Greenlight Burgers by Alvin Cailan: The Burger Joint in BGC (Taguig City) Led by the Fil-Am Chef Behind Amboy Quality Meats of Los Angeles, and the Host of The Burger Show

Chef Alvin Cailan is a Filipino-American chef and the man behind Amboy Quality Meats & Delicious Burgers, which ranked number nine in the World’s 101 Best Burger Places. He is also the host of First We Feast’s The Burger Show.

The Fil-Am chef had been doing pop-ups in Manila, flipping his world-class burgers. Finally, he opened Greenlight Burgers in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig City by late 2025. This is in partnership with the Clavano brothers of Carlo’s, Izakaya Geronimo, and Wagyu Studio, and later on with the Lao family.

The Recognition of Chef Alvin’s Burger Joints

The idea is straightforward: If the green light is on, then burgers are available. Otherwise (when its red light is on), it’s sold out. (I’m not sure if they still run out of burgers after the hype around it has died down.)

I’ve waited for the hype to die down. As I get older, I’m slowly losing patience for queues. LOL. So after months of delaying, I finally went earlier this month.

The interior is inspired by a New York train diner, designed by JJ Acuña. There are limited seats inside (only 12 total). Thankfully, there’s an al fresco area with 34 seats.

The menu is simple and there are only three burgers (excluding the ones for kids): Double Plain Jane (double patty and cheese), Double Thin and Crispy (double patty, cheese, onions cooked 2 ways, and your choice of sauce), and Thick and Lacey (just like Double Thin and Crispy but only with one thick patty).

You can also choose the sauce: Red (classic burger sauce Greenlight-style), Yellow (mustard-based, rich, and creamy), and Green (fresh, herby, and bright).

We got the Double Thin and Crispy with Green Sauce, which has a subtle herb flavor. The patties are made with USDA beef. They’re beefy, juicy, coarse (which I like), and have crisp edges. My only issue is they’re a tad salty for me.

They also use sesame seed buns, which are baked daily and turns out pillowy. I think’s it’s my first time to have this kind of bun in a non-fastfood burger joint. The caramelized onions add sweetness, while the raw ones (I think they’re raw) add crunch. And I can taste the cheese in every bite.

We also tried the Thick and Lacey, which surprisingly has crisp edges still (I thought only thin patties can achieve this texture). For this one, we got the red sauce, which has a nice tang.

No burger meal would be complete without fries. They’re thin and crisp.

It’s a shame that the patties were a bit salty (good thing there’s sauce and ketchup to tame it). I don’t know if it’s really that way or it was only during our visit. But aside from the taste, I like its beefiness, juiciness, and crispness. Also, the other components are top-notch. You could tell that Greenlight Burgers uses quality ingredients.

So will I come back for it? Sure but not too soon, as there are other burger joints to try and better ones to repeat first. When I return, I’ll just ask for a bit of salt on my patties. Anyway, I recommend Greenlight Burgers by Alvin Cailan to you!

P.S. Don’t forget to visit the updated The Ultimate Metro Manila Burger Guide here.

Greenlight Burgers by Alvin Cailan

Address: West Gallery Place Building, 9th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines | Operating Hours: Daily, 11AM-3PM & 6-9PM | Instagram