Mateo Bar de Tapas

Reviews 5

LO

lori james

I just needed to get that out first, in case it gets buried in every other thing I say about this place. I came here on a Friday afternoon for a work lunch -- bosss choice. As a fellow Yelper said, this place gives off the cool, classic vintage feel as soon as you walk in. Its like a nice little boutique restaurant and bar. We got sat right by the window as soon as we get in. We actually saw Jay Leno taking a stroll outside the restaurant while we ate -- he was performing at DPAC that night. But that was only the second best part of the experience. Now, onto the food... I never thought any place could make a ham and cheese sound so good... excuse me, Jamon y Queso, which was Spanish ham (Serrano) and goat cheese. I took one look at the menu, and immediately thought, "Alright, Ive gotta get this." But at the same time, my boss is firing all these suggestions for different tapas on the menu -- "We definitely gotta get a few orders of Croquetas and the Patatas Bravas, and the Spanish ham on its own. And then lets get an order of short ribs... and who here is going to have a deviled egg?" Clearly, he frequents this place and knows whats up, so I just went with all that. Ive never ordered this many appetizers in my life, and am usually not a big appetizers/hors doeuvres kind of guy, so it was going to be interesting. All the food comes out relatively quickly, and the six of us just have at it. The Croquetas were the first to go, and for good reason -- it was essentially a hush puppy with BBQ pork STUFFED INSIDE OF IT. Yall, think about that for a second. And then drizzle white sauce and a dash of hot sauce all over it. Yep. Take that all in. The Patatas Bravas were really good too, just fried potato wedges with a slightly spicy tomato sauce, but they hit the spot. The Serrano was really good served over a slice of toasted bread with goat cheese, tomato and jelly. It was like a thick bruschetta. The short ribs, or Costillas de Puerco, had a really good flavor to them as well. I cant stop giving praise to everything we had, it was all great and unlike anything Ive ever eaten before! We ended up getting a second round of tapas -- more Patatas Bravas, more Serrano... and we wanted more Croquetas, but they were all out. Understandable. We ended up getting Calamares Fritos (calamari) and Gambas (shrimp) as replacements, which were great as well. I think we ordered every tapa on the menu when it was all said and done, other than the clams. I really cannot stress how good this place is. I can see the common complaints on price, and I guess I cant really relate since I didnt have to pay for it this time, but strictly speaking on the food, its worth it. Id say at least experience it once -- Im really glad that I did. Now, to figure out when I can go back...

---

ER

Eric Williams

We had dinner there on Christmas eve. While some dishes were exceptional, others were only OK. The star of the dinner was the salad. The other outstanding dish was fresh cheese with pepper jelly. Neither of these is what I think of or crave when going for tapas. The biggest disappointment was the patatas bravas. We traveled to Barcelona a few years ago, and one of our favorite dishes there was patatas bravas. I think we had it for every meal, so Im pretty familiar with how it is supposed to be. The issue I have with Mateos version is that they are using the wrong kind of potato. It should be a waxier potato rather than a baking potato, which didnt crisp enough and was too dry and flaky inside. Picky? Yes, but at these prices for Durham, I expect it do be done right. The albondigas was OK, but really nothing special -- Id order something else if I return. The chorizo was good, but hardly anything special. We also got some chicken croquettes and another crispy chicken dish, and these are also only OK. All in all, the food was fine, but it really didnt live up to the hype or to the price. On the positive side, the service was excellent, and the ambiance is nice. We ate at Taberna Tapas a couple of years ago, and, honestly, the food is as good, less expensive, and easier to get a table.

---

ST

Steven Young

Please please come here. The food is to die for. I had two items off their dinner specials. The scallo ps and the ribeye. The scallops ran out just after I ordered it!! The sauce that accompanies the sauce is so good the single slice of bread makes you yearn for more. The citrus lime and garlic truly balance out the scallops... I wish I could eat this every night. Kudos to the chef!!! The ribeye was secretly delicious. It had a chili glaze, cooked to a perfect medium rare, and the collars greens were well cooked. Im not usually a collars greens person but this was superb! And of course at a tapas place you must order charcuterie. The Spanish hams were finger licking good. But the local Johnston ham was also surprisingly yummy! They made a very smoky old fashioned that was not too sweet. They use a sweet sherry in place of muddled sugar. Its very unique and a nice dessert to end the evening 12/10 stars would come back again from BOSTON.

---

MI

Michelle Hall

I went for my 2nd time last night to Mateos and it was delicious yet again! I love that they change up the menu frequently. I love that I can try different foods that I havent tried before. All of the food was outstanding and had amazing flavor. I was really thankful the staff was so kind when I came in. I broke my toe and they were very accommodating. They all offered plenty of help which was appreciated. The only downside is if you dont make a reservation you might have to wait for a table which can take some time, so I suggest going earlier than you need to get there in order to get a table at the time that you need. I was lucky there was no line, but shortly after I got there a wait started. this is not uncommon. Additionally, if you dont like high tables MAKE A RESERVATION. All they have available are high top tables for when do you not have a reservation.

---

AL

Alyson Newby

First time going here for an anniversary and we were not disappointed. The food was excellent, interesting, and ordering 5 dishes between the two of us was plenty (also not nearly as expensive as Id thought). The rabbit liver pate, smoked trout caviar dish, and pasta with saffron, rabbit and chorizo were my favorite dishes of what we ordered. Our server also recommended a lovely bottle of red that worked with with everything we picked. The only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is the service was a bit iffy at times. They brought all of our plates out almost at once and then ignored us for 30 minutes between clearing the plates and taking our dessert order. Its a busy place so Im thinking they just move fast, but its odd to bring out every single plate at once. That being said, with such wonderful and interesting food, Ill be back often.

---

---