Spanish Food Fix: Galli Village Cafe

I’ve always wanted to see the world. I’ve been to my fair share of countries but I’m not as well traveled as restaurant owner, Ms. Christine Arriola-Villonco. Christine adorns her restaurant’s walls with her travel photos (and other travel trinkets). And immediately, you see just where she got the inspiration of her new restaurant, Galli Village Café.

Galli Village Café is a quaint and relaxed Spanish restaurant along Maginhawa. Through it, Christine tries to give diners an authentic Spanish cuisine in an authentic European rustic café setting. Lucky for me, because I love Spanish food! I think it comes naturally us Filipinos.

Ms. Arriola's travel photos decorate the walls


And so do her souvenirs from other countries.



Indoor greens make the place so refreshing.

Me and my friends hangout at Galli.

Bett and I, and a couple more friends tried some of their best sellers – Paella Valenciana, Beef and Tuna Salpicao and Angus Beef Tapa. 

My absolute favorite. Beef Salpicao (P210)

Their trademark dish is their paella, but I just HAVE to start with their Beef Salpicao! Among all the dishes we tried, I absolutely loved this the most! It stood out because the meat was tender, succulent and had a deep, savory taste! 

The flagship dish. A classic Paella Valenciana (P295) for 2-3 pesons
(But was actually enough for the 4 of us!)

 

Squeeze the lemon for an added zing to your traditional paella!

Their crowning glory was their Paella Valenciana. The recipe comes from Ma’am Linda Aznar, who’s sort of their head chef. Linda served as a cook in some of the most well-known Spanish restaurants in the Metro - Alba’s, Illustrados and Dulcinea to name a few. Her resume is already a testament of the integrity of Galli's Paella. The Paella is freshly prepared for diners. It’ll take a while to cook, around 40 minutes actually, but they're proud to say that they take no shortcuts and spare no expense to give diners quality paella.

A healthy and unique dish, the Tuna Salpicao (P210) has a surprising lemon-y taste.

The Angus Beef Tapa (P190) is so tasty! It's quality beef!

The group with the cook of our meal, Ma'am Linda.

According to Linda, the menu their main branch in Makati offers more selection - like seafood and vegetable paellas and the option for wine. Makes me want to go visit the Makati branch too!

Spain is one of my fantasy destinations. And Galli is a nice glimpse of that experience. Come by, taste their wonderful food, and relax in this simple but elegant garden cafe.

Adios Amigo!

Galli Village Cafe is open from 11 am - 10 pm, Monday - Sunday.
It's located at #154 Maginhawa St., Sikatuna Village, Quezon City. But the main branch is at the YMCA of Makati Building in Sacred Heart Street, San Antonio Village, Makati City.

For catering and franchising information or if you simply want to congratulate the owner for the good food, you can contact Ms. Christine Arriola-Villongco at 09178001704 or email her at chitsarriola@yahoo.com.ph.

I realized that most of my pictures are inside the restaurant. For pics from the outside, and to see what she has to say about Galli, check out my girlfriend's blog too!
She takes way better pictures than I do.:)

For news on Galli, check out their Facebook page by clicking the pic below!