Today we had our second time at the peruvian “Astrid y Gaston” restaurant. The first time was very good. That one was just “Ottimo” ! As “pisco” is the national peruvian alcohol, you need to taste one of the 30 or 40 pisco based cocktails. This will likely pave the way for a great moment. At “art de vivre” we are used to talk about what we know and what we experience. To start with we would recommend you one of the many ceviche ( marinated fresh frish ). The pink salmon is especially incredibly fresh and very tasty. This is what i personally had and ate ! All the other fishes are of prime quality as well. Then without a doubt i’d orient you to carry on with “Arroz de mariscos”.

The rice came cooked as a risotto melt with pieces of shrimps, calamari and scallops. With no exageration, the sea food was simply the best i’ve ever had. My wife had the white salmon. Perfectly cooked. Also proposed with a pea risotto. Picture below. 

The wine list is exhaustive. We had some per the glass at around 20 ARS or 5 USD. Please NOTE that currently the restaurant is offering a 3 courses lunch menu for around 90 ARS ( 20 USD ). Which in my opinion is an excellent quality/price ratio for BA. On average count on 150 ARS ( 35 USD ) per head with wine, water and coffee.

2 days ago we wanted to have a real “Parilla” close to where we live, in the Belgrano district of Buenos Aires. And we’ve had it !  “Parilla” means BBQ. In Argentina or Uruguay, this is how they usually cook the meat, fish, cheese ( provoleta ) or even the vegetables.

El Pobre luis is an Uruguyan restaurant, managed by Luis Acuna for many many years. Most of the staff is from Uruguay. The service is “impeccable” which will instantly make you happy. The place is pittoresque and full of football shirts as Luis is a soccer fanatic. The atmosphere is very friendly and family oriented. All generations are represented.

We’ve ordered an excellent provoleta to start with. And obviously meat to follow : one “bife de chorizo” for my wife, “costilla de lomo” for me. Both very tasteful and tender. Count approximately 50 to 60 AR$ ( or 12 to 15 USD ) for any piece of meat you’d like to order. Wine was a bit expensive so we’ve decided to order a 10 USD bottle of Familia Gascon from Bodega Escorihuela Gascon. Rather sweet, round and well on the fruit.

All in all we’ve eaten for 100 AR$ or 25 USD each. This is not cheap for Buenos Aires. But we’ve had a great moment and food. So worth once in a while. In the next couple of weeks, one of our missions will be to find unkown and kept secret “Parillas” where to eat excellent meat for half that price. So stay tuned !

“El Franchute” means “Le Français” and is a restaurant 10KM away from both José Ignacio and Punta del Este. The chef Laurent Lainé is French and has been working in Argentina and uruguay since 1983. He had his own restaurant “Bleu, Blanc, Rouge ” for years in Buenos Aires and also worked in the very best ones bringing him a solid reputation in the area. He recently decided to leave Argentina and start El Franchute, what he calls a “table d’hôtes”. Actually the very first one in Uruguay. 

A day we were driving through the area, we’ve decided to step by his place. It was around 7pm. As we were entering the restaurant, we were immediately welcomed by Laurent lainé in person. He was actually busy preparing the 7 courses fixed daily menu ( 45 USD ) together with his reduced staff, but took some time to have a good chat with us. He appeared to be very friendly and passionate person. Unfortunately that evening we had another commitment.

Soon we’ll go back and let you have a detailed dining experience. But the good vibes we’ve felt visiting the place were already enough to drop you a note and encourage the experience.

EL FRANCHUTE, Ruta 10, Km 168.5

Balneario Buenos Aires. Punta del Este, uruguay

email : chef@elfranchute.com