La Estancia Steakhouse, Argentinean & Uruguayan — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Came in with my boyfriend and another friend on Thursday night for dinner. We had all been looking forward to it for at least a week because they had a 4.9 rating at the time so we thought wow must be amazing. Wow was I sure wrong!!!

We ordered the Parrillada LA ESTANCIA for $155 because we thought for $155 the meat would be amazing. Yeah not so much. The chicken was totally raw in the middle. My friend actually got sick off of it from food poisoning and had to miss work Friday and Saturday. It is now 48 hours later and he is still sick. I do not think they brought everything out. I am pretty sure one of the steaks they forgot.

Also this entree comes with Provoleta. So they bring this out and the Provoleta itself was actually good. The problem was the crostinis that came with this were stale. We told the server and he said he would take it of our bill. We still got charged the entire $155 so yeah we got nothing off of that. Then we were told we would get 2 salads and 2 baskets of fries. They only brought 1 of each. We told the server and he said he would bring more and he never did.

The only meat in this entire entree I liked was the regular sausage was really good. Everything else was not high quality at all. Very bland and no taste at all. Honestly the quality at an Applebee's steak is better and I HATE Applebee's. We ate like 70% of it and the leftover 30% I gave to my dog because I did not really like it. My dog ate it but he seemed to not even really like it too much.

Also the service was non existent. The restaurant is not that big and at least 70% of the time I could not see our server anywhere. I was actually wondering if maybe he also cooked in the back too because he was gone so much. Between trying to find him to get our extra salad and fries he forgot, trying to flag him down to bring the sauces out for the meat which he forgot. Oh and heaven forbid I get a refill on my coke more than every 30-40 minutes.

Oh I also forgot to mention my orange juice aperol spritz was so gross. I am pretty sure the orange juice was expired. I was having such an awful time I forced myself to drink it to get a buzz to make the rest of the awful dinner not feel so awful.

After dinner was wrapping up I asked the server as well "hey I saw a video online about your restaurant and I thought the meat entree came with a bunch of sauces to dip everything in" and he replied "oh I forgot" and I said "yeah I guess just like our fries and other salad". He really did not have anything else to say.

I never complain but I complained to the manager and they gave us our empanada appetizer for free and also gave us our 2 bottles of water for free (lucky us). They took nothing off the $155 entree though. We wanted to argue more but thought to just leave because it was so awful.

This is definitely the worst dinner I have had in at least 20 years!!! Please...

I truly want this restaurant to succeed and had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, our experience was disappointing, though I hope it was just an off night.

We visited on a Saturday evening when it wasn’t busy. Sitting at the bar, we were the only ones there, yet it took a few minutes for the bartender—standing right in front of us—to even acknowledge us. A simple “Welcome in” would’ve gone a long way. Eventually, we ordered drinks and food.

The empanadas were fine, but not remarkable. For our main course, we chose the Parrillada para Dos, a $115 platter of various cuts of steak, chicken, and sausage meant for two people. When the bartender asked how we wanted the meat cooked, we asked for the chef’s recommendation. His response? “I don’t know, medium?” This was shocking—at a steakhouse, no less. We specified medium rare, but when the platter arrived, every piece of meat was overcooked and well done. The chicken was so overcooked it was impossible to chew, and we couldn’t even cut through it with a steak knife.

The bartender checked in with us early in the meal, before we’d had more than a bite, so we said everything was fine. After that, we weren’t asked about the food again. In fact, once we finished eating (didn't take long because I couldn't eat much of it), we sat for over 20 minutes with our napkins on our plates before I finally had to ask for the bill. My partner did his best to eat what he could, not wanting to waste food, but we still didn't eat even half of it as I couldn't bring myself to eat it.

I rarely write reviews, but this experience was terrible. Spending $150 on overcooked meat at a steakhouse, especially when it wasn’t busy, is unacceptable. Feeling disappointed, we left and ended up going to Khâluna for a drink and dessert instead.

Furthermore, my sister and friend who live nearby tried going there for brunch the next day (Sunday) and it was a little after noon and it was dark (it says they open at noon for brunch). They walked back home and tried calling twice with no answer. They drove back there around 12:20pm to see if it was open and it was still dark so they went somewhere else. When they drove home, they passed it again and it looked to be open.

This is a very tough location for a restaurant to survive, so I hope for their sake, it was just an "off" weekend and not the norm for them.

I sincerely wish this restaurant the best, but sadly, we won’t...

Many times when you go out to dinner, you are not only looking to have a good time with friends or family, but also to forget a little bit about the everyday life and the daily routine. In this case, not only did all that happen to me last night, but I felt transported to a place where I had not been for many years. During my international business activities I used to travel to Argentina and Uruguay (Google it). Two of the most beautiful countries in South America. Not for that the rest of them are not so nice. These two countries have a special charisma. Their history, their people, educated, very hospitable and with a very good economic level. Their music is very special. Not to mention their food, very European, but at the same time with that touch of the Rio de la Plata heritage. Its history is very interesting and I am not going to tell you about it today. My readers have to do their homework. The music, very special and unique. To go there, you have to take a plane and travel about 6,000 miles. The two countries are like brothers. They were born almost together, well, I'm telling you some history. One is next to the other. So, I found through a friend who took me there, a little Uruguay and a little Argentina, all summed up in a beautiful restaurant, La Estancia, in Minneapolis. And it HAS parking...WOW! Remember that these countries have a very diverse heritage from Europe and their food reflects that, giving us what we like as meet and potatos. Also remember that these two countries have a wealth of cattle and know how to grill a good steak deliciously. We like corn in our American roots, well, you have to try the Locro... Not to mention the grilled meats, they are champions in that matter. And finally, I won't tell you more, but for the Sweet Tooth, you won't find more delicious and tasty desserts than at La Estancia. And... the music that I loved listening to during my travels, last night I relived it all. The wine list is very varied and international. It is a restaurant where you will find authenticity and very good service and...