Dos Mestizos in Davao.

Paella de Mariscos (left) and Paella Negra (right)

It began in the island of Boracay as a small hut serving Spanish dishes, four to five table set-up, frequented mostly by friends and acquaintances, slowly through word-of-mouth, Dos Mestizos grew and expanded and became one of the popular restaurants in the island.

More than a decade after, Tonyboy Floirendo convinced his former Ateneo de Davao high school classmate Binggoy Remedios (who co-owns the resto along with fellow mestizo Jose Ramon Nieto, hence the name Dos Mestizos) to open up another Dos Mestizos in the Floreindo property in Pearl Farm Marina along the Davao Beach Club Road in Lanang.

Señor Jose Carlos "binggoy" Remedios

According to señor Binggoy (Jose Carlos Remedios) Dos Mestizos is an authentic Spanish resto, serving dishes familiar to old Filipino-Spanish families these include tapas, paellas, sopas and enseladas.

And to break the notion that Spanish food is equivalent to snooty expensive dishes, señor Binggoy said that unlike French which are mostly gourmet cuisine, Spanish dishes are mostly meals whose ingredients are commonly found in the countryside or in the coastal areas prepared by farmers and fisherfolks.

Also the dishes of Dos Mestizos derives its roots from Basque, a region in Spain where most of the hardy Spanish  explorers and settlers came. Señor Binggoy cites Bacalao, a salted codfish equivalent to our danggit or bulad which many Castillan mariners use as staple food during long voyages to its colonies.

Salpicao de Vaca

Among the popular dishes include their renowned tapas, must try is their Chorizo hecho por Dos Mestizos (home-made Spanish sausages), Bacalao ala Vizcaina (dried salted codfish in tomato sauce), Callos con Garbanzos (stewed ox tripe with chick peas), Salpicao de Vaca (Beef tenderoloin cubes in garlic marinade), Gambas al Ajillo (shrimps sauteed in olive oil and garlic).

Bacalao ala Vizcaina

Callos con Garbanzos

The best chorizos in town- Chorizos hechos por Dos Mestizos

Special thanks to señor Santi Erquiaga, Dos Mestizos Davao manager. Dos Mestizos is located at Pearl Farm Marina, Kilometer 7, Lizada Road in Lanang.