RISTRA'S MEXICAN GRILL (San Juan)

RISTRA'S MEXICAN GRILL (San Juan)

There were many  choices to choose from until we finally decided on the STEAK BURRITO (Php 340)

This included rice, meat, beans, chili, salsa, sour cream, cheese and greens. The beef was naturally marinated for hours in garlic, ancho and citrus marinade, then grilled.

We opted to "WET MY BURRITO" (addtional Php 90)

They poured over a special sauce on top and blow-torched it.

The STEAK BURRITO was HUGE so you better share it with someone unless you're training for the MAN VS GODZILLA BURRITO contest.

The contest mechanic is for you to finish their Godzilla Burrito, weighing 2.5kg, in just 90 minutes or less. 

Winners get bragging rights T-shirt and their Godzilla Burrito for free. LOSERS pay up Php 1,000.

They should give out trophies for this - seriously! this is just crazy! :p

The DRINKS SELECTION was good.

They offer margaritas - with or without alcohol as well as imported beers (mostly mexican beers)

Our meal wouldn't be complete without NACHOS so we ordered the BALL PARK NACHOS (Php 255)

It was the same as the NINE LAYER DIP, but with cheese sauce.

It contained nachos (of course), beans, cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, olives, guacamole, pico de gallo, corn salsa and cheese sauce.

I truly wished I asked the staff to put all the ingredients on the side because the nachos got soggy after, BUT, they were still yummy.

FOOD was really good in Ristra's.

Service was terrible... very terrible.

Ambiance was nice; however, they need to start cleaning the place SOON or else DROPPINGS will definitely accumulate in time.

I wasn't sure if these were rat droppings, or lizard droppings but they're definitely droppings!!! 

I know, they're so gross! Fortunately, we were already done eating when we noticed this.

Even if the food was good, we will NOT be coming back here because we don't know if the foods are clean or not :)

I hope they improve.

Ristra's Mexican Grill 

(across Serenitea)

J. Abad Santos corner Lopez Jaena St. 

Little Baguio, San Juan

(From Wilson St., turn right at Alex III. Go straight until you see Ristra's on your right.)

MESA (modern Filipino Restaurant in Tomas Morato)

 
MESA (modern Filipino Restaurant in Tomas Morato)

It was my aunt's birthday and we decided to try out MESA in Tomas Morato this time.

For starters, we had POMELO SALAD with LATIK (Php 250)

This was interesting - pomelo chunks tossed with toasted grated coconut and house dressing.

and then we had "A LITTLE BIT OF..." (Php 380)

If you like fried appetizers, then this one's for you :) 

It's A LITTLE BIT OF crispy tawilis, crispy shrimp, calamares and adobo flakes.

Most of us ordered Bottomless Lemonade and Iced Tea (Php 65)

FYI: Drinks are refillable up to 10pm only.

Our Main Dishes were:

SINIGANG na BABOY 

in GUAVA and PINEAPPLE (Php 270)

I don't like sinigang na baboy in general so I didn't try this one but they said it was okay.

CRISPY FRIED TILAPIA (Php 290)

The meat was tender and crispy! Yummy with the 4 different sauces on the side.

LAING 2 WAYS (Php 150)

Taro leaves, pork, shrimp paste and coconut cream, topped with adobo flakes, served original and crispy

I wasn't able to distinguish which one's better :)

LAING FRIED RICE (Php 145)

Stir fried rice with gabi leaves and coconut cream 

(served dry)

This went well with all our dishes. Yum!

SISIG RICE (Php 170)

Stir fried rice tossed with pork sisig and topped with fried egg

This was also good but I liked the laing rice and bagoong rice more :)

BABY SQUID in OLIVE OIL (Php 270)

This was super good!!! A MUST TRY -- definitely!!!

APAHAP (Seabass) 

Steamed in Dayap and Chili (Php 80 / 100grams)

This was okay. It would be better if it was juicier like the one we had in AZUTHAI :)

CRAB with SALTED EGG SAUCE (Php 650 / piece)

SUPER SULIT!!!

The crab was huge, meaty and tasty!!!

We'll order this again next time!

All in all, we had a fab time. The service was GREAT, especially the crew themselves!!!

Thanks again to the staffs of MESA Restaurant for a wonderful evening :)

MESA

264 Tomas Morato cor. Sct. Fernandez

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Telephone Number: (02) 441-5197