MATEADA

I noticed that this community hub/restaurant had a couple of options with chorizo and chimichurri on the menu- a combination I can never resist- so I popped in for what I thought would be a quick dinner on a Friday night. I should mention that I'm celiac with an egg and dairy allergy so finding great dinning experiences can be tricky. These folks do the "a few things, but really well" menu and there were a couple of options for me. GF & V options are well marked. I went with the chorizo Argentina, which on paper was your classic, rice, beans, chorizo side salad. No high hopes but a solid go-to. Perhaps I'm just too used to being consistently underwhelmed in Vancouver but as I mentioned to the staff, this was one of the best meals I'd had out in a very long time. The portion was huge, everything was so fresh. I must have looked like a crazy person as every few bites I'd just mutter "wow, this is so good." You do not need to ask for additional hot sauce or anything as there is so much flavor coming through. Normally I find non-alcoholic drinks are meh as well but their Aromaticá was just as refreshing as you'd hope with the description. The first time I've ordered a few of a mocktail in fact. At somepoint the friendly door staff let me know, 'no rush at all but just a heads up we have a ticketed show this evening so where you're sitting will be a dance floor, fyi.' When I looked at the show online and saw that it was a 10 piece Mexican Reggae band in this tiny venue, I had to check it out. I'm so glad that I stayed to get the full Mateada experience. It was a packed house with a very eclectic mix of locals, visitors and just nice to be at really intimate show again. I'll definitely be back here to linger on their patio for lunch sometime. Sadly no photos to offer as I crushed all the food and was too busy soaking in the night✨️