NOW that Patio Guernica has moved out of its old place on Remedios Circle and has put up a smaller restaurant on Bellagio Square on J. Bocobo St., I just want to remember the good old days spent in this Spanish restaurant since 1983, when the late Romy Bauzon bought the former Opus Dei center and turned it into Patio Guernica.

My friends and I would spend many a Christmas get-together there with Inge Bauzon, the German wife of the owner.

“Guernica,” named after Pablo Picasso’s famous mural, was the favorite place of Spanish-speaking residents of Metro Manila, both pure Spanish and mestizos. I was blessed to have had two Spanish mestizos as friends—Manuel “Bingbing” Nieto III and Rafael Ma. Guerrero—who one way or the other acquainted me with good Spanish cuisine. I had the pleasure of dining in both the Nieto’s and Guerrero’s residences. If not there, Guernica’s in the late ‘70s was the favorite place to go to.

Dining in the old ambience reminiscent of old Spanish houses, both Guernica’s and Patio Guernica provided not only good food, but also a place to have quiet talk with friends and family. Spain is well remembered in dishes like “Callos” ” Fabada” and “Paella à la Valenciana,” to name a few favorites. For 25 years, it had been that way. Last Aug. 8, Guernica relocated to 1658 in Bellagio Square, beside Manila Manor Hotel on Bocobo Street. The new place is a cozy small replica of the old Patio Guernica. Open from Mondays to Saturdays, from ll a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 6 p.m. to ll p.m. for dinner.

For reservations, call 521-4415/17.