Restaurant Reviews or ‘Where to Eat Around the World’

As we head round the world and stop into cafes, sandwich shops, and snazzy restaurants, we thought we’d let you know what we thought of them. If we like them, we’ll tell you, and if it’s safe to steer clear, we’ll mention that too. So the next time that someone is in that town, they’ll have a better idea of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

If you know of somewhere great or terrible yourselves, please email us and we’ll be sure to add your review on to our list! Just let us know the following info. Country: City: Eatery name: Address or area (the more specific the better): Price Rating: Budget, Midrange, Pricey (with price if you know it) I went for : Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Comments (include month/year you visited):

Argentina Restaurant Reviews

*One thing to note in Argentina, many places charge a per person ‘servicio’ for the bread that is delivered to the table. Also, remember to check your bill carefully as we’ve experienced some places slightly changing the bill to a higher priced item that we didnt order.

City: Bariloche
Eatery name: El Boliche de Alberto
Address or area: Elflein 158 & Villegas 343
url:www.elbolichedealberto.com
Price Rating: Budget/Midrange
We went for: Dinner
Comments: We had heard loads about the place with the ‘football sized meat’ and so had to go! And it was great – the best steak we’d had so far in Argentina. Share the full portion (at AR$65 a great deal for two). A portion of fries is gigantic, as is the salad (AR$20). Order one of each and you will go home stuffed. A must in Barioche!

City: Bariloche
Eatery name: La Marmite
Address or area: Mitre 329
Price Rating: Budget/Midrange
We went for: Dinner
Comments: As a massive fan of fondue, Bariloche is a slice of heaven, with a number of places serving the melted cheese dish. However after asking the locals for the best, they suggested La Marmite (pronounced Mar-mee-tay). We chose the traditional fondue (for two – $AR98), which was good but gone too fast, and looked longingly at those with the cash to try the more adventurous but higher priced options (such as potatoes, sausage, etc). Note: The cheese fondue is served as a main here so its not possible to do a cheese fondue starter and then a meat fondue main, as is the case in other parts of the world.

City: Bariloche
Eatery name: Mamushka
Address or area: Mitre 298
url:http://www.mamuschka.com/
Price Rating: Budget/Midrange
We went for: Chocolate
Comments: Lonely Planet raves about this chocolatier and with good reason, it’s some of the best we’ve ever tried. Truly, don’t miss it – just look for the shop with the giant Russian stacking dolls outside.

City: Buenos Aires
Eatery name: Eros
Address or area: Uriarte 1608 (corner of Honduras) (Palermo)
Price Rating: Budget
We went for: Dinner
Comments: This tiny place (look for the entrance on Uriarte) doesn’t seem like much but we were told by our local friend Karo that is was good and dirt-cheap. It definitely is that! The Milanese (breaded thin steak) and Pork Chops we ordered were absolutely massive (one plate could have easily fed us both) and were $AR 26 and 30 (£4 and £4.60). Topped off with a bottle of wine at $AR 20 (£3)! We weren’t that hungry so didn’t order sides, and the meat was super filling. For cheap, good, no-frills food in the middle of Palermo Hollywood, go to Eros. Dinner from 8:30pm.

City: Buenos Aires
Eatery name: La Brigada (steakhouse)
Address or area: Estados Unidos near Defensa (San Telmo)
Price Rating: Pricey
We went for: Dinner (Jan 2012)
Comments: Our friend Johnny had recommended it, saying ‘it was the best brick of meat’ he had ever had. At 8:30pm on a Friday, the place was empty; go later for more atmosphere. The Lomo (tenderloin) steaks were huge and meltingly good, but, at 90 $AR (£15) for just the meat itself (sides like potatoes or vegetables are extra), it really was beyond our budget. Wine, usually quite cheap in BA, was also quite pricey. Overall: Good, but go only if you can afford to splash out.

City: Buenos Aires
Eatery name: La Nonno Bachicho
Address or area: Defensa 963 (San Telmo)
Price Rating: Budget/Midrange
We went for: Dinner
Comments: This was a nice place with a wider variety of food then we had seen in Buenos Aires. The traditional chicken/pork/beef were decently priced($AR 30), but the rarer fish dishes were more expensive. Both meat and pasta dishes were very large. You could easily share a salad($AR 20-25) between two.

City: El Calafate
Eatery name: Casablanca Cafe
Address or area: Av del Libertador 1202
url: www.interpatagonia.com/casablanca/
Price Rating: Budget/Midrange
We went for: Dinner
Comments: This place seems to be the only bar in town that shows live rugby/American football (albeit with the sound turned down).
Pizza is their speciality, and they have 21 different types, as well as “standard” food round here – steaks, burgers etc.
Pizzas range from 50-90 pesos, depending on the toppings, and a large was more than enough for two people. We found the pizza here to be a little bland, although that may have just been our choice of toppings.
The chips, however, are fantastic. Best we have had in a long time!
Standard selection of beers and wines, at reasonable prices – 20 pesos for a pint, 46 for the cheapest bottle of red (which was actually pretty good).

City: Jujuy (San Salvador de Jujuy)
Eatery name: Viracocha
Address or area: Independencia 994 & Lamadrid
Price Rating: Budget
We went for: Dinner
Comments: A restaurant that serves local and regional food, we went hoping to finally try some proper Argentinian food, rather than just steak and empanadas. There were lots of choices, but with Llama on the menu we couldnt pass up the chance to try a local delicacy. For $AR40 each, both the spicy llama with rice and onions and the llama with mushroom sauce and mashed potatos were fantastic. The meat was similar to a thin pork steak and very tasty. The venue also had a nice atomosphere and local woolen and pottery decorations. Definitely one to visit when in Jujuy!

City: Mendoza
Eatery name: Any on the pedestrianised Sarmiento street
Address or area: Sarmiento street, near San Martin
Price Rating: Budget
We went for: Lunch
Comments: Mendoza has no shortage of restaurants, but with festivals on every night, we ended up at the cheap, cheerful and fantastically located places on Sarmiento, the pedestrianised street in the center of town.
We’re rating them together as they are all pretty much the same, with good, cheap food, and great daily deals. Look for those that include a drink and dessert (postre). One offered a great flan! The onlyy negative, is they do take along while to bring your food, and sometimes they get the order wrong. But if you arent in a hurry, this is the place to go.
One note: We reccommend avoiding the place with the red Andes awnings (the name was obscured by the awnings). They made us wait over an hour for food, and the salad was disgusting, a mix of odd kitchen leftover vegetables.

City: Puerto Madryn
Eatery: Chacita? (Beach Boardwalk Shack)
Address or area: On the boardwalk, close to the pier
Price Rating: Super Budget
We went for: Lunch
Comments: This shack on the beach boardwalk(attached to the playground and carousel) isn’t much but offers the best deal around for the budget traveller. Their ‘Super Pancho & Vaso Coke’ set gives you a footlong hotdog and a glass of Coke for just AR$10! You just can’t beat that. And you can’t miss finding this place if you go for stroll by the pier.

City: Puerto Madryn
Eatery name: Margarita Bar
Address or area: Roque Seanz Pena 15/Av Roca
Price Rating: Budget
We went for: Dinner & Drinks
Comments: We went with a big group of hostel friends for their 7:30-9:00pm 2 for 1 Happy Hour. They opened late, and we nearly left, but they grabbed us as we were walking away. Happy Hour included everything but wine and the deal of the night was AR$20 for Imperial 650mls. Cocktails were also good value with double measures. The food was typical bar food, but nice at decent prices. Just one cautionary note – they only serve one of the two drinks at a time, and even if ordered before happy hour ends, they don’t hold to the HH price if they deliver it after. Ask for both drinks to come together.

City: Puerto Madryn
Eatery name: Puerto Pasta
Address or area: Av J A Roca 870 near Estivariaz
Price Rating: Budget
We went for: Dinner
Comments: This takeaway-only place is fantastic. You an either buy the made-on-site fresh pasta to take back to the hostel and cook yourself, or for a bit more, you can have them cook it with your choice of sauce. We had Tagliateli with Bolognese Sauce – AR$22. They also do pizzas and traditional foods like empanadas. Open dinner and lunch, closed for siesta.

Chile Restaurant Reviews

City: Puerto Varas
Eatery name: Mamisa
Address or area: San Jose
Price Rating: Budget
We went for: Dinner
Comments: Decent food joint in the center of town. There are pies and tortes galore and the size of the sundaes are enormous. We had hamburgers with all the trimmings plus fries for CH$3800.

City: Valdivia
Eatery name: Costanegra
Address or area: Across from the fishmarket (bright red awnings)
Price Rating: Budget
We went for: Lunch
Comments: Not recommended. Five of us went for lunch when the cafe was quiet. They messed up the order, even though the order was placed by a native spanish speaker. Then, when the bill came, the beer one of us had ordered was CH$1500 more than stated on the menu. When we mentioned it, they said they had served him ‘a bigger one’. This was never mentioned that and there was only one size (small) on the menu.