Toro Mata

This place is exquisite. Over the years, I’ve found gorgeous jewelry (silver and butterfly wings) alpaca gloves and hats, a beautiful oil painting, and a variety a artistic knicknacks. The variety in the store is amazing– anything from fine arts and crafts to smaller more affordable «tourist» pieces. A gem in Adams Morgan and a gift to Washington. Thank you!

Would LOVE to stop in but their website is so minimalist they don’t even have their hours posted. Fuggediboutit.

I have a fond place in my heart for Peru — I was really excited to check out Toro Mata, a store in Adams Morgan that offers furnishings, accessories, and artwork from Peruvian artisans. They have been around for about 9 years, and the owner of the place was so sweet to give us a brief history about the place as well as allowed us to peruse the store freely: D I especially love the figurines/​decorative items as they were very cute — statues, paintings, vases, mirrors, jewelry, and furniture items galore! My most favorite item was the E.M. Jimenez’s ‘Flower Shop,’ an artwork that was hanging by the entrance! Definitely a cute place to check out!
+Peruvian artisans’ pieces

If you need a gift for your girlfriend or mom, this is the place. Got my girlfriend a necklace for her birthday – she loved it and it was reasonably priced. Good quality and good value.

Fabulous store full of fabulous, unique finds. Boasting wares from South America, Toro Mata has everything from eclectic nativity scenes to ornate mirror and detailed statues and carvings. It’s truly a feast for the eyes. The staff there is super friendly and beyond knowledgable about all of their items and quick to suggest other items you may like based on what it is that you initially gravitate to. Make sure you go upstairs and in the very back on the first floor. Both area look «off limits,» but they are most definitely «on!» lol! Skip it at your own loss… Many treasure to be found in this quaint space. A true gem for Adams Morgan!

stopped in and got totally impressed by the wonderful carvings, bags, sun mirrors, art objects, creches, fur carpets, rugs, paintings and other visually-​enticing objects made in Peru. While we didn’t buy anything, saw a lot of things as possible gifts. The owner is very helpful and friendly and explains the provenance of the items.

My wife was looking around for some ethnic pottery and so we ended up at Toro Mata. This is a beautiful little store in Adams Morgan and at first sight looks to be a fine, upper class (read way too pricey) outlet for interesting stuff.
But it is far from that. They have a beautiful selection of Peruvian art minus the chicken and at prices that are comparable to stores of its kind.
So, as I mentioned, we were looking for ceramic pots, but ended up buying 2 trays and one mirror to hang at our home!
the store owner was super nice and took time to showcase his stuff and also to answer all the questions we had.
Definitely a must stop on your trail to buy these one of a kind goodness for your home!

Toro Mata will knock you off your feet with their displays and selection of Peruvian artisan work at its best! A fun store in Adams Morgan to kill some time, or find something special for your home, or to give as a gift. Their selection fails to disappoint: with everything from jewelry, to alpaca rugs, paintings, and figurines. Hector is inviting, and friendly with a great worth of education and information on everything for sale. Sadly, I missed out on an opportunity to purchase a painting s I waited too long to decide, and it wound up selling. So if something grabs you one day, it may not be there the next day.

Beautiful, unique, authentic pieces with friendly, knowledgeable staff.

Buyer beware!
We purchased a beautiful church sculpture and paid for it to be shipped to us in Phoenix – it arrived with an incredible amount of damage. I spoke with Marcos on Thursday and was told that James or Hector would call me the same night or Friday. We’ve left numerous phone messages and send emails as well but have received no response. Will have to call the bank tomorrow to take up the issue of payment. Disappointing service to say the least – stay away!

This joint is like Ten Thousand Villages for the country club set: artisan handicrafts made in a developing country, with heftier price tags. Honestly, I was surprised to find such a sophisticated, gallery-​like space in boozy Adams Morgan… but clearly I’ve not been giving the neighborhood enough credit.
The pieces in Toro Mata are exquisite, from jewelry and apparel to furniture and artwork. It’s the kind of place where pieces really speak to you. A small oil painting of a bathing beauty in the style of Botero sings, «I’d be perfect for that blank spot on your powder room waaaaalll…» An amethyst and filigree cuff calls, «Can’t you just picture me adorning your sister’s wriiiiiiist???»
Owners Hector and Jim are knowledgeable and approachable, with an obvious passion for Peru (Hector’s home) and Toro Mata. A lovely little shop in an unexpected spot.

Fun little shop, the guy working there was very knowledgeable and helpful, the prices seemed a little high but he seemed willing to come down a little on some of the stuff he had there.

Nice spot with some beautiful artwork, though my friend and I couldn’t have afforded a bit of it. A lot of great works of many sorts, plenty on the religious side but a feast for the eyes nonetheless.

My wife and I just happened upon this store while searching for furniture in the Adams Morgan area. What a great surprise! The store is very well put together, with a pleasant atmosphere and tons of great art products. This is a great spot if you are looking for furniture, clothes, wall pieces and great service. All of it comes with a unique flair. They also provide free delivery, which was also friendly and efficient.

This store is thoughtfully put together with some beautiful pieces from Peru. The owner was very friendly and helpful — did not seem at all «creepy» as another writer said. We had a very nice discussion about Peruvian art and pisco, in fact, and I could tell that the owner was very passionate about what he does.
To be sure, many of the pieces were expensive. I was shocked when I saw a small «turtle marocca» for $ 25, which is many times more than what I paid for one in Peru just a few weeks ago. But other items seemed to be more reasonably priced, and appeared to be of high quality.
In sum, it’s a nice store and a classy addition to the AdMo area. Would definitely suggest taking a look if you’re interested in some unique art or a gift. You’ll probably have to shell out some dough, but you or your giftee will be pleased!

Toro Mata means ‘Tourist Ripoff’ in Peruvian slang! You can look it up! OK, I wanted to love this place because I love all things Peruvian, and I am looking for any redeeming qualities of Adams Morgan lately. I don’t know about any ‘artists’ being represented here-​everything seems like an overpriced knockoff of stuff you see everywhere. The Mexican ‘artist’ whose products are here, corny? Even my visiting mother was shocked at the $ 25 crummy little boxes and stuffed animals. This stuff should go for about $ 5 at your average shop! Adams Morgan has become kinda seedy and overpriced lately, so maybe Toro Mata is trying to fit in to the neighborhood! Creepy owners follow you around like you are a criminal-​maybe that is part of the neighborhood ‘charm’, too!

I love this place — great for unique and beautiful gifts (this includes gifts you want to give yourself).
The owners are incredibly helpful, the house /​gallery /​store is gorgeous, and the pieces for sale each have a story.
Great little find on 18^th street.

This is one of the cutest new places I have seen in DC!
Well, new to me since I moved to San Francisco.
Hector Zarate used to have a booth @ Eastern Market, then opened his gallery store — TORO MATA — about 3.5 years ago.
They have many great pieces. He currently represents about 17 artists from Peru. Hector is super sweet and he goes to Peru once or twice a year to find new artists.
I especially was in love with the amazing stuffed animals he had, they were made from Llama hair (It starts with an A, I forget the exact animal!). This woman artist made these really unique giraffe-​dog looking stuffies and The Llama stuffie had the cutest face ever. I love all the stuffed art I am seeing pop up. It’s awesome.
They prices are GOOD for what he is offering. I love the delicately painted boxes (Only $ 24.99!) and I love the elaborate Noah’s Ark made of clay. So colorful and full of many individually painted animals bursting at the seams of his mighty boat. You can stick a candle inside to light it up too!
Basically, next time you are in Adams Morgan, stop in. And tell your friends too.
I would of bought about half the damn place if I had not been on the road for 2 weeks already and stretching my funds like taffy.