Definitely old school ambiance. I mean, this is really traditional Argentine-Spanish fare - one of…read moreour number selected the lengua a la vinagreta - the tender as could be sliced tongue in a very garlicky vinegar dressing (130 pesos), and I picked the caracoles, or snails (220 pesos), which turned out to be in an excellent tomato and onion sauce. Our third wasn't having either of these oddities, and opted for a plate of quite good smoked salmon with capers (280 pesos). Not so traditional, but tasty nonetheless.
I was all set to order the place's famed rabo de toro, braised oxtail, which the waiter pimped for enthusiastically as the best dish on the menu, until I spotted that they had a special of the day of venison ravioli. He opined that they, too, were excellent, and in fact so good that the waiters and cooks were back in the kitchen sneaking extras whenever people ordered them. And, he was right - huge, plump ravioli filled with well spiced venison, in a creamy venison and mushroom reduction sauce. (270 pesos) Our salmon eater decided to stay with salmon, and went with nearly as good as the above, salmon filled squid-ink ravioli with fresh prawns, in a cream sauce. (390 pesos) And, our third, decided on the lechon, suckling pig, which was falling apart tender, and absolutely delicious. It could have used something to go with it - but this is old school, you have to order your side dishes separately. (320 pesos)
It's not cheap, though not ridiculous - still, maybe a touch more than I'd expect in an old school bodegón, even with today's prices. Add in a cubierto charge (35 pesos each), a single shared bottle of water, a bottle of wine, and three coffees, and we racked up a 2285 peso tab, plus tip (we rounded to 850 pesos apiece), or about $66, $22 each, for 3 people. They do take credit and debit cards, a nice plus for this type of place, where many of them don't. And I do want to go back and try the oxtail!
