WHERE: MATALINO ST. TIME TRAVELS TO THE 70s AT GROOVE BAR & KITCHEN

MATALINO ST. TIME TRAVELS TO THE 70s AT GROOVE BAR & KITCHEN

With the numerous food joints and drink hub along Maginhawa to Matalino Street in Quezon City, two women used their design skills and love for music to make their place particular! Groove Bar & Kitchen at Matalino street is a pawnshop turned hole in the wall bar that transports us to the decade of love, peace and trippy.

It was one of those random evening looking for a place to eat when the bright lights and catchy music between a milk tea shop and a cheap steakhouse caught our attention. What made us go down and finally consider the place? The interiors! 

It is not surprising as one of Groove's owner, Jennifer Bautista, is an architect. She even got the location from one of her client / friend who owns the lot in Matalino Street. Jen who has been into construction business designed the renovation of WCC in Shaw Blvd., where their first branch Salute! Bar & Kitchen is also located. It has the same food and bar set-up but leaning towards the modern industrial theme.

Her business partner Kristine Canlas on the other hand is a nurse by profession, but has ventured into food business prior to Groove. Kris is more of the music lover between the two and was even a band member and guitarist in the 90s. Now this is what a tandem of an architect and a former band member can do!

They have a wide variety of cocktail drinks and bottled wines!

Authentic vintage bottles

Kris and Jen have always wanted to put up this themed bar, being 70s babies themselves. The highschool batchmates love the era so much that though they were kids in the 80s, they still chose to relive the music of dekada sitenta. 

They initially want the bar to be completely of authentic vintage 70s including the speakers and phone but they had a hard time looking for resources. 

Their second floor is air-conditioned best for non smokers.

Checking the second floor felt like entering That 70s Show. Well forgive me for pretending to be Mila Kunis while I try to comprehend the ala- Kelso (Kutcher) humor of my companion. The interiors is very visual, with posters of the original Charlie's Angels, Thrilla In Manila, Sampaguita, Voltes V, and even the old Diet Pepsi bottle to name a few. 

I personally like the idea of having a buzzer to call the server downstairs as I HATE it so much when I have to deal with the dilemma of wanting to stay upstairs in a resto or bar, but have to reconsider coz that would mean taking double efforts to call a waiter. I love it even more when the place has a separate set of servers for their other floors though ;)

Consistent with their monochromatic orange vintage patterns even in the restrooms.

Among the 70s music the owners enjoy listening to are Michael Jackson, Beatles, Beegees, Diana Ross, Karen Carpenter, John Travolta, and OPM artists like Rico Puno and the APO Hiking Society. Some of the food in their menu are even '70-fied' like their juicy and fair serving of liempo (I lost the photo but it sure was good!) being named "Rico J. Liempo".

The place is pretty much welcome to all ages. They actually have a Monday regular customer consisting of a big family where the oldies stay downstairs while the younger ones occupy the second floor. Though it may have an impression of a neighborhood bar, with the Koreans even regularly drinking there mostly during lunch time, Groove Bar & Kitchen also boasts a wide list of food to enjoy. Ow, not to mention their large serving! I remembered ordering their southern fried chicken and my partner having the Rico J. Liempo the first time we checked the place - both are not enough for our one cup of rice (or matakaw lang kame? HAHA). 

The nachos below is worth coming back for! For just P200 we got to enjoy the rich toppings and free refill for the dip. Yes free cheese refill! Again, we were almost done with our drinks and we haven't finish the nachos yet. The second photo is their chicken bacon wraps and probably their best seller too as almost everyone who tried it, loved it!

Expectedly their playlist consists of 70s music with occasional modern music videos when they have majority of the younger crowd. They are also welcome for requests, but they prefer to stick to the concept most of the time. And as far as sticking to the 70s theme is concerned, was quite amused with their 45rpm vinyl single coaster. Quite tempted to take home some (Shhh! LOL).  

Truly, Jen and Kris just wished to be sincere with their bar. Having the 70s music and vibe was something they have always envisioned, despite the risk among the current trend in bar music. Drop by Groove Bar & Kitchen and have a good chill night with good service. Bring your friends there, wear something retro and take selfies with their 70s backdrop! 

WORKING HOURS:

10AM - 2AM

(Mondays to Saturdays)

PRICES:

Local beer: P225/ bucket ; 

Food: P60 - P400

Cocktails: P120 / glass ; P300 / pitcher

Imported beer: P150 - P200

CONTACT NUMBER:

2948243

ADDRESS:

34B Matalino Street, Barangay Central, Diliman Quezon City 

(near Shakeys, beside Snackaroo, across Starbucks)

MUSIC:

70s HITS

OCCASIONAL 90s TO MODERN MUSIC