Mario’s Kitchen brings Spanish food to the mall
July 13, 2001 | 12:00am
Mario’s Kitchen at Greenbelt is radically different from the Mario’s restaurants we all know. Its wooden furniture, its vividly-painted walls and its brightly-lit interiors are a pleasant change from the dark wood interiors and heavy fixtures in the Mario’s of old. However, the stone-paved front will remind older diners of the restaurant chain’s Baguio origins, while the country-inspired chandelier adds glamour to the place. This restaurant is definitely homey and comfy.
Nenuca Benitez, the woman behind Mario’s Kitchen and the Mario’s chain, says she originally wanted to open a coffee shop that would be a departure from the family’s chain of Spanish restaurants. When her son Mario Jr. broached the idea of a more masa approach to the concept of Spanish cooking for their space at the Greenbelt cinema level, she readily agreed.
Although today’s teens and yuppies might prefer the convenience of a burger joint to a fancy Spanish restaurant, Benitez believes that Spanish food will continue to be popular among Filipino diners.
"Spanish food will always be llamado," she insists. "Four hundred years of Spanish culture and Spanish food will always be a part of our lives. Our palate is still very Spanish."
Mario Benitez Jr., The Mario’s Group managing director, believes that as the fine dining business continues to decline with the poor economy, the casual dining market is definitely the right market now. While Mario’s Kitchen is definitely a few notches higher than the fast-food business, its menu offers affordable choices.
"The average check here is anywhere from P150 to P180," Benitez says. "You can even dine on a smaller budget if you choose judiciously from the menu. Some of our specials are priced below P140, and with a drink, that will only cost you P180."
The secret to bringing down costs at Mario’s Kitchen is the smaller space and kitchen staff they now employ. At the Greenbelt outlet, the area is just over 120 squares meters with a kitchen crew of eight.
"This is really a small operation compared to our other restaurants. We have lower bills, and we try to make up for it by getting volume. Considering the size of the place, we have a really hectic lunch time crowd," he adds.
The whole kitchen crew is Mario’s grown. Mrs. Benitez is happy to admit that all her cooks at Mario’s started out as dishwashers.
"We still have people who have been working with us for the past 31 years," she says. "We opened Mario’s in Quezon City in 1981, and some of our kitchen crew have been with us for more than 20 years."
She says more than 60 percent of Mario’s menu is served at Mario’s Kitchen. All these Spanish dishes date back to 1971 when Mario’s opened its first restaurant in Baguio City. The recipes are her family’s own, while a number of friends have contributed greatly to enlarging the menu with their own recipes.
For Mario’s Kitchen, she has introduced an innovation she adapted from a little restaurant in Cuba where she lived for a time as a child. She plates all the entrées with a choice of rice or patatas bravas and bananas or vegetables.
"Most of our dishes are served with rice," she explains. "We cannot afford to follow a gourmet presentation here. Many Filipino diners, when they come in, want to feel like they are at home. And Filipinos like to eat rice at home. When they go out for a meal, they want the restaurant to be like an extension of their home."
With her friend Mercedes Paras, Mrs. Benitez has also innovated on the cocido, serving it as a noodle soup.
"At home on Sundays, when we have cocido, we usually have it with fideos. But we use egg noodles instead, and we do it the Filipino way, with bananas and camote," she adds.
To complete the coffee shop ambience at Mario’s Kitchen, there is also an extensive selection of coffee, as well as a number of desserts popular at Mario’s.
Apart from its Greenbelt branch, another Mario’s Kitchen branch is located on Boni Ave. near the Mandaluyong City Hall. Future Mario’s Kitchens are due to open in malls around Metro Manila.
Nenuca Benitez, the woman behind Mario’s Kitchen and the Mario’s chain, says she originally wanted to open a coffee shop that would be a departure from the family’s chain of Spanish restaurants. When her son Mario Jr. broached the idea of a more masa approach to the concept of Spanish cooking for their space at the Greenbelt cinema level, she readily agreed.
Although today’s teens and yuppies might prefer the convenience of a burger joint to a fancy Spanish restaurant, Benitez believes that Spanish food will continue to be popular among Filipino diners.
"Spanish food will always be llamado," she insists. "Four hundred years of Spanish culture and Spanish food will always be a part of our lives. Our palate is still very Spanish."
Mario Benitez Jr., The Mario’s Group managing director, believes that as the fine dining business continues to decline with the poor economy, the casual dining market is definitely the right market now. While Mario’s Kitchen is definitely a few notches higher than the fast-food business, its menu offers affordable choices.
"The average check here is anywhere from P150 to P180," Benitez says. "You can even dine on a smaller budget if you choose judiciously from the menu. Some of our specials are priced below P140, and with a drink, that will only cost you P180."
The secret to bringing down costs at Mario’s Kitchen is the smaller space and kitchen staff they now employ. At the Greenbelt outlet, the area is just over 120 squares meters with a kitchen crew of eight.
"This is really a small operation compared to our other restaurants. We have lower bills, and we try to make up for it by getting volume. Considering the size of the place, we have a really hectic lunch time crowd," he adds.
The whole kitchen crew is Mario’s grown. Mrs. Benitez is happy to admit that all her cooks at Mario’s started out as dishwashers.
"We still have people who have been working with us for the past 31 years," she says. "We opened Mario’s in Quezon City in 1981, and some of our kitchen crew have been with us for more than 20 years."
She says more than 60 percent of Mario’s menu is served at Mario’s Kitchen. All these Spanish dishes date back to 1971 when Mario’s opened its first restaurant in Baguio City. The recipes are her family’s own, while a number of friends have contributed greatly to enlarging the menu with their own recipes.
For Mario’s Kitchen, she has introduced an innovation she adapted from a little restaurant in Cuba where she lived for a time as a child. She plates all the entrées with a choice of rice or patatas bravas and bananas or vegetables.
"Most of our dishes are served with rice," she explains. "We cannot afford to follow a gourmet presentation here. Many Filipino diners, when they come in, want to feel like they are at home. And Filipinos like to eat rice at home. When they go out for a meal, they want the restaurant to be like an extension of their home."
With her friend Mercedes Paras, Mrs. Benitez has also innovated on the cocido, serving it as a noodle soup.
"At home on Sundays, when we have cocido, we usually have it with fideos. But we use egg noodles instead, and we do it the Filipino way, with bananas and camote," she adds.
To complete the coffee shop ambience at Mario’s Kitchen, there is also an extensive selection of coffee, as well as a number of desserts popular at Mario’s.
Apart from its Greenbelt branch, another Mario’s Kitchen branch is located on Boni Ave. near the Mandaluyong City Hall. Future Mario’s Kitchens are due to open in malls around Metro Manila.
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