My husband and I have been traveling in Argentina for our honeymoon. We spent two nights in San Rafael to explore the Canon del Atuel and the surrounding area. After a long day of driving our small and poorly equipped vehicle over kilometers of rough, gravel roads only to find every restaurant closed on the other side (when they say it's low season, they mean it), I was ready for a cold beer and a hot meal. Based on other reviews, we chose L'Obrador - and the experience couldn't have been better. We arrived just before 9 pm on Monday and were greeted with smiles. When they told us their card machine wasn't working (we like to ask if they accept cards before ordering), we realized we didn't have enough pesos to cover the meal (it's a fixed menu). The owner, Daniel, told us not to worry and to enjoy our meal - and what a meal it was! It began with meats, cheeses, and bread. It was followed by delicious empanadas, and then a main course of our choice (we had carne y pasta), and finally dessert. Everything was washed down with ice cold Quillmes.
We were seated by the cozy wood-burning fireplace and Daniel and our waitress came to speak with us to ask about our travels and where we were from. This is particularly nice because they only speak Spanish and we speak barely passable Spanish. So their patience was really a treat. When we mentioned it was our honeymoon - there couldn't have been two bigger smiles.
When we left, Daniel wished us all the best and gifted us a bottle of wine to celebrate our honeymoon. This is a man who, along with his staff, cooked only for us on a slow night for less than he normally charges and on top of that gave us a gift. I nearly cried. The generosity and joy coming from this family restaurant was the only thing that could have topped the memorable meal.
We highly recommend. read more
