La Latina in Greenbelt

My family and I had dinner at La Latina after my nephew's performance at the Kaliwa't Kanang Kalabitan concert. This restaurant in Greenbelt offers many dishes from the different countries in Latin America. We didn't initially plan to eat here but it turned out to be such a wonderful new discovery and a perfect choice for us.

La Latina in Greenbelt 5

I say that we didn't initially plan to eat here because our idea was to have dinner somewhere in Ortigas. My nephew's girlfriend watched the concert with us and we thought of having dinner in Ortigas since she lives in that area. When we left St. Scho, I used waze to help us figure out the best route and I saw that we would take Ayala Avenue. By this time, everyone was hungry and the traffic was still bad, so I suggested that since we were already along Ayala, we could just have dinner at Greenbelt and my family agreed.

Even in Greenbelt, La Latina wasn't our first choice. I thought of having dinner at Tartufo because my friends said that this is a really good Italian restaurant, but when we got there, they didn't have a table that could fit us. La Latina and Sentro were next to Tartufo and both of them still had available tables so I asked my family where they wanted to eat. My brother said that we always have Filipino food so our decision was made. La Latina it was!

We ordered a variety of dishes from all over Latin America. And yes, I say Latin America and not South America because their menu included many dishes from Mexico which is geographically in North America. That said, the menu actually also includes some Spanish dishes such as paella and croquetas. I ordered the Croquetas De Marisco - seafood croquetas made with shrimp, octopus, clams and mussels - for our appetizer.

Croquetas De Marisco

Many of us tried Mexican food. We shared Camarones al Ajillo, or garlic prawns cooked with salsa macha, a traditional Mexican sauce made with chiles.

Camarones al Ajillo

My nephew's girlfriend ordered the Quesabirria, which are slow-cooked beef short ribs with melted cheese. My mom had the Tacos Gobernador, which had sauteed shrimp, veggies, and melted cheese and was served with salsa macha. I absolutely love the presentation of the tacos, which were served in a shrimp-shaped holder. It was super cool! 

Tacos Gobernador

I also had the Mole Poblano Beef Cheek. The only other time I've had mole was when I went to Mexico back in 2004 so I thought it would be great to have it again. This dish involved cooking the beef in one of the quintessential sauces from Mexico and it is served with corn tortillas and rice on the side. It was delicious and the beef was very tender!

Mole Poblano Beef Cheek

We also ordered a couple of items from Argentina. I got Empanadas Argentinas for us to share. Argentina is known for their beef empanadas - I was lucky to try it when my mom and I visited Argentina in 2018 - so I thought the rest of my family might want to try it too.

Empanadas Argentinas

My nephew ordered Milanesa, which takes it roots from the Italian Milanese dish and has become a staple in many countries in South America, including Argentina (I actually also had Milanesa during my Argentina trip). It's a beef dish that is thinly pounded, breaded, and fried then served with a sous vide egg and creamy truffle bechamel. Their Milanesa was quite huge so my nephew shared some of it with the rest of us.

Milanesa

We also enjoyed a couple of dishes from Peru. My brother ordered the Tuna Ceviche, which is served with cilantro and coconut milk, and I ordered another one for everyone to enjoy. Ceviche is like the national dish of Peru and my mom and I got to enjoy it when were there. The version in La Latin was really good!

Tuna Ceviche

Finally, my other nephew ordered the Tiradito de Salmón, which is raw salmon with jalapeño and aji amarillo emulsion. It is apparently a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese culinary techniques.

Tiradito de Salmón

Aside from the great food, I also love the design of the restaurant. It has very festive decor that livens up the atmosphere. Even the restroom is very aesthetic and clean. I love how there are cacti and plants next to the sink.

La Latina restroom

I have to say, it was a such a treat discovering La Latina. It's on the expensive side but everything we had was great. The fact that we got to try dishes from different countries with different flavor profiles made our dining experience even more enjoyable, as if we ourselves were traveling across Latin America through the food. I also love their presentation. I mentioned the very cool shrimp taco holder but our complimentary nachos were also served in a brightly colored pepper-shaped bowl. Cool!

Complimentary nachos

Our plates were also really eye-catching, with everyone getting a plate with a different animal on it. I got a bull...

...while my nephew got a tiger. (I wonder where I can get plates like these. I want some for myself!)

Our dinner at La Latina was the perfect way to celebrate my nephew's successful guitar performance. I really do highly recommend La Latina and I hope I can eat here again soon.

La Latina
https://www.facebook.com/p/La-Latina-Manila-100084879604244/
https://www.instagram.com/lalatina.ph/
Address: G/F, 5 Greenbelt Dr, Makati City, Metro Manila
Phone: 0966 958 7020