Location: 109 West Chapel Hill Street, Durham, NC 27701 Capacity: On request from the venue Type: Restaurant, Private Dining Website: mateotapas.com
Mateo occupies the old Book Exchange building on West Chapel Hill Street, in the heart of downtown Durham, a Spanish tapas restaurant with a southern inflection that has run from this corner since 2012.
The restaurant takes private events, offering its private dining room for a wedding-related dinner, a rehearsal dinner, or another private celebration.
The Private Dining Room
The private dining room is Mateo's offer for a couple who wants the restaurant's kitchen and character without opening the whole dining room to the public. The room carries the restaurant's own materials, lighting and bar, and a couple booking it should expect an evening that feels like an extension of the restaurant.
The Food
The menu blends the flavors of Spain with ingredients and dishes of the South, served as a run of small plates over the course of the evening. A Spanish wine list runs alongside it.
What We Design Here
A restaurant this compact and this food-forward calls for florals that stay out of the plates' way. We work low and dense here: small clusters in weighted vessels that hold steady on a table where dishes arrive and circulate all night, so every face across the table stays in view. The palette we reach for takes its cue from the room's warmth: deep, earthy tones set against warm neutrals, with plenty of texture for guests to enjoy up close. Because the space is intimate, we scale the work for close conversation, with arrangements made to be enjoyed at arm's length. A low line of candles or a scatter of small vessels down the center of the table suits this room, and it leaves space for the dishes moving across it all evening.
Practical
Private events are booked through the restaurant's own events page.
Hidden Door Floral Studio is a Raleigh wedding florist designing for weddings across Raleigh, the Triangle and North Carolina, and happy to travel beyond. To talk about your wedding at Mateo Bar de Tapas, schedule a consultation.
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