newcastle. This place is well known as the most hospitable place in the world. So that takes a lot of swagger indeed,” she added.
One of the legends in American dining culture, the famous steakhouse Smith & Wollensky has been referenced in pop culture as the must-have steak for fictional magazine editor Miranda Priestly in the cult fashion-centric film “The Devil Wears Prada.” The restaurant has also gained fame as the venue of annual charity lunch events of renowned entrepreneur Warren Buffet.
Hardyment shared how he brought Smith & Wollensky to Asia during his speech, saying, “We opened Smith & Wollensky in 2019 in Taipei, and we had plans for expansion very quickly—then COVID got in the way. We opened our second one in Taichung, also in Taiwan, which we did in 2024, sort of at the tail end of COVID. And now, we’re very happy to open our third restaurant, here in the Philippines, and our first in Southeast Asia. I’ve watched the growth here in Manila, I’ve watched how the society has boomed.”
“Starting about four or five years ago, we started thinking seriously about doing one of these restaurants. We thought we’d bring a real American steakhouse—something with a little bit of size, a little bit of scale. We also take great pride in our music, wherein Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Bobby West is set to play regularly in the near future. I think very soon we’ll have the reputation as the best music venue in the whole Philippines as well.”
“I arrived in Asia 47 years ago and I've been involved in the food and beverage business for about 35 years. We decided to come to the Philippines where we're very excited to be opening one of our new Smith & Wollenksy's in Manila here in BGC at The Finance Center, one of the best buildings in the city,” the Canadian national added.
“On behalf of the city officials of Taguig, allow me to thank the management for making the right choice. Allow us to commit that we will be a strong partner—a reliable partner—because you know, we don’t treat you as just a benefactor, but really a part of the family. Taguig, as you all know, is a work in progress but a booming city, and it’s because of your investment, your trust, and support that we are able to reach where we are right now,” Mayor Cayetano meanwhile said in her speech during the event.
Actress Ruffa Gutierrez also graced the dinner launch event.
Filipina actress Ruffa Gutierrez graces the Smith & Wollensky Philippines dinner launch event
The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for Smith & Wollensky Manila organized on noon of July 8, 2025 headed by Smith & Wollensky Manila General Manager Aidan Duffy, Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group in the USA president Nathan Evans, Granville Restaurants Philippines, Inc. (GRPI) Chairman John Hardyment, Forward Banner managing partner Gerald Baldivia, and Asia SVP of Operations Ray Yen
BPRI has been licensed to bring Smith & Wollensky to Asia, starting in Taipei, Taiwan in 2019. Due to the pandemic, the plans of Asian expansion of Smith & Wollensky slowed down. Post-pandemic, another location in Taiwan was opened in Taichung in 2024. Now, their team has finally opened the famous premium American steakhouse in the Philippines, which is also the first in Southeast Asia. BPRI is set to also launch a location in Tokyo, Japan in early 2026, and will open in Shanghai, China in the Fall of 2026.
Smith & Wollensky: The Classic American Steakhouse
Kim Dinsmoore, U.S. Executive VP of Operations and International Development, who’s in charge of international expansion and working with all Smith & Wollensky’s new international licensees, makes sure that the Filipinos get to experience the classic, traditional Smith & Wollensky hospitality and culinary treat.
Kim Dinsmoore, U.S. Executive VP of Operations and International Development
Kim explained why the dry-aged steak is at the heart of Smith & Wollensky, detailing how their steakhouse has full control of its steak’s topnotch quality.
“Dry-aged beef is really the best you can do (among steaks), especially USDA prime grade beef, which is the best of all the USDA-graded beef. We dry-age it for 28 days here at Smith & Wollensky. We do it ourselves. We have an aging room in all of our restaurants. We have our own butchers. So we really, truly control the quality of the product from selecting the best.”
“With some great partners like Double R Ranch Northwest Beef and Snake River Farms, which we brought into the mix somewhat recently about six years ago, we got to
introduce American Wagyu, which is an even higher level elevated experience when it comes to beef. And then to be able to dry that ourselves, butcher it ourselves, and then cook it on our grill– we truly make sure you’re having the best steak. We just truly control the quality that is delivered on that plate, that not every steakhouse can do. And I believe that’s the heart of it all here at Smith & Wollensky.”
Kim also takes pride in their wine selection.
“When you have the best steak, you have to have a beautiful glass of wine or a bottle or two to go with it. And American Cabernet is hands down the perfect pair for that big, bold, nice amount of steak. A good bottle of Screaming Eagle as well with the steak is a great dining experience too. We always have some great French wines as well.”
“We have a lot of international travelers that visit us in our location in Manhattan, New York, the beaches of Miami, or the Chicago downtown, and these tourists come and they really just enjoy the experience. So being able to bring it here and bring the Filipinos that taste of America, that taste of the service that goes with that, we’re excited to be able to do that. And then adapting a little bit with some localized flavors, because for every market we look forward to bringing small pieces of the local culture in as well, that’s also exciting.”
Special Exclusive Items at Smith & Wollensky BGC
While Smith & Wollensky stays true to its 48 years of classic US hospitality and premium American-style steak in its menu, the team has made sure they’re able to incorporate some localized elements for its first-ever Philippine location.
Chef Cale Jackson, the Culinary Director for Asia, shared how they integrated the Pinoy palate into their menu plan for their Philippine restaurant.
Chef Cale Jackson
“Well, we know that we're in different markets, and we make sure to integrate what people like locally. One thing we did is we added these special rice dishes to the menu. Now, it's something we don't do at Smith & Wollensky, but we felt we had to adapt. When we were here touring the Philippines, we noticed that Filipinos really love to have rice with their meals. So myself and my culinary team created three really unique, fantastic, and tasty rice dishes that go very well with our awesome steaks.”
Chef Cale and his team developed three distinct rice dishes with a little flair, made specially for the Filipino gourmands: the Bone Marrow Rice, Spanish Rice, and the Foei Gras Rice.
Chef Cale described the three rice dishes added to the menu of Smith & Wollensky.
“The Bone Marrow Rice is a version of Cajun dirty rice, and it’s served with a bone marrow, with the bone marrow toppings inside still. Some of you can scrape them off and mix them in with the rice, and it’s kind of spicy, and it gives a really nice taste,” Chef Cale said.
“Another one that we developed specially for Filipinos is our Spanish Rice made with chorizo. It’s got a little bit of the flavors of having a Paella, but not quite, but somewhat similar and with the ingredients and flavors, a little bit of a Spanish accent.
“Then we have our really decadent Foie Gras Rice, where we have very, very special Japanese rice with foie gras, a seared foie gras lobe on top, and the mix with our very special sauce, which is very rich and very decadent.
Another amazing culinary delight Chef Cale and his team developed is the Sizzling Wagyu Beef Tongue Sisig.
“We have a great bar menu because people go into the bar, and sometimes they've already had dinner or they haven't had dinner, but they want to have a little late-night snack. So we have kind of a tapas menu, where it's got bar snacks, and we wanted to have some local flavors on it,” Chef Cale said.
“So, I asked my two Filipino local chefs to create some dishes that would appeal to the locals but have a more steakhouse, upscale feel to them. So we decided to do a Sizzling Wagyu Beef Tongue Sisig. It's really tasty. It's made of chunks of wagyu tongue, and we stir-fry them very quickly. And we've made a special sauce, kind of an umami-flavored sauce, which kind of brings all the flavors together. There's also some of our stir-fried dry-aged beef chunks in there as well. So we get more flavor and more richness in our Sisig, then it's topped with the crispy shiitake mushrooms and a sous vide egg.”
The famous super huge Signature Smith & Wollensky Chocolate Cake also got its Filipino version.
“We have this Signature Chocolate Cake here that's famous to all of the Smith & Walensky international locations. And it's like our signature dessert here. It's very important to our operations here, because everybody loves our chocolate cake. When I came to the Philippines, I knew that the Philippines is a big manufacturer of cocoa and has very high quality cocoa. So I mandated my executive chef and my chefs to use the local cocoa to make our chocolate cake. Smith & Wollensky's famous chocolate cake recipe for 47 years is for the first time getting a localized one, and it is one here in Manila that uses 100% Philippine cocoa,” Chef stated with passion.
Aside from the Pinoy flavors in its menu, the pioneer Smith & Wollensky location in the Philippines also works with the best artists in the Filipino culture.
Premiere Filipino fashion designer Rajo Laurel did the tailoring of the uniforms of the Smith & Wollensky BGC service staff, while Jed Yabut took care some of the restaurant’s artwork, from restaurant lamps, to chandeliers, to wall art pieces.
Staying True to American Culture
During the soft launch event, Smith & Wollensky brought some American culture and music with the live performance of Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Bobby West.
Grammy-nominated Jazz pianist Bobby West
Bobby West is set to play regularly in the near future.
Hardyment emphasized that Smith & Wollensky stays true to its classic American dining culture and hospitality, with some regional elements to cater to the local market clientele.
“What I notice when I come here to the Philippines, it’s much like Taiwan where I live, and much like Hong Kong where we operate. The people here in the Philippines, like others in Asia, love to have family and friends over and share food. I think that's what Smith & Wollensky does best. Everybody says, the portions are huge, and that’s because they’re American size.”
John Hardyment, chairman of Granville Restaurants Philippines, Inc. (GRPI)
and Bayshore Pacific Restaurants, Inc. (BPRI)
“But that’s what makes our dishes perfect for sharing. So we see a lot of big groups, a lot of families, a lot of businesses, getting together for a good meal. There’s nothing better than a really great steak, a nice glass of wine, and some wonderful service to really have a great evening. I think every Filipino friend of mine loves all of that. So we’re delivering it,“ Hardyment concluded.
Smith & Wollensky is now open in the Philippines. You may place your reservations by emailing reservations@swmnl.com or calling +632 8248 9470. You may also process booking through https://bit.ly/swmnlreserve.
Smith & Wollensky Philippines is located at 2/F of The Finance Centre Building at 26th Street, cor. 9th Ave, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City.
About Smith & Wollensky
Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group (SWRG), is a collection of boutique American steakhouses under the brand, Smith & Wollensky with locations in Boston, Wellesley, Burlington, Chicago, Columbus, Las Vegas, and Miami Beach. Smith & Wollensky BGC is owned by Granville Restaurants Philippines, Inc. (GRPI), the exclusive licensee of Smith & Wollensky in the Philippines. The restaurant is managed by Bayshore Pacific Restaurants, Inc. (BPRI), the controlling shareholder of GRPI. BPRI also operates 3 Smith & Wollensky locations in Taiwan and a Tokyo location set to open in early 2026.
SWRG has additional licensed operators in London and Seoul.