Trying out Some Spanish favorites at Don Merto's

There was one day that I was craving for some Spanish dishes.  In Cebu, I would usually go to Ipar's or ask a friend from Casino Espanyol to treat me. It so happened I was in the Escario area that I decided to have lunch at Don Merto's.  It has been a while that I wanted to try out this place. In other days, I would have wanted to eat their eat all you can meat offerings.  I was quite happy to see some very delectable and familiar names in the menu. So I ordered 3 dishes.  The prices were affordable and it was one of those days that my appetite was high.  Here are the dishes that I ordered:

At Don Merto's they have this part of their menu that they labeled Lola's Favorite.  These are the favourite dishes of Dona Mena Fortich Escano prepared by her very loyal cook Maxi.  I decided to try 3 of the favourites.


I ordered lengua, callos, and butifarras.  I had mashed potatoes to compliment the richness of these yummy Spanish offerings.
At 198 pesos, the serving of Callos was well worth it.  Callos is a dish made of braised ox tripe and pork back stewed in a rich tomato-based sauce.  The dish would have chickpeas and bell peppers. It has always been one of my favourites. I really love ox tripe wether in Kare-Kare, paklay, and most especially Callos.  I enjoy eating a lot of those weird looking innards because I really enjoy the variety of texture, taste, and even aroma.




Another wonderful Spanish dish is the Lengua which literally means tongue. It is a slowly braised ox tongue cooked with mushrooms, red peppers, and olives in a brown sauce. The tongue is very meaty and if you do not know what part of the cow it is, most likely it will be one of your favourite cuts of meat.  Many people would not dare to eat it because they cannot imagine themselves eating tongue. The lengua was cooked like a "bistek" but more flavourful and with more luxurious ingredients.

The Butifarras is a fried black pepper sausage dish. It does not taste like the normal chorizo Cebuano but it is also good being dipped in vinegar.
I ate with my Aunt so she decided to order their Roasted Norwegian Salmon served on top of bok choy leaves.  She was also very happy with what she ordered.

All in all, I had a pleasant experience having lunch at Don Merto's.  The dishes were spot on and I was able to finish all that I ordered. I would probably still order the Lengua or Callos the next time I visit but I am also curios how their steaks would taste like.  I have been looking for a good steak place in Cebu and I am strongly considering this place.

Ratings:

Food: KKKK
Ambiance: KKK
Price: KKKKK
Service: KKKK

Overall: 4 Kalami Ratings :)

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