MATILDE MANSION RESTAURANT AND PARQUE CASA

A great many changes have taken place in El Centro in recent months.  When the lockdowns turned Cuenca into a virtual ghost town,  I thought much of the center would be filled with vacant buildings when the covid scare ended; just the opposite happened.  The city is more vibrant than ever.  Many owners of businesses in the city have lowered rents either to avoid losing commercial renters or to fill their vacant stores and offices.  Much of South America and the United States are experiencing steep inflation spikes. At the moment, as reported by the government; Ecuador has been moving in the opposite direction.

My brother, Leo, who visited me in January of 2020 before the pandemic, would be surprised with the changes that have taken place since that short time ago.  Here is one of the main changes.  The heart of El Centro is Parque Calderon, and the square around it is a mecca of new restaurants and stores.  Today, I will focus on the yellow limestone building on the east side across the street from  Parque Calderon on Avenida Louis Cordero and Avenida Simon Bolivar.

The building in the photo above which has laid vacant for some years, has finally undergone renovation in a most fabulous way.  The whole two story building, now known as Parque Casa, which running along Avenida Cordero, shares the block with the Old Cathedral, and has become a food emporium.  

            Parque Casa by night.

The entire second floor is occupied by Matilde Mansion Restaurant, which is partitioned into three spacious, but intimate dining rooms.  There is also a fourth inner room with a large rectangular table that can seat twelve, either for a business group or private affairs. The restaurant also includes a splendid pub.

What makes Matilde Mansion worthy of attention is that it is the most elegant restaurant in the city.  When I arrived in Cuenca more than ten years ago, I never thought such elegance in an eatery would be found in Cuenca.  The interior design is breath-takingly beautiful, and reminds me of the Palace of Versailles outside of Paris.  Matilde is not as ornately lavish and at times as garish as Versailles, which was built at the time when the French royalty were living well beyond their means, and were unwittingly laying the groundwork for their own decadent downfall through the French Revolution.  However, Matilde is a lavish splendor to experience.

As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words," so let us begin our tour.

Matildes is entered through an interior courtyard on the first floor.  We make our way up the stairway.

The stairway alone is inviting and entices us to the anticipation of something grand.

The ceiling and chandeliers only enhance our expectations as we leave behind the stairway and make our way up to the Mansion.

There is no such thing as simply entering a dining area, as we arrive at the top of the stairs, but first we pass through the inner courtyard as the various dining areas radiate from the center.

There is a long table resplendent with flowers, candles, and lamps; which complement beautifully the ornate décor of the walls and ceiling, and the chandelier.

Each dining room is adorned with its own personalized very plush décor.

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The dining room above and its ceiling in the photo below has it own distinct character and appearance.

There is a interior salon that can be used for small private affairs and professional conferences over dinner.  The room is an eye opener of beauty, and is done in a wall paper style of elegance that is reminiscent of a style that was very much the style in some of the restaurants in the United States in the 1980's.

 

Friends and I were gathering for a surprise birthday party for our friend Maria Rosa, who is the mother of Mathias, Esteban, and Andres Rios.  Maria knew that her sons and I were taking her out for her birthday.  However, she did not know that some of her other friends would also be there, or that the restaurant we were taking her was Matildes Mansion.

Betty Jones, and a partial view of our dining room behind her.

Above is Mathias, Betty and Mike Jones.

Unlike the other dining rooms our ceiling was painted with sky, clouds, and cherubs; so reminiscent of various palaces in Europe, as well as some of the rooms in Versailles palace.

Mathias did the decorations for the dinner party, as he sent the balloons skyward..

Friends included Loren and Nancy Kuehne.

Birthday lady Maria Rosa with Karen and Sieg Braum.

Michael and Betty Jones are below.  The rose was Mathias, Esteban, and Andres' gift to their mother.  The flower is alive, and is suppose to remain fresh and living for approximately five years.  The perfect gift from her sons to a loving mother, whose name is Maria Rosa.

Below is Sherri Nadeau, who shares her birthday date with Mathias.

Here is a photo of me enjoying my gin and tonic.  I sure am glad I have a group of friends, who enjoy going out to eat, look forward to new dining experiences, and just having fun.  I am always ready for a party.

All the tables in each dining room are decorated in their own unique style and dinnerware.  Our table settings were of bone china imported from England.  It seems ironic that a dish called China was made in England, when almost everything else in the world is made in China.

Escargot was the favorite appetizer.  They were large and plump.

The best entrées appeared to be the seafood entrées.  Karen especially enjoyed her octopus, which since I was sitting at the opposite end from Karen, I don't have a picture to show you.

Fish above or surf and turf below served on beautiful china.

Below a photo of a grilled seafood platter.

Steak is tricky in Ecuador.  It has improved since I first arrived over ten years ago.  I failed to take a photo of my steak.  The steak was good.  It was not tough, but not the most tender and flavorful that now can be found in some of the restaurants in Cuenca. The steak, in a restaurant of this quality, should be among the outstanding offerings to match the lavish décor.  Appetizers can also be open to a redo.  I had the onion soup, and it was good, but not exceptional.  A traditional French Onion would actually be better if prepared properly.

As dinner plates were cleared away, we prepared for the birthday salute and the cake and ice cream.

After a round of Feliz Cumpleanos, Maria Rosa cut the cake, as each piece was passed around.  Below is a brief video.

What a better way to enjoy cake and ice cream or just simply to close out the night with a cappuccino.

Karen and Maria Rosa above and Maria Rosa with Jim Mola (me) below.

Below is Maria with two of her sons, Andres, and Esteban, with Sieg in the background.

A salute to the Birthday Lady on her special day.  May she have many more birthdays and happiness to look forward to in the future.

The twelve of us spent four hours having a really wonderful time.  By the last hour the many people in our dining room were gone, and we continued to enjoy the celebration.

Below, Betty could now move to the other side of the room opposite our party tables, and show off the painting on the wall.

As 11:00 p.m. enclosed upon us.  It was time to say goodbye.  Dapper Mike below was prepared for the almost inevitable in Cuenca--rain.

Adjacent to our dining room was the pub.  Beautiful in itself, and the crowd of young people still in the bar continued to keep the night young.

Matildes Mansion is a great place for a dinner party, or just to come and enjoy a drink or a pastry and a cup of cappuccino.  Ladies enjoy the afternoon Tea Room.  Surprisingly, its prices are in-line with other upscale restaurants in Cuenca.  Most main dishes are in the $12 to $20 range.  Alcoholic drinks are comparable in price to other upscale restaurants in Cuenca as well.  When we first visited, we thought menu prices would be the most expensive in Cuenca, but that to date has not been the case.  A lavish evening like this in a luxurious restaurant in major European or American cities like Chicago would cost us two to three times the price here in Cuenca.  We shall return!