Manolo’s

Traditional Argentine Food — By DiegoM on January 27, 2010 at 1:04 am

Manolo´s is a typical Argentine canteen style restaurant on the outskirts of San Telmo. Tableclothes are red and yellow, and the walls are covered in sports paraphernalia. Food is simple, but homemade and quite good. We decided to have lunch here on a rainy Saturday in November.

We were all feeling in the mood for pasta, so the four of us tried three different pastas. Sorrentinos with a tomato based sauce with olives and mushrooms; raviolis with an estofado sauce (beef stew with broth); and spaghetti with a regular tomato sauce. The pasta was fresh, and definitely homemade, and the fillings for both the sorrentinos and the raviolis were good.

The olive mushroom sauce was very strong, but not overpowering, and was delicious. The estofado, which is a beef stew with a tomato base, was decent. In this case, it was made with slices of peceto, which were very tender, but the sauce itself could have been more flavorful. (The best raviolis with estofado I´ve had is in Desnivel). The regular tomato sauce was also decent, but nothing special.

We were basically the only customers, so service was very attentive, and although not overly friendly, the waiter did seem to care that we had an enjoyable meal. While we were deciding what to order, he frequently came by to make suggestions of what we may want to try, and when the wine we wanted was not available, he suggested a few other options.

Although we enjoyed the meal, I can´t say it was any better than the majority of restaurants I have been to of similar price and style. However, we only tried pasta, and Manolo´s is a fairly well-known restaurant, so at some point I will go back to try some of the other options.

Bottom Line: A simple, traditional Argentine restaurant that is worth going to if you want something cheap, relatively good, and very Argentine.

Manolo

Cochabamba and Bolivar – San Telmo

Tel: 4307-8743

http://www.restaurantmanolo.com.ar/