Macapagal. Marcos. Zobel. Ayala. Kuok. Iconic names indeed.
And what do they all have in common - their families have all dined at Boracay’s iconic Dos Mestizos restaurant.
Last October saw one of Boracay’s best loved restaurants celebrate a whopping 25 years of existence on our Island. The exact date in October, owner Jose Carlos Remedios (fondly known as Binggoy) is not exactly sure. He does remember the month and year, but only because, at the time, one of his best friends' wife was expecting twins… So he decided that Halloween would be as good a time as any to celebrate the restaurant's anniversary every year.
Binggoy recalled when he was first constructing the restaurant that he had to pause because Ingoy Zobel asked him to cater for his 50th birthday party. However, the first Dos Mestizos opened on schedule and quickly became an Island favorite.
At a young age, Binggoy had already traveled widely from Manila to Hawaii, Dubai, San Francisco, both for partying and work (mainly to party he recalls). One day when still only 19 years of age, he woke up in Hong Kong and realized he was broke - just a few hundred Hong Kong dollars got him back to Hawaii to work for Philippine Airlines catering division. A later stint in Cebu saw him help run the RT99.5 radio station with his cousin Emilio Tuazon. A lot of this is ancient history, but he recalls those days fondly and recognises now that they made him and Dos Mestizos what they are today - a Boracay success story.
Whilst training with PAL, he studied under famed chef and deli owner (Santis Deli) Werner Berger, and his love for good food and quality drove him onto success. Coming from a mestizo family (Spanish, Portuguese and Filipino) of what he calls “cooks”, Binggoy recalled that there were no recipe books available to him then, so he simply made dishes from old memories; the “old taste” was what he was looking for. And he found it…
Back 25 years ago, Dos Mestizos was little more than a nippa restaurant, it wasn’t even on the famous beach but tucked away along what was then a dirt road. But such was its reputation, that it was known as “the place” for excellent food.
The recent pandemic forced many changes to both the hospitality industry and Boracay’s restaurants. Many had to close and unfortunately failed. But Dos Mestizos transferred to new premises up at Station 1 along the main road. A new restaurant in a new location, but one that still retained its rustic charm, and of course, Binggoys famous family recipes.
They took their reputation and quality with them, and the “new” Dos Mestizos remains as a true Boracay Icon.
If you haven’t already - give it a try…
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