Friday 15 October 2010

Buen Ayre

Having dined at A La Cruz a few weeks back, I was keen to try John Rattagan's other, more established eatery Buen Ayre. One evening after work we ventured East, met Patrick and Grace and settled in for a meaty treat.

We opted for the Choripán con morrones y chimichurri to start, kind of like hotdogs, we split 2 between the 4 of us. Nice home made sausages, good bread and a slice of piquillo pepper thrown in for colour and sweetness. The accompanying chimmichurri sauce was a tasty addition.


For main course we had the Parrillada Deluxe. A Parrillada is a table top grill upon which was served a selection of Argentine sirloin and rib-eye steaks, pork sausages, morcilla and provolone cheese. I'm always a bit wary of sharing platters, fearing I'll not be sufficiently sated but this really was more than enough meat for all of us. Despite not being a huge fan of black pudding, even I must say the morcilla was excellent. The cheese is an interesting idea, obviously it melts on the hot plate, it does seem like a slightly odd addition but what's not to like about melted cheese?


Side orders of chips and a green salad were sound though I severely burnt my mouth on the former. Service was very pleasant and even on a Tuesday evening the atmosphere was vibrant and the restaurant full.

With a couple of bottles of red this all came to a reasonable £35 a head. I'd have to say I still prefer the meat at Goodman though, it my preferred venue in London when it comes to steak though I will undoubtedly revisit Buen Ayre, that morcilla in particular begs my return.

Buen Ayre
50 Broadway Market
Hackney
E8

7/10

Buen Ayre on Urbanspoon

5 comments:

Luiz Hara said...

Buen Ayre is my favourite Argentinean restaurant in London - the meat may not be at par with the likes of Hawksmoor or Goodman's but it is much more affordable and the portions are huge. I loved the chips and the parrillada is amazing. I reviewed it in my blog last year, and cannot wait to return again soon.

Luiz @ The London Foodie

Mzungu said...

If you enjoyed that one, give Garufa a try. They do a mean steak and a lot cheaper than Buen Ayre as well.

Dan said...

I love Buen Ayre, Boo. So cheap, with an authentic (I imagine) rough and ready vibe to the place - The Parrillada is superb. Can't wait till I'm over that way again and get the chance to re-visit.

John said...

Loving the choripans. I'm having one a day here in BA, and they are £1 each!

GLCFoodie said...

Buen Ayre is nice antidote to the more populous and well-heeled steak restaurants that have exploded over London over the past decade. Its Hackney-home and its down-to-earth feel mean it is much more relaxed than a Gaucho. The food is comparable if not better, it’s cheaper and a good laugh London food blog