BUENOS AIRES TOP FOOD IN A TOP HOTEL

 

Don’t ask me how I happened to be here, it was all part of a package, but an outstandingly good part of it.

 

The hotel in question is the Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt, situated in the fashionable district of Recoleta, and built out of an old palace. The Argentinian economy has recovered by leaps and bounds since it nearly went bankrupt in 2002 and Buenos Aires is a thriving city, embracing all the trappings of the modern and the traditional.

 

Eating out in Buenos Aires is easy, but finding a place of real quality is a little more difficult. Of course, there are plenty of places where you can eat gargantuan portions of beef and other meats – finding a fish restaurant can be a bit of a problem. The other problem is that the Argentinians tend to cook their meat a good deal longer than us Europeans, or Francophlies, I should say, so you have to be careful when you order, otherwise your meat will arrive browner and tougher than you might wish. So if you want a rare steak, order one “blue”, if you want it medium, order it “rare” and if you do want it well done, you don’t need to have to tell them at all.

 

Being a tiger can get a little tiring, so it’s a refreshing change to find a restaurant that has just that little bit more variety to offer, moreover with top class execution to boot. Such a place is the Duhau restaurant at the Hyatt. Lunchtime is a real bargain, with a 2 course menu and coffee at 80 Argentinian pesos (written as $) and 3 courses at $95. Reckon 6 pesos to the £. A la carte starters are all priced at $38 (£6.30) and there is a good selection of leafy and vegetabley foods - a good one that we tried was warm green asparagus with poached egg, radish sprouts and grain mustard. There is also a selection of wok stir-fried dishes at $42 – beef, seafood and vegetables. There are fish main courses at $50 and of course, meat ones at $54. Having been a bit satiated with beef I went for the Patagonian lamb fillet, grilled to perfection at just past pink without asking. The restaurant is very popular at lunchtime with “ladies who lunch” and it was very pleasing to see a group of blue rinse ladies guzzling down glass after glass of Champagne with their 2 course executive meal!

 

In the evening, the menu goes completely à la carte – with starters ranging from $38 to $48 and main courses from $48 to $88. There is also a tasting menu at $230, $290 if you want to accompany it with selected wines. Some of the dishes are very similar to those on the lunch menu, slightly embellished and also slightly higher in price. Not on the lunch menu was the starter of wood-grilled sweetbreads and morels from Santa Cruz in a vol-au-vent, exquisitely put together by the kitchen team, ably led by head chef Rafael Martinez Casas. For main course again keeping off the beef, I tried the baked suckling pig with jus and lavender honey, succulent and tender.

 

The dining room is beautiful with spaciously arranged tables and if the weather is nice, you can also eat outside on the terrace. The wine list, not cheap, listed wines from every notable producer in Argentina, as well as the usual classics from France and other countries. All of this was quietly and efficiently supervised by Danielle Bottura, the restaurant manageress.

 

The rooms at the hotel are spacious, with luxury furnishings, as one would expect from this 5 star hotel. Of course they are not cheap, even by international standards, but there are many deals and packages available (we were on one of them) which should help to palliate.

 

 

Rating... Hotel

 

Rooms  48

Breakfast       12

Service        10

Atmosphere     8

Value for money 10

Total  88

 

Rating... Restaurant

Food     44  

Wine list     15  

Service     9

Ambience     5

Value for money    12

Total    85

 

Park Hyatt Buenos Aires Palacio Duhau Avenida Alvear 1661, C1014AAD Buenos Aires, Argentina

Phone: +54 11 5171 1234   Fax +54 11 5171 1235   

E-mail buenosaires.park@hyattintl.com

Web site www.buenosaires.park.hyatt.com

Open all year  

Rooms: 165 all en suite

Prices: from $USD475 per night

Credit cards: all major cards