Buenos Aires Cafe — Restaurant in London

My re-view of the Argentinian in Blackheath:

Last Friday night, my friends and I decided to try an Argentinian restaurant in Blackheath that came highly recommended by one of our Argentinian friends. We arrived around 9 PM, eager to enjoy a meal, but noticed a perfect outdoor table with a "reserved" sign, which led us to wander the streets in search of another outdoor spot.

Eventually, we opted to go inside and approached the door, where a sign instructed us to "please wait here." We stood quietly, making eye contact with the waitstaff, who acknowledged us but didn’t greet us as we waited for someone to assist us. After about five minutes, we were finally seated at the last available table inside.

Our server, a young lady, seemed friendly enough. The restaurant was well-kept, adorned with photos of celebrities like Madonna, Mick Jagger, and even Queen Elizabeth II, who had all dined there before. However, the noise level was overwhelming, making it difficult to discuss the menu and choose a dish or a nice bottle of wine.

When our waiter finally came to take our order, my friends still had questions about the menu, but he responded with short, dismissive answers before walking away. As she returned with our appetiser plates moments later another waiter approaches with cutlery. This waiter does not greet us and bashes the cutlery against the dinner table.

The next interaction isn’t much greater, whilst we were still chewing, the “nice” waiter comes back to remove all the plates off the table even though the mains did not arrive for another 10 minutes.

The atmosphere shifted a bit when one particularly boisterous table left, allowing us to appreciate the restaurant's fantastic music. Unfortunately, the food fell short of our expectations, with the Altaviva Malbec being the highlight of the meal, despite being warmer than ideal.

After finishing our meal, we asked for the bill and rolled a cigarette while we waited. Leaving the restaurant, we felt disappointed with our experience. Shortly after we left, my friend realized he had left his black tobacco pouch on the table, which was concerning since the napkins were also black, making it possible it had been mistaken for trash.

We returned to the restaurant about ten minutes later to inquire about the pouch. When we asked the uninterested "not-so-nice" waiter to check for it, she informed us they hadn’t found anything. My friend requested she check the rubbish in the back, but after a brief absence, she returned to say it wasn't there.

Needing to use the restroom, my friend asked if she could go, but after exchanging some dirty looks among the staff, they told her it had already been cleaned and was off-limits.

As we stepped outside, frustrated, I offered my friend a cigarette, only to realize I was also missing my cigarette pouch. After paying a hefty £115 for three people, with mediocre food and a lukewarm bottle of wine, this was not the experience we had hoped for. We left feeling let down and unlikely to return. Do not recommend and will not be coming there again, despite the celebrities who farted, probably as much as I did, after...

I went for lunch here yesterday (Saturday 19th september) I had been here for dinner with a party a few years ago and had loved the food, the staff and the service so of course had raved to my friend that it was going to be great.

We hadn't seen each other for over a year and she was treating me for my belated birthday in August.

I think we were being punished for turning up 45 mins early for our booking, (we didn't plan it and we asked if it was ok and were willing to go away and come back if we had to) we were sat inside the restaurant (which was incredibly clean, and the staff all wore masks, shields and gloves and everything was regularly disinfected hence the 3 stars) however...

We were sat by our server who left us with 3 main meal menus, no drinks menu, then completely abandoned us until I asked over 20 minutes later if we could have a drink/order.

There was another staff member sitting at a table who looked to be working on shift patterns or something who was completely oblivious to anyone else other than the wait staff the entire time we were there.

When we ordered we decided as we were hungry and thirsty to order our drinks and food at the same time. The server was wearing a face mask so I couldn't hear her fully so kept having to ask her to repeat herself as she was pretty softly spoken, (I've noticed most people forget about how masks muffle your voice which is pretty amusing, i guess we are not used to them yet)

We both ordered the cheese burger meal.

I was so disappointed, I'd asked for mine to be rare, it was as well done as my friend had asked for hers to be, the bun was at least 3 times the size of the meat and it had such a small amount of sauce inside (lots of nice melted cheese though) that it was incredibly dry.

When the lady delivered our plates she put them on the table smiled and walked away, I had to ask for some sauces, she said oh yes what would you like I said some mayo please and she said oh you have that in your burger, my response was I'd like some for my chips please?

She came back with 2 tiny pots one with mayo for me and tomato sauce for my friend.

I ended up having to use the mayo in my burger and leaving 3/4 of the bun on the plate.

We weren't asked if the food was ok, if we were ok or anything until we had finished and she saw we were no longer eating and then asked if we wanted coffee or dessert, I had a coffee and we skipped dessert.

Then we again had to ask for the bill as we were again left completely to our own devices after I had finished my coffee.

It's lovely to not have people coming over every 5 minutes asking how's the food, are you ok etc etc but this wasn't as good as it could have been. It was more that they just ignored us. The food was disappointing and dry and although the burger was over £12 the meat inside only took 4 mouthfuls to eat.

Maybe it's a Blackheath thing but I doubt I'll...

Family meal Sunday evening for four adults, booked a few weeks in advance. Smallish cantina-style restaurant in a nice part of town. It has wooden floor and Argentine pictures on the walls (spot Mrs Peron?!). Don't confuse it with the much bigger and brasher CAU (cow?!) Argentine / Buenos Aires restaurant about three doors away! There are about ten tables upstairs, i.e. at ground level. We sat at the window with a view out over Blackheath park. Waitress helpful but not overly attentive. Attempt to order in Spanish as shown on menu (sopa del día, por favor?) resulted in blank look (perhaps other staff actually speak the lingo!). Good starters (empanadas and said "sopa" - which was aubergine and tomato, mmm), steak (rib-eye and sirloin, medium and medium rare), sides (argentine garlicky fries, spinach, cheesy sweetcorn), beers (bottled Peroni). A bit full for dessert, nevertheless we had a cheesecake (nice) and three scoops of ice cream allegedly made on the premises - coconut and chocolate (also nice). We ended up paying £160 for six drinks and the meals, fair VFM for this area thought I. Tables are CLEAN scrubbed wood, no sticky place mats (my pet hate). Thick sill under table top obstructed longer legs and big wooden support bar at floor level reduced foot room so our table was uncomfortable for the tallest (6'6") - but worth it for the position and other tables may be okay. Another five or so tables are downstairs in a basement, which is convenient for the adjacent bar and very compact but clean (albeit slightly aromatic) toilets. However, it is windowless and less than atmospheric down there so AVOID unless maybe you're having a private party! Reservations in advance recommended, but a group of two people and another of four showed up in the half-hour before closing and were admitted, presumably for speedy eating and exit. Free on-street parking outside and in adjacent streets after 1900 hours Monday to Saturday, and all day Sunday - but you may have to cruise around for a bit until a space becomes available. Also five minutes walk from Blackheath railway station, turn left when you exit and walk round to the right. Thank you for reading my review, if you like please...