Mateo Bar de Tapas

The atmosphere is amazing and the food is even better

Pre-theatre meal was terrific!

We got there late, so options from the kitchen were limited. However, food was excellent, wine choices are pretty good and service was wonderful. We had a great experience that we hope to have again

The food was very good.. Burger may have been best piece of meat.. certainly the best burger.. I've eaten in some time including a very much overpriced steak at Flemings (Another story for another review). My wife had the Jambone and manchego cheese that was very tasty. The soup of the day was a squash bisque which was also very good. Foodwise.. we were there for lunch.. limited menu but all of our selections were much above average to very good. Our complaint.. when one of the burgers came out cooked incorrectly and was sent back.. it took literally 25 minutes with constant prompting to get the replacement.. meanwhile everyone else at the table finished their meals. Not sure why.. but this turned a 5 star food establishment into a 3.5-4 overall for the four of us.

We really enjoyed our meal. That said, I get irritated when there appear to be open tables & I am seated near a bathroom, or in this case, server station. I made my reservations weeks in advance on Open Table & was disappointed to be seated where we were.

Service and food were great! Upstairs was a bit noisier than the last time we went.

Having been to Mateo more then a few times in the past, I can say that nothing has changed. The food was excellent as were the drinks. As was the case in prior visits, it was the daily specials that really stood out, then again everything on the menu [and the 5 of us had most of it] was great.
Service was excellent and timely
About my only complaint and it's a small one, is that it does get quite noisy

Excellent selection of tapas, both in terms of quality and variety. Definitely plan to go again.

The rabbit dish had very few pieces of rabbit in it. The beet salad was missing the almonds and black olives. We ordered a second bottle of wine and it took 20 minutes before we got it and that was after we called our server to the table. They apologized and said that at that point in the evening (a Sunday night at 6pm), it usually takes about 30 minutes before we could get a bottle of wine. That’s a ridiculous reason for forgetting our wine order.

Wonderful!!

Loved everything but the beets need a recipe redo. And I know Spanish desserts are heavily dairy but would have liked a non-dairy option.

Wonderful as always

Went with my study abroad friend from Barcelona and we loved it!

The food is outstanding - I have eaten here numerous times and recommend it to others frequently. My last visit didn’t disappoint- delicious as always.

The service was the worst I’ve had at Mateo. We sat at the bar and had front row seats to one of the bartenders sharing her life struggles with a patron in great detail and ignored us with ease. The other bartender was busy helping everyone else. Hoping this was an anomaly and not the new norm with service.

Still my favorite restaurant.

Brussel sprouts and croquettes were awesome. Shrimp was forgettable. Nanner pudding was delish.

Excellent. Can’t wait for our next visit. Thanks for a great evening!

Very little authentic about the cuisine. So-called Gamba’s were small NC shrimp in garlic butter. Lion’s Mane mushrooms with truffle-something had not the slightest hint of truffle. Exaggerated prices for ho-hum tapas.

It was a special friend’s birthday and he had never been here so we wanted to treat him. Food was wonderful, service was not. Seemed understaffed. Usually nicer restaurants would do something small for someone’s birthday but our waitress didn’t even wish my friend after we told her. Overall, I was disappointed.

Went with some friends before a concert at Carolina Theater. Everything on the menu is great, you can't go wrong.

Nice ambiance but we were placed in the back next to the kitchen and the cash register which made it less than desirable. Most of the food was delicious.

For a quiet town to be able to get a reservation at 11PM after a game and have that quality of an experience was a surprise. Next time I’m in town I’ll be back for the bar or dinner.

I thought that the service and atmosphere were top notch. I also thought that the food was very fairly priced. There were a few dishes I liked but overall I did not care for the food. I do not really like restaurants with 100 dishes on the menu. Some of my food was very good. I think its hard to prepare 100 good dishes. The fried chicken and scallops were good, but there were some dishes I could not eat. This is my third time trying Tapas(different then mateo) and I have never been impressed. I just may not like Spanish food

Loved this place, as always. Get the Mata if you like cheese, so good. Also the fried rice, costillas (ribs), and the special lobster they had were all amazing.

Food was great; fun vibe. The food came out a little quickly for my taste, but otherwise service was terrific.

Not really authentic Spanish food. Tapas portions are supposed to be small but these are rediculously small. Croquetas lack bechamel sauce. Ensalada rusa is not ensalada rusa at all. Very disappointed.

Wonderful food & service was excellent. We had to wait a few minutes even with a reservation but the place was jammed packed and without a reservation it was a 2 hour wait. Highly recommend the lower seating, the high top tables don’t have chair with backs on them, hard for more mature clientele. Our sever was knowledgeable on the menu, specials on the chalkboard were all outstanding and the charcuterie was exceptional. We will definitely go back again even with a long drive for us.

everything about this place is just right. would recommend.

Very nice location to have a Valentines Day Dinner. Menu was great and service was good.

Went for Valentine’s Day and we were extremely disappointed. The food was not great, we were seated an hour after our reservation time and the service was below what I would expect based on previous reviews. Would never go back.

Excellent food, portions were fairly generous, and enjoyed our evening

Not on Valentine’s Day. Preselected menu for food and wine was way under par. Been to mateos other times and enjoyed it. Our fault , I am too old to know not go to restaurants on Valentine’s Day. My wife agrees.

Went for early Valentine's Day dinner. There was a prix fixe menu but ample selections. We had 4 tapas each and every one was amazing. We especially loved the scallops with cauliflower puree. Service was very professional and our meal was paced perfectly. Would try again on a regular night with a more expansive menu.

We went for early Valentine’s Dinner, and the food was so bad. I hadn’t been in a couple years, but I remembered throughly enjoying it before. I was very disappointed, especially because I was so excited to show my husband this place since he had never been.

Mateo was the perfect spot for a date night! Our server gave us some great choices and didn’t disappoint! I’d recommend this to anyone!

Food, service and atmosphere were top notch. I will definitely visit again.

Mateo never disappoints! The food, service & beverages are always on fire!!! The specials are unique and so mouth watering enticing.

We love Mateo! Thanks to Emily for being a great server! Favorite dish is the dates, yum. Gin drinks with homemade tonics rock.

Oh Mateo... we love you but part of the dining experience is the service. We had rushed, unhelpful service tonight and it ruined the dining experience. When I asked her to explain the peashoot dish she acted appalled that I didn’t know exactly what a peashoot was. Usually the servers give very descriptive descriptions of dishes. She couldn’t tell us anything about the dishes other that what was on the menu. She was just ready to take our order but didn’t want to help us or give us suggestions like we asked her to do. This is just different to what we know and love about dining at Mateo. Overall it just made things feel off. Food was outstanding as always!

This place never disappoints. We had a reservation and were seated right away. They normally have a few fun and/or local beers on tap (this time from brewery bhavana). They have a better-than-you-would-expect list of whiskies as well considering this is a Spanish tapas place. The food is always outstanding. I can be picky but I eat things here I’d never consider eating elsewhere because everything I’ve tried here has been awesome. That includes Brussels sprouts and stuff with anchovy on it. Seriously...the thought of those things makes me recoil but here they are amazing. Make plans a week early so you can get a reservation and come here!!

Really appreciate the server's knowledge of the wines and menu, including all ingredients for food allergies! Great date night! Must have brussel sprouts.