Mi Rancho Restaurant Patagónico — Restaurant in El Calafate

Really just mediocre food and average service.

I went to this one because of the good rating on Google map. They have two spots about 100 meters away. The one I dined in had 90% of its customers Chinese. Nothing against that, but just wondering if some Chinese social media influencer or just travel agency promoted this one. It's always good to have a restaurant recognized by more groups.

The food: I got lamb stew. There are potatoes and sweet potatoes. The lamb is, to say the best, okay. Not very flavourful. The texture of some pieces is dry, others is okay. Good lamb stew I have had before, the meat will melt in your month. And the herbs or spices should make it tasteful. Kinda feel like amateur cooking, not trying to praise it as a good homecooking style restaurant, just to be clear.

The service: I spent about 20 minutes eating. The waitress came twice asking me if I finished. And they charge the table fee, like many Argentinian restaurants. And they told me this is for the service but not a tip. Given that I've already paid this fee for service and the service is pretty average, I didn't tip.

I wouldn't...

Food not worth the money, terrible service. (We arrived around 7pm. There was just another table in the whole restaurant together with us, three waiters and the owner behind the bar. I ordered a tea, a trout, my husband had an ossobucco and a beer. The waitress forgot the tea. No problem. After 10 minutes, I reminded them. They bought a tea pot with water not hot enough, so the tea had no taste. Another 10 minutes passed, the food arrived, I told them about the cold water in the tea pot, so they took it away. We started eating. Another 10 minutes passed, I still had no drink. The trout was tasteless, just a huge portion of meat, but with no idea, no taste for 5000 ARS. No waiter came to ask how was the food. Again, I had to waive at someone, tried to order a water instead of tea, plus salt, pepper and at least more sauce for the trout. After 5 minutes more, one of the waiters thankfully brought it all. We finished the food, paid. Never more. In general, I don't write bad reviews, but if you charge this money for a food, at least hire a...

This upscale restaurant is tucked away off the main street (San Martín) of El Calafate. The food is exquisite and the ambiance is cozy. Prices are a bit high, but it was worth it. The only reason I’m deducting a star is because the service was terrible. We travel internationally & know that dining in other countries is a relaxed experience that will take several hours. We also know that servers don’t generally check back on their tables and you have to catch their attention. However, when I ask for the check FOUR times, it should be delivered somewhat promptly. At one point, I approached the owner while he was at the till & asked for it. Still didn’t get it. I had to ask 2 more times. No exaggeration, it took 20 minutes to get the check. My husband walked outside bc it was rather warm in the restaurant. You would think that after clearing the entire table, including placemats, maybe someone would notice the lone patron, sitting at an empty table, still waiting to pay. I’ve never been so tempted to...