La Guinguette — Restaurant in Black Mountain

This is French and Argentine fusion food.

The place is small inside, with a great outdoor seating area in warm weather. The interior is cozy with small tables, fresh flowers, sort of dark lighting and candles. French music was playing. There was a faux fireplace keeping it nice and warm.

We got the soup du jour, which had meat in it and hominy. It was one of the Argentinean dishes on the menu. It was not too salty, the meat was tender, and the blend of spices and herbs made it a nice warm starter.

We got the special of the day (braised short ribs with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots) and a savory crepe with pesto, chicken, and cheese with a small side salad. The short ribs were delicious. Perfectly tender, flavorful, and the sauce was just the right amount. The mashed potatoes were not dry or gummy they were your standard well made potatoes, and the carrots were lightly flavored and refreshing. The crepe was very good as well, made with a more savory batter. The small salad was my favorite, the simple vinaigrette dressing on it was amazing.

Dessert stole the show. The Citron crepe tasted like a lemonade dessert. Powdered sugar, plenty of lemon flavor. If you're a citrus fiend like I am this one is not to be missed.

There were other menu items like empanadas and tamales we did not try as well as different cheese platters.

The price of the place is what we expected for a small local niche restaurant with quality cooking. Expect to pay sonewhere around $10-20 a person, leaning closer to the latter if you don't have a light appetite. The portions were small if you were to compare them to something like Applebee's/any typical American style restaurant, but they were plenty satisfying.

I definitely loved the atmosphere and will go back. It is a quiet, classy gem in Black Mountain. Perfect date spot for sure as it was plenty romantic without being stuffy.

Be aware they seem to close way earlier than the times they post online so if they're closing in an hour better to...

CELIACS BEWARE!!! While this place is charming and the food delicious, do not trust the Ai summary that they are "celiac friendly" or even gluten free. When I told the server I was Celiac and asked about cross-contamination, she said, "We have flour all over the kitchen." She also shared that the dessert crepes (made with flour) are cooked on the same surface as the savory (buckwheat/gluten free) crepes. She told me the tamales WERE safe. I enjoyed them but was then sick to my stomach 30 minutes later. This was my bad as I KNOW that cross contamination is very possible in a kitchen that does not follow strict gluten free protocols. The restaurant does not specify themselves as gluten free on their website. But, somehow, Ai and even findmeglutenfree.com lists them as "celiac safe" and this is not the case. I hope one day the world will understand that gluten free is not just a dietary preference nor a marketing gimmick. It must be a practice followed by the diner and the restaurant. For some people, it is a true medical condition and we have to be so careful. La Guinguette, I suggest adding to your website that you are NOT a true gluten free kitchen to...

Spinach empanada was obviously frozen chopped spinach and nothing else, despite the description that it was with ricotta and Parmesan (and, I assumed, fresh ingredients). Server asked if I’d like something else, so I asked for an additional tomato empanada which she told me would be a few minutes. Meanwhile, the owner comes over and tells me that it should not have béchamel sauce (I did not tell the server it should) and tells me the ricotta is in there it just “disappears” when it is mixed in the spinach. Here’s an idea — maybe use less spinach so that the only flavor is not chopped unseasoned spinach. Did the chef not taste the mixture? Anyway, she offered to bring me béchamel sauce (no thank you) and I noticed my replacement empanada did not arrive. The server came to fill the water glasses and said the owner told her I could not have the tomato empanada as a replacement because it was more expensive (told me after waiting 15-20 min). I had recommended this restaurant to many friends visiting the area, but no more. I would have thought it was just a bad day if I had not been treated like that...