A Cafe and Restaurant with Workshops : Only at Mateo's!

by - Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Hola, Amigos! Cómo estás?

After days of crazy school works, job responsibilities and the others, I am back for another fun-filled experiences in my wanderings over the past week! Let's start it off at a hidden treasure at Quezon City, Philippines! 

Located in the street of Malakas, at Diliman, Quezon City lies this Resto Cafe called Mateo's. 
I didn't found it hard looking for this place since their is a transportation from MRT Kamuning going to V. Luna St. in Quezon City. (Go to Google map for directions, It helps a lot!)


Mateo's by Night

I was told that Mateo's just grand launch months ago. I can't wait to taste all their Spanish-inspired Filipinos cuisine! And that's the reason why I greeted you in español.





Oh, how I love their interiors! 

FACT: This place (where Mateo's is located) was actually a house before it became a Resto Cafe. 

So imagine how homey it is to be inside this cozy cafe. Also, the place is already decorated with Christmas decors with matching Christmas carols surrounding the place. It really made me feel that the yuletide season is already here. 


Mateo's also has a separate room if you are after an intimate meeting with your family or loved ones. As we pass through these doors, we were greeted by these cupcakes! Now who wouldn't feel excited with today's activities? :)



Apart from the bakery and restaurant, as said in the title, Mateo's offer different activities that will surely make your stay worthwile. And one of them is the Crochet workshops. Read along to read what happened.






Complimentary Señoritas were served. It has the right amount of sweetness. Can you believe it's just 7 pesos per piece?


Water is served in this long-necked green bottle. How cool!


Since Caramel Machiato is one of their best sellers, I didn't passes the chance to try it out! And boy did I never regret trying this cup of goodness. The coffee lover in me is screaming with joy and happiness. :)


When everyone was already settled, Miss Lala and Sir Miko introduced the rich history of Mateo's. This cafe was named after Lolo Mateo (Mateo Del Castillo), the great-grandparent of one of the owners of this restaurant. He used to put up restaurants and boarding houses in Batangas way back then. But, he gave up all these investments to fund the HUKBALAHAP (Hukbo Laban Sa Hapon). And that is where the partners came up with the name of this resto. Some of his signature spanish-inspired dishes were still served at Mateo's up to this date.



After the short story telling about Lolo Mateo's history, we are about to do our first activity--Make Our Own Gingerbread House!

The bloggers were divided into four groups. Whoever wins the competition will get to take home their Gingerbread house.

Never in my whole life did I think that I can create one Gingerbread house by myself. Seriously. I was raised serving the usual viands every Christmas that's why this is a new sight for me. :)

Here are the needed stuff for the Gingerbread House making:





All the stuff needed are provided by Mateo's. You just need with you your creative mind and sweet tooth to start off your own Gingerbread House.

And this is what the chef taught us:






Aquí tienes! The finish product!


After the chef taught us how to design our own Gingerbread houses, we started off. We were given 20 minutes to finish our houses. Everyone was in time pressure. Silence was all over the place because the competition was up. 

After the given time, here is what the different teams came up with:

GROUP 1 
aka The Winning Team!


GROUP 2


GROUP 3
(my team)


GROUP 4

Not a bad one though. Group 1 gets to take home their Gingerbread house. The problem now is, who among them gets to take it home? Haha! 

I know that made you wanna design your own Gingerbread house! Look below! :)

 While on a break, we were served with appetizers!

Sautéed mushrooms


I can't stop eating this one. Since I'm a fan of mushrooms, I have to attest with the freshness of this one. This is not like the usual canned mushrooms bought in the grocery store.

Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Quesadillas
Served with homemade Hummus Dip (L) and Greek Yoghurt (R)

P195


This appetizer also got me going! But I prefer my Quesadilla best with the Greek Yoghurt, I find it so yummy, until I saw a hair inside it. I was kinda disappointed and told the owner immediately. And yes, she was kind enough to say sorry.

Tortilla Española
Spanish Omelette with Potato, Onions and Paprika

P 150


This was a crowd favorite. I love how all the taste of the ingredients blend in my mouth to produce that perfect omelette taste. This is a must-try I tell you.

Next Workshop--Crochect Workshop with Teacher Rosey

Miss Rosey has been crafting for 15 years already. To see some of her works, you can click here.

We were gathered in the center to check out Miss Rosey's attractive ball of yarns. Since we don't have the ample time to learn how to crochet, she instead taught us how to make a DIY cord protector using different yarns.



Here are her sample crochet works of art!


All we had to do is grab our cord, tie 3-4 yarns of different colors on the other end, and twirl it around in the cord in an orderly manner till it reaches the end. Easy peasy! 


The aftermath!


I present to you my DIY cord for my External Hard Drive! Isn't it pretty? :)


Last Workshop for the Day--Spanish 1 Workshop with Señorita Kara Gabriel

Spain is one of my dream travel destination. So guess how happy I was when I found out that I'll be learning Spanish 1 today. :)) 

We were handed with handouts so we can start working on speaking spanish. 
Since we were all busy with our crash course in Spanish 101, I wasn't able to take much photographs- even Señorita Kara. :(

To introduce you to the Spanish 101 instructor, Señorita Kara is a graduate of European Languages at UP Diliman and is a scholar at Salamanca Spain.

Since we have our handouts, we were asked to start a dialogue to our seatmates. I feel a little bit pressured because I know I am not a fast learner in terms of learning a new language. AND EVERYONE WAS LISTENING TO THE CONVERSATIONS. (Please excuse the introvert in me.)

Anyway, I'm happy I survived it. Everyone was so supportive which made me happy after I heard myself speaking in Spanish.

But here goes the second challenge, we were asked to partner with someone and build a conversation with proper grammar. Like what I've said, I am not a fast learner when it comes to learning a new language that's why I'm a tad nervous. Lou though was a breeze to work with that's why I feel comfy in a few minutes. Funny because we made a skit of Princess Sarah and Señora Santibañez.

I can say that we felt the time pressure. It's because there is a dinner waiting for us. Who can't say to a spanish-inspired dinner? :)


Dinner is served!


Caesar's Salad Supreme
Romaine, Croutons, and Crispy Okoy served with Caesar's  Dressing

P 195


The okoy was a plus to the crunchy green veggie. 

Mateo's Spanish Paella
Classic Spanish Rice, Served with Fresh shrimps, Clams, Mussels, Squid,Chicken and Chorizo

P 495



Mateo's Special Kare Kare
Served with two cups of steamed rice
Good for 2-3 persons

P 450


It was served to us still boiling hot. The aroma of the kare-kare makes me want to finish it all. :)

Spaghetti Alla Vongole
Manila Clams sautéed in Garlic, Anchovies, Special sauce with Red Pepper Flakes

P 250


Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca
Sautéed tomatoes, Anchovies, Capers and Black Olives

P 210


Blueberry Cheesecake (L) 
P 145/slice

Classic Mateo's Ensaymada (R)
With Cream cheese filling or Queso de Bola on Top

P 52


The Blueberry Cheesecake was an absolute perfection! Every bite truly makes me want to cry. :') I've tasted other blueberry cheesecakes who tastes good only when frozen cold, but this one still tastes best even if it's a little exposed outside the fridge.

The Classic Mateo's Ensayamde is an exemption! There are ensaymadas here and there but this is now my favorite. I easily get tired of the taste of ensaymadas. I guess that's the reason why they used grated Quezo de Bola on top, to balance the sweetness of this piece of heaven. 

We also get to dig in to the mouth-watering cupcakes from the cupcake stand!


It was a fun and memorable time with these lovelies. I knew some of them from way back when and met some of them just this day. :)



All in all, I really enjoyed the fun-filled events that we had at Mateo's. Though I got a situation with my quesadillas, this doesn't stop me from going back and trying other excellent food options on their menu. From the owners to the waiters, everyone made me feel like I'm home. Like what Miss Dina had said, I'll be very willing to brave the heavy traffic in EDSA to go here and enjoy all the excellent spanish-inspired filipino dishes! :)

 I just wish that their menu is more visual so people who are first-timers will not get daunted with all the spanish terms.

Interested in all the workshops that we did? Check the posters below!

You can also  decorate your own Gingerbread House at Mateo's!


Dreaming of learning how to Crochet? Workshop at Mateo's will start on January! 


Fee includes two ball of yarns, hook, handouts, Mateo's Houseblend Iced Tea, Spanish Quesadilla and a choice of Puttanesca or Chicken Pesto Penne

Learn how to speak spanish over excellent spanish cuisine! Workshop also starts at January!


Fee includes Handouts, Tapas, Paella, and a glass of red wine or sangria.

Call 433-80-23 or email mateosph@gmail.com for quotations and the dates of the workshop. 
Also, you can follow Mateo's Restaurant Cafe on Facebook or Instagram to check out their latest promos! :)

Mateo's Restaurant Café is located at 76 Malakas St., Diliman, Quezon City

Adiós por ahora mi amigo!

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