Cool Mexican @ Ristras in San Juan

I’ve been watching out for what they were opening in that space for a couple of months since I used to hang out in place really near their space with my friends. Ristras actually looks very odd in its location considering that it is in a bar area in san juan. I know it’s been a while since I’ve written but I’ve just been so so busy! :p

So on a very hungry night (thank God!) Mig and I decided to go there to see if it was any good. As of now, the only mexican place I could think of is Mexicali…and it’s pretty much the only place i could think of in manila that doesn’t serve it’s tacos tasting like sugar and ketchup.

I was very happy to see that the interiors looked really upbeat and modern and I looked at the people and I think I recognized someone from our neighbor in Eastwood mall namely, Cyma.

And so we ordered, the menu is nice and short. Sometimes, the more choices you have, the harder it is to order…They had straight out mexican — Fajitas, Burritos, Quesadillas (I fondly remember my trip to California, where I entered this Mexican restaurant on my own and copied the customer in front of me and said, “kezadiya”…and it worked), Tacos and a Salad. The ordering station is also their open “bar” where you can see them assembling your burrito right in front of you (a nice touch…especially when you’re hungry!). So mig and I ordered a Burrito and A Salad.

At 290, the Salad was a good portion of the lettuce, cilantro, beans, salsa, meat (carne asada or carnitas), jalapeños, olives and monterey jack cheese…my only wish was that they put 2 or 3 pieces of broken up nachos just for some more crunch. But anyway, the salad was beautiful burst of flavors in your mouth, and at the same time, was very filling!

The burrito (P290) was this gargantuan mountain of toppings eagerly rolled into a custom made burrito wrapper (because the wrapper is SO BIG!)…which reminded me of U.S.portions! The burrito included beans, salsa, your choice of meat, your choice of rice, sour cream, cilantro, and lettuce. This thing was so big, I think it could’ve been just as fat as my chihuahua (named Burrito). Well I took a picture of a soda can near it so you can see. The burrito had a burst of wonderful flavors, although I found the rice a little under salted…which made some bites pretty bland.

Another nice touch in this resto was that IMPORTED BEERS were available and proudly displayed in the fridge! Well, I’m sure a good San Mig Cerveza Negra could also keep up with the flavors in the dishes. And yes, the ultimate Californian beer — Corona is available too. In fact, Ristras recycles the Corona bottles and uses them as condiment bottles in the restaurant.

Glad to have this place nearby. 🙂