Dos Mestizos: Setting the dining mood

FOOD lovers in bustling Davao City have another reason to celebrate. An authentic Spanish restaurant from Boracay is the new welcome addition to the burgeoning culinary choices scattered like gems all over this progressive city.

This softly lit restaurant framed by tall windows open to a manicured lawn right by the shores of the Davao Gulf in Pearl Farm Marina. Strains of mellow tunes greet the diners and set the mood for dining and relaxation.

Dos Mestizos was first conceived in Boracay in 1997 by Juan Carlos Remedios with another Spanish mestizo, Jose Ramon Nieto -- thus the "Dos". The "Mestizos" came from their proud Filipino-Spanish blood and heritage.

In the early 90's, Juan Carlos, also known as Binggoy to friends felt fortunate enough to come back to the Philippines after 15 years abroad from the US, Europe and the Middle East working for different food service companies.

He is a beach person and understandably fell in love with Boracay. Davao is where he went to grade school and high school and has many friends that he grew up with, who have not been seen in 40 years. A childhood friend Tonyboy F. invited him to Davao and he felt good to be back.
As the owners and cooks are Spanish mestizos, they bring to the table classic Castillan dishes passed on to them by their grandparents.

Though they derive their cuisine from Spain, many of these dishes are from the northern region -- the Basque country where many Spanish-Filipinos come from, so they have dishes that are very familiar to the Filipino taste like the lengua estofada, bacalao vizcaina, and callos to name a few.

The four-week-old roasted piglet, the cochinillo, and their very fresh seafood dishes; dorado fish fillet in parsley sauce (salsa verde), sopa de Mariscos are a must have. Paella of course is a bestseller. Green salad is also very popular as they grow organic produce such as different types of lettuce, coriander, parsley etc. in their own organic farm located in Nabaoy near the airport of Caticlan.

For the first-time diners to Dos Mestizos, Binggoy highly recommends the tapas while having homemade sangria and to highlight the dinner with their famous seafood paella. For dessert, you can cap off the meal with bread pudding glazed in a light natilla sauce.

Dos Mestizos is located at Pearl Farm Marina in Lanang and open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.