La Porteña — Restaurant in Stone Harbor

Wow! What a great meal this evening at LaPortena. This was our first time going here and it was really good. The restaurant has the intimacy of a supper club and the flavors and tastes of a 5 star restaurant. We began with the menu titled “for the table”. This included 2 empanadas first which were good-- these included ground beef, onions, peppers, thai chili, olives, hard boiled egg and cumin. These were a nice start. This was followed by Patagonian Salpicon which were grilled red Patagonian shrimp, local squid, blood orange, hearts of palm, avocado, red onion, bell peppers, parsley, garlic oil and golf sauce. The next item brought out was the sugar baby gazpacho which was local watermelon gazpacho, burrata, blueberry and Thai basil pesto and pistachio dukkah. The final appetizer portion was a bunch of jersey asparagus described as Jamon Serrano, morel mushroom mousseline, smoked spruce green oil, mussel emulsion and bottarga. Every appetizer melded together wonderful flavors and were extremely delicious. For our main courses, we both chose Argentinian style steaks-- my wife chose the upgraded ribeye and I chose the upgraded ny strip. Both steaks were excellent and perfectly prepared—the steaks were served with a fresh salsa on the side as well as a chimichurri. The steaks were good size and came with fries prepared in beef tallow as well as a beautiful salad. For dessert, the meal came with a dulce de leche rice pudding, rhubarb compote and coffee cream. Every bite of this was really good. This is a BYOB place and will offer a wonderful addition to the Stone Harbor restaurant landscape. Dena (one of the owners) was extremely pleasant to talk to and cared greatly about our opinions regarding the food and the service. The ambiance was beautiful and I expect them to do very well here. Dinner for 2 before tip was $228. We look forward...

We sat for our fourth Chef’s Table meal of the season at La Porteña last night. Once again Lucas and his team knocked it out of the park. Given that we are repeat chef’s table customers, we presented them with the challenge of not repeating any dishes. Lucas has literally wowed us with every dish at every meal, while also thoughtfully addressing my long Covid disordered taste issues. I was never a fan of oysters until he presented NJ fresh harvested oysters raw with an amazing watermelon mignonette and then at the next meal grilled with delicious accompaniments. Last time, the ravioli with fresh horseradish was startlingly good. And that’s exactly what Chef Manteca excels at - creating brilliantly balanced combinations of surprising ingredients. This evening we were treated to a combination of cerviche of Argentinian red shrimp combined with local melon that exploded on the palate. The miso candy roaster squash soup was also a revelation. As someone who adores squash in all its incarnations, this soup and its accompaniments made me sit up and say, “wow, I’ve not tasted anything like that before!” As always, La Porteña’s beef main course accompanied by herbed tallow fries and salad is always outstanding. We’ve enjoyed the strip steak and the ribeye and both were delicious. I cannot recommend La Porteña highly enough! I will, however, say that we’ll be booking our tables, including chef’s table, for summer 2026 as soon as their 2026...

This restaurant was truly one of the highlights of our Cape May vacation! As Argentinians, it felt so special to find an authentic Argentinian restaurant in Stone Harbor. From the moment we walked in, the host was welcoming and the interior was beautiful — I especially loved seeing the Argentinian flag on the wall, which made us feel right at home.

The food was absolutely incredible, full of flavor and easily the best I had all week. We even asked our waitress if we could meet the chef, and it was such a joy to meet him — not only because the food was amazing, but also because he’s Argentinian too. He was warm, kind, and you could tell how much passion he puts into his cooking.

We actually tried to go back again later in the week, but there were no reservations available (not surprising given how great this place is!). Not a problem, though — we will definitely be back.

And for anyone wondering: even if you’re more used to American or Italian food, don’t hesitate to try this spot. The dishes are approachable, authentic, and likely some of the best food you’ll have in the area....