Cristina Santiago carries on a legacy
Food tastes more delicious when shared. And it is on a shared table where friends meet to bond, tell stories, laugh, cry, exchange ideas, give part of themselves and perchance reveal their soul.
This is the idea behind our STAR Lifestyle team’s dining in places that excite the taste buds and stir our passions.
Our most recent one was in a Michelin-Selected Restaurant this 2026: Carmelo’s Steakhouse in Rockwell’s Proscenium.
We went here not only to savor good food, but also to revisit a legend in the industry: Melo’s Steakhouse. Carmelo Santiago, better known as Melo, had a vision in 1987. He pioneered in Certified Angus Beef, which has been on gourmets’ and gourmands’ lips until his passing in 2021.
The legend lives on today as his beautiful (and dutiful) daughter Cristina Santiago carries on her father’s legacy of dining excellence in Carmelo’s Steakhouse.
Chef Cristina applies everything her father imparted to her (she was Melo’s right hand in the resto operations) and more, thus creating her own signature mark at Carmelo’s. She graduated from California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in 1995. Her passion in baking is evident in her award-winning pastries that have become the favorites of diners. Her dessert line, Sweet Bella, as well as her Queso De Bola Ensaymadas and Cheese Rolls, may someday become legendary, too.
On the menu, Cristina offers Melo’s famous dishes, where she adds her own creations inspired by her travels and memories with her family.
Helping Cristina host our Lifestyle team is Tedrick Yau, whose experience in magazine journalism has enhanced his profession as a marketing expert.
Norma O. Chikiamco: Carmelo’s is more than just a restaurant. It’s a legacy left by a man whose vision has elevated food and dining into a world-class experience. It started way back in the ’80s, when Carmelo Santiago opened his Spanish restaurant, El Meson, in what was then Pasay Road. The place soon became a hub for customers who loved the paella, the callos, the lengua, and what soon became his signature dessert, Mango Jubilee. The restaurant was also the first to serve Jamón Serrano, the classic Spanish ham, which was then known only to elite gourmets. One time, when his cooks, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of customers, suddenly quit, Carmelo donned an apron and prepared all the orders himself, to the delight of his well-heeled customers.
Having known good food all his life (growing up, Carmelo recalls having lechon on the dinner table every week), it was only natural for him to develop new concepts in the restaurant business. Opening his first steakhouse in 1988, he brought in and popularized Angus beef from the US. And he knew his steaks well—he could lecture on all the different cuts and gradations of cattle (Black Angus, Certified Angus, Prime, etc.). All these were served with refinement and grace: immaculate white tablecloths, well-trained waiters, an impressive collection of wines, and soft piano music to match the elegant ambience.
What a delight to know that today, his eldest daughter Cristina has carried on this fabulous legacy.
Millie and Karla Reyes: It was such a pleasure to have met Chef Cristina Santiago, immaculately dressed in white, not as a chef but as a businesswoman paying tribute to her late father with a restaurant in his honor, and where she applied her personal touch and creativity.
A graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Chef Cristina’s passion is baking, as we have seen in her light-to-touch, freshly baked dinner rolls served hot with house-made herbed butter and miso butter.
Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre: Carmelo’s brings back happy memories of our Melo’s steak dates, where the pâté was always a wonderful accompaniment to flirtations. It’s reassuring that chef Cristina Santiago has retained this with her father’s original recipe but love her new offerings like the Pulpo a la Plancha on a bed of creamy mash. The Wagyu ribeye and the salpicao are the reliables that always hit the spot, but the sea bass with a light buttery sauce was also all tender goodness. The Spicy Beef Tapa and Bistek Tagalog were wonderful Pinoy surprises that have brought these comfort food staples to another level.
Lai Reyes: At Carmelo’s, a steakhouse known for its prime cuts of beef, it was the mushroom soup that caught me off guard—in the best way.
The ritual began subtly. An elegant, wide-rimmed porcelain bowl was set on the table, holding nothing more than thinly sliced mushrooms arranged with intention. No steam, no aroma yet—just a tease. Moments later, the waitstaff returned with a small teapot and poured the soup tableside. As the warm, earthy broth cascaded over the mushrooms, their fragrance finally bloomed—rich and deeply comforting.
The first sip was quietly thrilling. Silky but not heavy, intensely mushroom-forward without tipping into excess, the soup delivered layers of umami that lingered long after the spoon was set down. In a room built for steaks, this was a reminder that restraint—and thoughtful presentation—can be just as powerful as fire and marbling.
Scott Garceau: Carmelo’s brought out all its big steak guns for our lunch, living up to chef Cristina Santiago’s boast of “an elevated steakhouse.” What put me over the top was the beautifully plated Tenderloin with Wafu Pasta: a subtle, umami-flavored balance of soft and juicy beef strips, succulently grilled, with a delicious pairing of crunchy asparagus strips and al dente Japanese noodles, Mediterranean and Asian combined in one deceptively simple pairing that said it all: Carmelo’s can handle the high notes as easily as it whips up a delicious beef tapa or bistek Tagalog.
Vicky Veloso-Barrera: As befits a steakhouse of its stature, Carmelo’s serves up your perfectly executed Wagyu ribeye steak in a beautiful setting of subtle yet celebratory reds and golds. Standing up to this carnivore haven is the burnt Basque cheesecake, a slice of creamy perfection matched with a fine cookie crumble that manages to be both rich and light. It’s a classic steakhouse pairing, a robust ribeye and dense cheesecake, yet there’s a delicacy that reflects chef Cristina’s light and confident hand in the kitchen.
Lisa Guerrero Nakpil: Carmelo’s builds on a tradition of power dining—a thick slab of US steak served with lashings of béarnaise sauce and a single malt on the side. It’s updated its offering with Executive Lunches that pack a punch. Two of my favorites are Salpicado, smothered in giant cloves of garlic, and a tender bistek. Both were served on a bed of garlic rice that should motivate anyone you’re dining with to close the deal.
Christine Dayrit: I loved the melt-in-your-mouth sea bass which came with mouselline sauce combining freshly whipped cream and soft and tangy hollandaise sauce. The taste of butter melts in the mouth as a silky and airy texture, which almost felt like a cloud in every bite.
Sea bass Meniuere with Mousseline Sauce features a delicate flavor of seared Chilean sea bass served with tender potatoes, onions with vibrant spinach. A toast to the epitome of seafood sensation.
My family and I grew up enjoying Tito Melo’s cuisine, especially his steaks. Tito Melo was a very good friend of my dad, Vincent Dayrit, and he even inspired my father to open Benihana Japanese Restaurant and Vincent’s Bar and restaurants. Tito Melo was always kind, charming and enjoyed entertaining his guests. My dad spent a lot of time with him—hours filled with stories, laughter, and a shared love for good food.
Cheche V. Moral: That the steaks at Carmelo’s are excellent is a given. But what I would go back for, again and again, is something far humbler in name yet just as memorable: the spicy Angus tapa.
It arrives with excellent garlic fried rice, a bright tomato salsa, and fried eggs whose yolks melt luxuriously into the grains. It’s the kind of plate that looks comforting at first glance, but quickly reveals layers of flavor once you start eating.
The tapa itself is an original recipe by Melo Santiago, preserved and continued by the family in their restaurants. Thin slices of Angus beef are tender without being fragile, each piece glossy with a marinade that hits all the right notes—spicy, savory, and faintly sweet, balanced in a way that keeps you reaching for the next bite before you’ve quite finished the last.
What makes it stand out is the restraint. The heat doesn’t overwhelm; it builds gently, just enough to wake up the palate. The sweetness is not sugary but rounded, almost caramelized at the edges of the beef. And the savory backbone—the depth of good beef, properly seasoned—is always in the lead.
Taken together with the garlicky rice and the richness of egg yolk, it becomes a reminder that in a steakhouse known for grand cuts and tableside carving, sometimes the most satisfying dish is the one that feels closest to home.
Frannie Jacinto: Carmelo’s is an elegant, beautifully designed space known for its premium steaks and thoughtfully crafted dishes. One standout lunch special is the salpicao—exceptionally tender, juicy, and richly flavored—perfectly paired with freshly made fried garlic rice (sinangag). It’s a deeply satisfying, indulgent meal that’s hearty enough to keep you happily full for the rest of the day.
The cheesecake was a scrumptious discovery, created by Carmelo’s beautiful owner and pastry chef, Cristina Santiago. Rich and cheesy with a smooth, velvety texture and a gently tangy finish, it’s dense, thick, and luxuriously creamy—truly a melt-in-your-mouth dessert so irresistible, I had to go back for seconds.
AA Patawaran: The Sweet Bella desserts at Carmelo’s Steakhouse are where chef Cristina lets her San Francisco-trained sensibilities take over a kitchen built on Melo’s, her father’s steakhouse legacy. She told me that even while she was taking up Culinary Arts, she found herself leaning more into the world of sugar and flour, and though she is far more than a pastry chef, it is in these finales that her true passion clearly resides. These sensibilities show in every detail, from L’Amour, the Burnt Basque cheesecake with its rustic exterior and molten cream inside, to Angelina, a hazelnut mousse layered with crunch and chocolate that catches the golden light of the steakhouse.
Pearl, her masterpiece, is an exquisite, light construction of pink guava mousse layered with flambéed mango on delicate chiffon cake, the slight tang of the guava cutting through the sweetness of the mango so that each bite is refreshing rather than heavy. Then there is Madame Butterfly, arriving with smoke curling around it, a decadent marriage of chocolate and pistachio with a velvety ganache and a scarlet coulis that makes it both dramatic and sophisticated.
Carmelo’s at the Proscenium glows amber in a way that makes you forget the city outside, the elevators, the congestion on Rockwell Drive, because the light pools low and thick in the corners, catches on the chains draping from ceiling to floor, and suddenly the room feels like a hearth you could sit by forever. It warms your skin first, then your hands, then the rest of you, until even the plates on the table feel settled under it, the drinks catching the glow like little flames, and the curve of someone’s smile across the table feels like part of the warmth, too.
Monique Toda: It was like magic. Pearl arrived amid a foggy mist like the dream dessert it is. A circular blush pink confection surrounded by a ribbon of chocolate, a dainty butterfly (also made with chocolate), strawberries, and topped with edible flowers, it was so pretty. On my first bite, Pearl burst my palate with the flavor of bright, tropical guava. The mousse was light yet full of guava goodness. Very vivid, very delicious. A meal-ender with a worthy dramatic entrance.
Ricardo Pamintuan: As we have a bakeshop, I’m not easily impressed by breads and cakes; yet, Cristina’s ensaymada at Carmelo’s, our take-home gift, completely won us over, especially my wife who’s the real connoisseur. You can immediately tell it’s a recipe perfected with genuine love—easily a treat that’s hard to forget.
