Gugu Room
Filipino restaurant · Lower East Side ·
Japanese-Filipino fusion skewers, kamayan dinners, and cocktails
Japanese-Filipino fusion skewers, kamayan dinners, and cocktails
"You come to Gugu Room for the scene (disco ball, DJs) as much as the food. Although this LES spot bills itself as a Filipino-Japanese izakaya, most dishes here are Filipino. But the cod katsu sisig is one of the mash-ups that make you wish they offered more fusion things. A blanket of calamansi aioli is drizzled on top of barely breaded cod with crunchy onions and potent red chilis (get them on the side if you can't take too much heat). The flaky cod is a nice substitute for the more commonly used milkfish." - nikko duren, kenny yang
"Gugu Room bills itself as a Filipino-Japanese izakaya. Their entrées are a little hit or miss, but you can’t go wrong with any of the small plates. Get the fluffy sweet potato fries, chicken karaage, and as many skewers as you can handle (especially the longanisa ones), and try a few house cocktails like their version of a margarita that’s infused with wasabi. The dark and moody space is on the small side, so make a reservation." - team infatuation
"Located on the Lower East Side, Gugu Room is a Philippine restaurant with Japanese flourishes refashioned as a cocktail lounge, and it’s loads of fun. Rock shrimp tempura is topped with caviar and served as a pair of tacos, but there are also more traditional dishes like barbecued brochettes of pork belly, longanisa sausage, and rib-eye; short rib or tofu kare-kare; and chicken adobo." - Eater Staff
"On the Lower East Side, I visited a Filipino-Japanese izakaya called Gugu Room that trades on nightlife exuberance and a mashup origin story—tales range from José Rizal’s 1888 romance to an Adrien Brody–sparked concept, but chef Mark Manaloto sums it up: “We wanted to bring Filipino night life… Good dinner and party afterward.” The chaotic, merry décor (a silvery disco ball, a bust of José Rizal, a frenzy of red lanterns and cherry-blossom–adorned cabins) matches an eclectic menu designed to be portable onto the dance floor. When I consulted a server he immediately steered me to the skewers: the tenga (pig ears) marinated in banana ketchup and grilled on binchotan charcoal, yielding a crisp exterior and a wink of cartilage crunch; the isaw (intestines), wrinkly whorls with a wild, primal umami; and the longanisa, a descendant of Spanish chorizo that is smoky and sweet with notes of smoked paprika and garlic, heightened by the heat of an open flame. Rich dishes unapologetically layer flavors: lengua gyutan (beef tongue) in a creamy mushroom gravy was smooth, balanced, and savory, and the short-rib udon with bone marrow featured a bulalo-style broth—punctuated by peppercorn, fish sauce, and white shoyu—that was voluptuous rather than cloying, the best bite being an unladylike gnaw of gristle followed by a spoonful of marrow-thickened soup with cubes of daikon. Some items felt like concessions to the fusion narrative—the chicken inasal was pallid and the agedashi tofu gummy and forgettable. There are no sweets, but an impressive, varied cocktail list (I sipped a Wasabi Mar-Gari-Ta: tequila, calamansi honey, lime, wasabi) primes the room for after-hours; skewers flew by to be waved into selfies as the music revved up, dishes run $6–$25. I left close to 11 p.m. after finishing my isaw, while the party had only just begun." - Jiayang Fan
"I note Gugu Room in the Lower East Side is similarly mentioned as a restaurant that includes skewers only as a minor part of its menu." - Caroline Shin
