Buenos Aires Cafe
Royal Parade, Blackheath, SE3
The Good News:
At last! Somewhere I can wholeheartedly recommend.
The Bad News:
It's not in Greenwich.
A couple of weeks ago, whilst out and about in Blackheath with some pals, we noticed a new restaurant being fitted out. It looked as though it had some time to go, it was still a bit of a building site, but the name intrigued us. Buenos Aires? Could it be a sister branch of the deli/cafe in Royal Hill?
Last night we thought we'd toddle across the heath and see how it was coming on. Little did we know that Buenos Aires had actually opened that night a couple of weeks before. The owner told us a very entertaining tale of his desperately trying to get it ready for the first punters. But that's skipping ahead.
It's got a great location - looking out across the heath (past a Lamborghini whose orange-skinned owners had parked up and gone elsewhere - more fool them) in a row of Latin-y themed restaurants - Mexican, Spanish and now Argentinian, but it also looks great, its black-painted window frames and simple mis-matched wooden furniture a particularly favourite look of mine. There are two chaps serving, one of whom is the owner himself. Both are friendly (the other guy is wonderfully sardonic without being at all cruel)
There are tables outside which I will take advantage of later in the year, but last night was a bit parky. We were greeted with a delicate, light, foody aroma - and the splendidly sardonic waiter, informally dressed and looking ever-so-slightly roguish. I liked him immediately.
He confirmed that this Buenos Aires is the sister of the Royal Hill cafe, though it is different in that there are only one or two items for retail sale and the food is much more substantially a sit-down menu than just a place to have coffee and cake.
On the tables were small jugs of good quality olive oil and proper pepper mills. I was liking this place more and more. The menu had the expected - much sausage, steak and other Argentinian meaty-type dishes, and the unexpected - am I the only person on earth who didn't know that 55% of the Argentinian population is Italian? Home-made pasta dishes and other Italian staples were a welcome addition to the classic Argentine fare.
While we were waiting for starters, the owner saw that we were discussing the photos on the wall and came over to chat - it's that sort of place. We ended up talking about one of the national heroes, Che Guevara. Apparently one of the waitresses in the other branch is a bit of a fan and he gets shirtless pics of him for her. Aaah...
The photos are actually pretty random - including Princess Diana in shorts and some youths shouting at each other - presumably the work of one particular photographer. I couldn't tell if it was a temporary exhibition or a permanent collection and by that point the owner was seating another family - with two small children who, by the way, seemed to have a whale of a time.
The food is simply served. The kitchen is clearly small (with a smile-ly chef who waves at you instead of scowling) but I don't think that's the reason. These guys actually know what they're serving. The chorizo was firm and hearty, and a good-sized portion. The simple baby mozzarela and tomato salad was tasty, and supplied without dressing - they brought some balsamic vinegar to the table and left it to us to drizzle either that or the olive oil ourselves.
We wanted Argentinian wine, so we got our waiter to recommend one for us. The Tapiz Riserva at £ 16.95 is not the most subtle red I've ever drunk but it went absolutely perfectly with what we were eating. Its blackberry tones and blueish-purple colour seemed to pervade right through, a good chewy mouthful.
The mains were just as good. A veritable housebrick of steak (the mid-price choice) was perfectly cooked, exactly as my companion had ordered, the chips melt-in-the mouth wonderful (I should know, I ate most of them.) My own butternut squash raviolo (slightly oddly described as Oscar Wilde's favourite) was clearly hand-rolled, the filling delicate and light.
I was gutted that I'd been so greedy with those chips, as I'd had my eye on at least two of the dessert dishes - the creme caramel with dulce de leche and the hand-made ice cream which is made daily on the premises. I guess I'll just have to go back to test them another time.
We decided to just have a coffee but were intrigued by the menu's invitation to sit downstairs in the lounge area. We went down the stairs, past the tiny inset white-wine fridge decorated with a picture of the Mona Lisa wearing a Che Guevara beret, to a little bar area. There's a good leather sofa, some other comfy chairs, four bar stools and what must be a somewhat lonely table and two chairs, presumably for overspill diners. The bar has quite a selection of liqueurs, but we stuck to coffee - the wine was beginning to take its toll.
This must all read like one of those local paper reviews which are not allowed not to enjoy a restaurant, but I have no axe to grind with anyone on this site. I genuinely loved this place. I need to go back a couple more times with more people (to be absolutely, sure, you understand) but if it continues the way it has started, I may well have found, at last, an eaterie I can genuinely call a Greenwich Phantom Favourite Haunt...
PS
Having visited the other day and been turned away (in the most polite, friendly and apologetic manner possible) I heartily recommend booking:
020 8318 5333
The Good News:
At last! Somewhere I can wholeheartedly recommend.
The Bad News:
It's not in Greenwich.
A couple of weeks ago, whilst out and about in Blackheath with some pals, we noticed a new restaurant being fitted out. It looked as though it had some time to go, it was still a bit of a building site, but the name intrigued us. Buenos Aires? Could it be a sister branch of the deli/cafe in Royal Hill?
Last night we thought we'd toddle across the heath and see how it was coming on. Little did we know that Buenos Aires had actually opened that night a couple of weeks before. The owner told us a very entertaining tale of his desperately trying to get it ready for the first punters. But that's skipping ahead.
It's got a great location - looking out across the heath (past a Lamborghini whose orange-skinned owners had parked up and gone elsewhere - more fool them) in a row of Latin-y themed restaurants - Mexican, Spanish and now Argentinian, but it also looks great, its black-painted window frames and simple mis-matched wooden furniture a particularly favourite look of mine. There are two chaps serving, one of whom is the owner himself. Both are friendly (the other guy is wonderfully sardonic without being at all cruel)
There are tables outside which I will take advantage of later in the year, but last night was a bit parky. We were greeted with a delicate, light, foody aroma - and the splendidly sardonic waiter, informally dressed and looking ever-so-slightly roguish. I liked him immediately.
He confirmed that this Buenos Aires is the sister of the Royal Hill cafe, though it is different in that there are only one or two items for retail sale and the food is much more substantially a sit-down menu than just a place to have coffee and cake.
On the tables were small jugs of good quality olive oil and proper pepper mills. I was liking this place more and more. The menu had the expected - much sausage, steak and other Argentinian meaty-type dishes, and the unexpected - am I the only person on earth who didn't know that 55% of the Argentinian population is Italian? Home-made pasta dishes and other Italian staples were a welcome addition to the classic Argentine fare.
While we were waiting for starters, the owner saw that we were discussing the photos on the wall and came over to chat - it's that sort of place. We ended up talking about one of the national heroes, Che Guevara. Apparently one of the waitresses in the other branch is a bit of a fan and he gets shirtless pics of him for her. Aaah...
The photos are actually pretty random - including Princess Diana in shorts and some youths shouting at each other - presumably the work of one particular photographer. I couldn't tell if it was a temporary exhibition or a permanent collection and by that point the owner was seating another family - with two small children who, by the way, seemed to have a whale of a time.
The food is simply served. The kitchen is clearly small (with a smile-ly chef who waves at you instead of scowling) but I don't think that's the reason. These guys actually know what they're serving. The chorizo was firm and hearty, and a good-sized portion. The simple baby mozzarela and tomato salad was tasty, and supplied without dressing - they brought some balsamic vinegar to the table and left it to us to drizzle either that or the olive oil ourselves.
We wanted Argentinian wine, so we got our waiter to recommend one for us. The Tapiz Riserva at £ 16.95 is not the most subtle red I've ever drunk but it went absolutely perfectly with what we were eating. Its blackberry tones and blueish-purple colour seemed to pervade right through, a good chewy mouthful.
The mains were just as good. A veritable housebrick of steak (the mid-price choice) was perfectly cooked, exactly as my companion had ordered, the chips melt-in-the mouth wonderful (I should know, I ate most of them.) My own butternut squash raviolo (slightly oddly described as Oscar Wilde's favourite) was clearly hand-rolled, the filling delicate and light.
I was gutted that I'd been so greedy with those chips, as I'd had my eye on at least two of the dessert dishes - the creme caramel with dulce de leche and the hand-made ice cream which is made daily on the premises. I guess I'll just have to go back to test them another time.
We decided to just have a coffee but were intrigued by the menu's invitation to sit downstairs in the lounge area. We went down the stairs, past the tiny inset white-wine fridge decorated with a picture of the Mona Lisa wearing a Che Guevara beret, to a little bar area. There's a good leather sofa, some other comfy chairs, four bar stools and what must be a somewhat lonely table and two chairs, presumably for overspill diners. The bar has quite a selection of liqueurs, but we stuck to coffee - the wine was beginning to take its toll.
This must all read like one of those local paper reviews which are not allowed not to enjoy a restaurant, but I have no axe to grind with anyone on this site. I genuinely loved this place. I need to go back a couple more times with more people (to be absolutely, sure, you understand) but if it continues the way it has started, I may well have found, at last, an eaterie I can genuinely call a Greenwich Phantom Favourite Haunt...
PS
Having visited the other day and been turned away (in the most polite, friendly and apologetic manner possible) I heartily recommend booking:
020 8318 5333
Labels: Eating Out, Not-Quite-Greenwich
posted by The Greenwich Phantom at
08:18
52 Comments:
Great review - I've been looking forward to going here since hearing about it. Will have to make the time soon.
Thank you so much for the "review", I have driven past it so many times in the past couple of weeks and wondered if it was a sister of the Greenwich BAC. You have set my taste buds off, so will have to try it out for myself
Well - I really liked it. Hope you do too.
I have just visited this delightful place myself and can reveal that the owner is also a successful Paparazzo. So the somewhat random pictures are of the people he has papped! Just popped in for coffee but after reading your review I will definitely be popping back for dinner.
That will explain why he seemed rather interested in my camera (I'd been taking pics of the heath)- I'd played it down as I didn't want to be asked too many questions.
Well. I didn't know that. They're good pics. I guess a retired Pap has to do something and if they all did things as worthwhile as that then maybe they wouldn't get the dodgy press they sometimes do.
Do go along. It's really worth it.
We yummy mummies have been looking for a new post-school-drop-off coffee haunt. Chapter II has such wonderful service, it's hard to give up, but going for a coffee is at least half about having a decent cuppa.
I had dinner there yesterday. Your review and the meal were both spot on. Low key friendly service, good ingredients cooked simply and well. I'll be going again.
Huzzah! Me too. Everyone I know who's been is really impressed. Maybe it'll up the ante in Greenwich itself. Ok, so I'm not holding my breath...
We ate there this Sunday and couldn't fault anything - the food, service, atmosphere and value for money were all spot on and we will be venturing back often!! Tip - book in advance... he was having to turn people away when we were there.
Wow - already! I'm not surprised - it's excellent.
Don't suppose anyone's got their phone number? They're not listed yet.
This post has been removed by the author.
I have now added it to the post but here it is again:
020 8318 5333
Just ate here. Really lovely food, just the right size portions, decent wine list and couldn't resist buying the dolce de leche sauce in a jar! However, very busy so be advised - book, book, book!
Just got back from 3 months in Argentina and can't wait to check out this restaurant - looks great - glad they reviews are all top-notch!
I've been trying to get back there - it's so bloomin' busy I can't get a seat.
I will especially look forward to your review Paula, since you ahve first hand knowledge of the real thing!
Was a bit disappointed to be honest (especially as I was one of the few to like its predecessor Za). For the price I expected better than a paper napkin, disorganised service and wobbly tables. Paying 19 pound for their top of the range steak I would have thought the chips, which I had to pay extra for, would have been better than just oven chips. The slice of creme caramel at 6.50 was daylight robbery. On the plus side wine list was good as were the empanadas to start, meat was as good as you might expect but I would pay the extra to go to one of the Gauchos in town. My wife had the pizza and Zero Degrees beats that hands down.
Stuart
Oh dear. I hope it hasn't lost its shine already. We certainly didn't have oven chips and bad pizzas when we went but it was only the first week after it opened. I'm booked to go again in a week or so's time and will report back...
Have been a couple of times and I love it. The atmosphere is very relaxed, if you are looking for a stuffy, formal dining experience this is not the place, most of its charm comes from the extremely friendly, low key service. The food is fantastic, the mixed grill is enough for 2 starving people or 3 with normal appetites so provides excellent value for money. The chips are some of the best I have ever tasted, they have definitely been nowhere near an oven. If you can possibly squeeze in a pud I can recommend the crepes with dulce de leche. Downstairs is perfect to have a coffee after dinner, the leather sofas are so comfy. If you haven't been go now but do remember to book. Lucy.
I'm a blackheath village resident and agree with comments re. food - I have eaten there three times now and the steaks are always sublime. In all honesty though, I've never found the male waiter/owner at all friendly or service minded on any occasion, disappointing because the female waitresses are the epitome of welcoming.
It is still really busy, and, according to our friendly waitress, you need to book in advance every night apart, perhaps, from Monday and Tuesdays. We just managed to get a table outside on a Thursday by ringing at lunchtime.
The food was fantastic - we had the mixed grill, which between 2 hungry people or 3 not so hungry (as the review above says) is truly excellent value at £24. We also had the Tapiz wine, and it was a perfect match for the meat.
We didn't have room for dessert, but will definitely be going back, providing we can get a table of course!
Visited the Buenos Aires Cafe last night for a birthday dinner. Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening. The wine was very good, as were our starters (we all tried different flavour empanadas). The steaks were all cooked perfectly, although I have to agree with previous postings about how cheeky it is that they charge £2.50 for extra chips or spinach. When you're paying those kinds of prices, the least they could do was throw in some free veg and chips. My other problem was they placed us right by the door and each time it opened we got blasted by the wind coming off the heath so I spent half the meal hunched up with my coat on. The service was excellent (no sign of the sardonic waiter anywhere) and we had a good meal overall. Would recommend it if you are big fan or your meat, or on the Atkins diet.
What a wonderful place, me & my husband stumbled upon it on our wedding anniversary, even though it was a saturday evening it was still early 6pm and the owner accomodated us apologising for downstairs only on a two table and politly asking us for the table back for 8pm. The food was wonderful, we love dining out and have been fortunate to sample many restaurants alot of which were over priced, we was so plesantly suprised when the bill came, very very reasonable for such a perfect meal, and I will definalty ask for the table for two downstairs it was very comfortable & intimate there is a large snuggly leather sofa which we moved to after the meal to relax for a drink..... ok so you got me...until our over-induljunce had subsided!!
I have been to Buenos Aires many times and always the portions are enormous especially the steaks.How can you complain about 2.50 for side dishes when you get so much for your money.Best value for money around,get real.There are loads of crap restaurants out there.
I went here mainly because of the great reviews. What a truly horrible experience it was! It's a soul less room where you are most certainly NOT made to feel welcome. We were asked if we were ready to order by 3 different people which was infuriating - especially when 2 out of those 3 people had sneers on their faces! The food was 'okay' - they had tickets on themselves, - top tip - being humble is a much nicer feature than being arrogant. Once our oder was taken, we almost had to jump up in the air and do a cartwheel before we got any attention after that! The best bit was when my friend couldnt finish her main and we asked if they had a container so she could take it home (after all - all they should do is throw it away - surely?). The guy laughed and said no, when I asked him if they had some sort of Tupperwear they could put it in he said of course not!! Then we were told by the only friendly person who worked there that they do takeaways - what on earth do they put that in then? Bin bags??? By then I couldnt be bothered to ask again. I was loath to leave a tip by my friend left one. NEVER again will I go in there. Maybe if you know the owners you will get treated better! Awful.
How utterly horrid. It shouldn't matter if you know the owners or not. I don't know them myself and have only ever had good service and food. I hope it's not going downhill already...
Anyone else been recently who can give us an opinion?
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ick! Keep me posted, will you?
I definately will
Went to the Buenos Aires Cafe last night, what can I say apart from Incredible! I had the Criollo to start WOW this was so good I asked the onwer if he sold these amazazing sausages in his deli in Greenwich sadly not as they are made on the premises he told me, however he added if was to give him some warning he would arrange some to be made for me to cook at home! my patner had the empanada (the beef i think) and said that it was delicous, for our main courses we both went for the sirloin I opted to have the two eggs on mine, they were perfectly cooked and melted in the mouth, a true delight! I don't know which resturant it was that one of these posters who said they had oven chips went to becuase it wasnt here instead we tucked into some of the best chips we have ever eaten. We did manage room for dessert I had simple choclate ice cream which was devine and my partner the creme caremel which she couldn't finsh. topped off with coffee's all in all a very good experince - we will be going back!
Not finishing creme caramel? That's just plain wrong!
Seriously - glad it's still up to scratch.
Really pretty darn good. That's is coming from someone who dines at some of the best places for steak in the world, not just London.
Very attentive, friendly and knowledgeable service, combined with some very fresh, authentic and flavour-packed food.
Steaks are the thickness of Bibles, and equally good reheated later if you can't finish them (they make probably the best steak sandwich filling you'll ever have over here), the chips have a grease-free crunch to them, chorizo is moist and meaty, and the spinach is very well-treated indeed, whichever way you have them.
As a wine advisor, I can tell you that the wine list is pretty solid...even the low-end stuff, the Astica range and various Trapiche offerings are tasty. Try the Broquel Bonarda, Norton Estate, and any of the Torrontes for examples of new world, good-value wines. Round off the meal with some fresh Maté, a form of Argentine spiced tea, in the traditional hollowed husk with silver filter straw. Plus anything with dulce de leche (milked toffee sauce) in :P it's like heaven in a jar.
Confusing! After reading all these positive comments, I'm beginning to wonder if I went to the same place. I had the black squid ink ravioli (of which there were about 5 parcels) and 1 glass of wine, my companion had the same but water instead of the wine. It was totally tasteless and the bill came to £37. I came out of there still hungry but with a bitter taste in my mouth. Never again!
This is very strange - it seems that on the odd occasion when it's not good it's totally awful. Hmm. Worth bearing in mind...
I went on Saturday evening along with 5 of my friends. We had a table downstairs as they couldn't fit us up in the main restaurant. The service was very friendly and helpful but I couldn't comment on the atmosphere as when you are downstairs you are somewhat removed from the hubub of the main room. But to be honest it's all about the food, and OHH MY what food!. Without boring everyone with each and every persons particular meal I think it's best summed up by the comment made at the end of the meal by one of my companions, "That is the best steak I have ever eaten". Excellent starters, superb main courses and delicious deserts all washed down with a lovely selection of good wines. A fantastic night out and a place that is now going to be a regular haunt of mine for a long time to come hopefully.
I kept driving past Buenos Aires Cafe on Blackheath thinking it looked lovely. I read all the reviews on this site, was impressed so took my husband there for his birthday last night.
I'm afraid we were really disappointed with what was a below average restaurant. Firstly, I had been phoning all week to book a table, no-one ever, ever answered the phone- not very professional. We turned up at 7pm & it was fully booked upstairs so they seated us in the basement. Somewhere in the reviews it says downstairs is a lovely 'basement bar' WHAT???!!! It was just a basement with a few tables slung in, there were chairs everwhere, it was a mess and the loos are down there so it just felt like a walk-through. Anyway, we stuck with it because I had read such fab reviews about the food. The menu was average and the prices above average. The choices of steaks were limited- what about rib-eye??!! And, when you are paying £14.50 for a steak you don't expect to have to pay £5 for 2 portions of fries (which were anaemic and one portion would have been enough for two- couldn't the waiter have said that) and £3.95 for a portion of bizarrely cooked mixed veg. The steak was literally just served up as a chunk of meat on a plate with no dressing or anything, it looked really unattractive- and not at all cooked to my preference- but it took so long for a member of staff to come back downstairs I couldn't be bothered to ask for it to be re-done. When our plates were taken we were left for over 20 minutes with no-one asking if we wanted deserts or coffee. When we finally got the desert menu I was horrified that a portion of trifle cost £6.50- WHAT????!!!! We got the bill & promptly left with much lighter pockets. In short, Buenos Aires Cafe is over-rated & over-expensive for below average food & service- plus it isn't actually a very nice restaurant. As a tip, if you want good steak go to The Gaucho Grill, the choice & surroundings are amazing, and you will never taste a steak like it.
wow, just had a beautiful lunch at buenos aires. pasta, pizza and meat dishes were all fabulous. service was excellent too, attentive and friendly. the only bad thing were the annoying, screaming children and their obnoxious parents who egged on their offspring by laughing at their attention-seeking antics. still, can't blame the restaurant and can't wait to go back.
went here for lunch on sunday too (9th). food and service was great. can especially recommend the creme caramel - it may be a bit pricey but it's enough for two. will go back again for the mixed grill and pray the obnoxious children aren't there.
I've been there several times and every time is fantastic, the food, the service, the wine, the music, everything is top rate.
And I don't understand some of the comments; what kind of people complain for £2.50 of a hand cut, freshly cook and huge portion of chips or for 6.50 incredible delicious home made cream caramel and huge as well. 14oz/400grs of first class imported meat at 14.50, I think is a great value for money. Buenos Aires is the best thing that could happen to Blackheath and I'll keep recommending it to every one. Carla
A couple of years ago I when to Buenos Aires (the city) and i fell i love with the place and when I saw Buenos Aires Cafe in Greenwich I couldn't wait to go and visit it. I didn't get disappointed. Buenos Aires Cafe is a great place, lovely smell of coffee and fresh patiseries, comfortable sofas, great pictures, it was like being back in Argentina. When the same owners opened the second Buenos Aires in Blackheath I could not wait to try their menu. Now I have been there many times and I'll agree with the Phantom ,"pit is not in Greenwich" otherwise I'll be there every day.
Reading the comments I can't believe some of the critics. How can some one mistake oven chips with the real ones. The pizzas are fantastics (and I am Italian). The meat is magnificent, how can somebody complain for the price or for not throwing some chips with it, obviously this people are used to it in pubs. They don't take any consideration that the meat is imported from Argentina and the main attraction on the plat in the meat. The Argentineans like the Italians they don't mix their food, they use one dish for each ingredient. They charge 14.50 for a top class meat, where for the same meat other places charge £17.50. The portions are incredible big (exactly like in Argentina). The cream caramel is the best I ever eat any where in the world (I am a middle age man and I have eating in many many restaurants around the world) and again the size portion huge. the home made sausages are fantastics. The wine list is impressive and again fantastic value for money. This a a relax friendly family restaurant, like a typical tango cafe in Argentina.
I was reading another comment on a misused pin number. I think that is a serious slander and I hope the owner read the comment and try to find the source of it. I know that a few places around Blackheath are unhappy on Buenos Aires being there, because these guys are full every night and not the others , so i wouldn't be surprise if the comment is come from one of them.
I some one suggest to go to el Gaucho grill for better decoration or food, obviously they don't know the El Gaucho Grill is a Dutch company and the Buenos Aires Cafe is real Argentinean from Buenos Aires.
I agree with Carla, Buenos aires is a great place and I will recommended to any one
A couple of years ago I when to Buenos Aires (the city) and i fell i love with the place and when I saw Buenos Aires Cafe in Greenwich I couldn't wait to go and visit it. I didn't get disappointed. Buenos Aires Cafe is a great place, lovely smell of coffee and fresh patiseries, comfortable sofas, great pictures, it was like being back in Argentina. When the same owners opened the second Buenos Aires in Blackheath I could not wait to try their menu. Now I have been there many times and I'll agree with the Phantom ,"pity is not in Greenwich" otherwise I'll be there every day.
Reading the comments I can't believe some of the critics. How can some one mistake oven chips with the real ones. The pizzas are fantastics (and I am Italian). The meat is magnificent, how can somebody complain for the price or for not throwing some chips with it, obviously this people are used to it in pubs. They don't take any consideration that the meat is imported from Argentina and the main attraction on the plate is the meat. The Argentineans like the Italians they don't mix their food, they use one dish for each ingredient. They charge 14.50 for a sirlon , where for the same meat other places charge £17.50. The portions are incredible big (exactly like in Argentina). The cream caramel is the best I ever eat any where in the world (I am a middle age man and I have eating in many many restaurants around the world) and again the size portion huge. the home made sausages are fantastics. The wine list is impressive and again fantastic value for money. This a a relax friendly family restaurant, like a typical tango cafe in Argentina.
I was reading another comment on a misused pin number. I think that is a serious slander and I hope the owner read the comment and try to find the source of it. I know that a few places around Blackheath are unhappy on Buenos Aires being there, because these guys are full every night and not the others , so i wouldn't be surprise if the comment is come from one of them.
Some one suggested to go to el Gaucho grill for better decoration or food, obviously they don't know the El Gaucho Grill is a Dutch company and the Buenos Aires Cafe is real Argentinean from Buenos Aires. At The Gaucho Grill they don't know what at real empanada is or a chorizo.
I agree with Carla, Buenos aires is a great place and the best that could happens to Blackheath.
Many restaurants have been in that place and this is the only one who is full every night and the only one which is very difficult to get a sit without booking. I can understand that they can make mistakes, nobody is perfect, but try to get a table without booking and then you will see that they must be doing most of he things right.
A couple of years ago I when to Buenos Aires (the city) and i fell i love with the place and when I saw Buenos Aires Cafe in Greenwich I couldn't wait to go and visit it. I didn't get disappointed. Buenos Aires Cafe is a great place, lovely smell of coffee and fresh patiseries, comfortable sofas, great pictures, it was like being back in Argentina. When the same owners opened the second Buenos Aires in Blackheath I could not wait to try their menu. Now I have been there many times and I'll agree with the Phantom ,"pity is not in Greenwich" otherwise I'll be there every day.
Reading the comments I can't believe some of the critics. How can some one mistake oven chips with the real ones. The pizzas are fantastics (and I am Italian). The meat is magnificent, how can somebody complain for the price or for not throwing some chips with it, obviously this people are used to it in pubs. They don't take any consideration that the meat is imported from Argentina and the main attraction on the plate is the meat. The Argentineans like the Italians they don't mix their food, they use one dish for each ingredient. They charge 14.50 for a sirlon , where for the same meat other places charge £17.50. The portions are incredible big (exactly like in Argentina). The cream caramel is the best I ever eat any where in the world (I am a middle age man and I have eating in many many restaurants around the world) and again the size portion huge. the home made sausages are fantastics. The wine list is impressive and again fantastic value for money. This a a relax friendly family restaurant, like a typical tango cafe in Argentina.
I was reading another comment on a misused pin number. I think that is a serious slander and I hope the owner read the comment and try to find the source of it. I know that a few places around Blackheath are unhappy on Buenos Aires being there, because these guys are full every night and not the others , so i wouldn't be surprise if the comment is come from one of them.
Some one suggested to go to el Gaucho grill for better decoration or food, obviously they don't know the El Gaucho Grill is a Dutch company and the Buenos Aires Cafe is real Argentinean from Buenos Aires. At The Gaucho Grill they don't know what at real empanada is or a chorizo.
I agree with Carla, Buenos aires is a great place and the best that could happens to Blackheath.
Many restaurants have been in that place and this is the only one who is full every night and the only one which is very difficult to get a sit without booking. I can understand that they can make mistakes, nobody is perfect, but try to get a table without booking and then you will see that they must be doing most of he things right.
Squid ravioli and a glass of wine for 37 pounds??????
the ravioli cost £8.50 and a big glass of wine 6.00
Do I need t say more? No doubt, you when to another place
My wife and I had had one of our weekend strolls around Greenwich (a highly recomennded winter pursuit)and decided to drive up to Blackheath to find somewhere to eat. Confronted by the usual nightmare parking scenario but eventually found a spot, and wandered into the Buenos Aires Cafe. Nice menu (not too long) and interesting Argentinian wines, very nice grub (Brocheta and Chips) and a really nice Cabernet Sauvignon (Finca del Retiro). All in all, I would say it's the the spherical objects of the canine variety, highly recommended.
Just visited for lunch. Really nice, not cheap,not too expensive but well worth it. Try quince jelly with cheese as a dessert. People serving there are very friendly as well! Thanks for the advice..
I have never left enough room for pud yet, greedy old Phantom that I am. But I was there again the other day and it's still as good as ever.
I'm not surprised to see such mixed reviews about this restaurant since I've experienced all of them. I've only been there three times and the firs time was only about a week after they opened. The food, the service, the wine, everything was spot on. I felt incredibly lucky to have such a good restaurant on my doorstep!
The last time we went was not as impressing and the male waiter was not on his best behaviour, the food was ok, but far from as good as the first time and after our main we got sent down to the basement for our desserts. We put it down to the fact that they had been open for a couple of months by now and was getting a bit lazy overall.
In conclusion I think the food and the wine is good but going there is a bit of a gamble. For a special occasion I would probably recommend Locale or Chapter II to be sure to get good food, good service and good seats.
But I guess you could get lucky and have an amazing evening at Buenos Aires Café because it does happen!
I went there last night. Steaks were good. My dessert - trifle, was mostly bad; I just ate the custardy bit. The wine was great.
The only thing that slightly marred the evening was a group of 10 or so chaps singing at the top of their voices which made it very hard to have a decent conversation with my companions. Having said that the staff were friendly and charming and tried to keep the rowdy table under control.
I will definitely go back, I just won't have dessert.
Ate in Buenos Aires earlier tonight. can't fault meal - perfectly cooked steak, great chips (and quite definitely not oven chips) and great starters of black pudding and chorizo. The black pudding made me realise that what I have been eating for years is far from the real deal. Service was fine, attentive but unobtrusive and there were no complaints for a doggy bag request. Judging by the odd comment on this forum I guess everywhere can have a bad night, but a full thumbs up from me. Particularly for steak fans.
After going to Argentina and falling in love with the place,I was extremely excited to see this restuarant open on my doorstep!my partner booked a table for two outside for my birthday earlier in the day, we were told that wasn’t a problem. When my partner phoned later in the evening to check something she was told by the extremely rude owner that a group had plotted up for the entire day and therefore we no longer had our requested table, instead we were now relocated to the BASEMENT!!
This was not how my partner had envisaged my birthday and therefore politely asked the owner if he could ask the group the possibility of them vacating by 9pm ( an hour later than we booked).The owner replied quite simply 'no' and that it was his restaurant so he could do what he wants. Well we will now not be eating there now or in the near future, instead we will be enjoying a nice meal in Gauchos in the o2.
I ate at Buenos Aires last night with 4 friends. The food was wonderful but we were not pleased with one of the waiters and the time we waited for our food. After we had been waiting 40 minutes after ordering I asked the waiter where our order was. He didn't apologise and said rudely that it takes time to do a lot of different orders. We all had ordered steak cooked the same way, which I pointed out to him and he just stalked off! Our food came 10 minutes later so we had waited 50 minutes in total from ordering. Some nights this wouldn't bother me but we had mentioned to the waiter on sitting down that we were going to a birthday celebration at 8pm (we sat down at 6.15pm but didn't order until 6.40pm). He did apologise when half our party left straight after the mains because they couldn't be late but it was a little too late to be sorry then. I would like to go back since I thought the food was wonderful and reasonable value for such quality. But it may be a while before we try it again.
I've been here a couple of times - I tend to stick to reliable steak or pizza, and they were both excellent here. However, the second time we went, the waiter was quite particular and a little rude when taking our reservation, in that we had to be in and out by certain times.
I was going to say that the problem is the restaurant is too small, but that's not fair; it's size is much of its charm.
The flip side is that the local population is too large. If there were less of us in Blackheath, we could all book tables without them overbooking, the staff would work a bit harder to attract new business, and everyone would be happy. As it is, it's heavily oversubscribed, some people get lucky, or preferential treatment, and the rest have to contend with an overly confident manager and staff who feel they can afford to be rude to the rest, because other punters will surely replace them.
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