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Buen Ayre (∗)

Address:50 Broadway Market E8 4QJ
Tel:020 7275 9900
Email:
Website: Visit Buen Ayre website
Price: £34.00 Wine: £10.50 Champagne: £40.00
Opening Hours:Mon-Fri 6-10.30pm Sat-Sun 12N-10.30pm

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Every neighbourhood needs a Buen Ayre. There may be bigger, slicker Argentinian operations in the capital, but this Broadway Market ‘asador’ (grill restaurant) does great grass-fed steaks & provides Argentinian wines (most in the £15-30 bracket) with real heart. ‘Watch out Gaucho!’ cautions one fan. The focal point of the narrow, permanently crowded dining room is the authentic charcoal grill, on which specials are expertly cooked by owner & asador master, John Rattagan. The menu is a joy, happily exploring unusual cuts (sweetbread, kidney, flank steak) as well as more familiar rib-eye & rump. Most tables order ‘parrilladas’: mini braziers to share with a selection of meat, offal, sausages & black pudding. Sides of salad or signature chips with garlic & parsley are the apposite accompaniment. Come summer, the scruffy little garden space out back provides relief from the heat of the grill inside.

Buen Ayre Location:

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Reader reviews of Buen Ayre:

Richard W.
Reviews: 1

Richard W. (30s, Male)

Food was not great. Service was rushed and apart from physically grilling the steak it was pretty much self service. Food poorly presented and generally not good value. I have heard comparisons with Gaucho Grill which is ridiculous considering the price paid here. Don't bother.

4 April 2009
Overall:5
Food and Drink:5
Service:4
Atmosphere:6
Value for Money:3
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Sarah W.
Reviews: 1

Sarah W. (30s, Female, London)

I am very surprised that this restaurant gets such good reviews.

After visiting last night I found the service was sloppy and not welcoming. We were crammed into a corner with only one menu per 2 people, the waiter didn't bring us any bread until we had nearly finished our starters. He was very keen to push drinks which is always irritating. He didn't write down orders and seemed very eager to rush us off the table; even though we'd only just sat down and hadn't ordered. We had the table from 7pm – 9pm which is plenty of time to eat dinner, so didn't appreciate being told when we asked for a few more minutes that we should hurry up and order.

The choice of starters was very limited, I had the aubergine which was coated in garlic, cold and unappetizing. My husband had Empanadas which he said were bland and uninteresting.

The main course came and my BIFE DE LOMO was not impressive, I had to leave a large portion as it was very gristly. My husband ordered his medium but it came well done and there was also a surprising difference in the sizes of the steak. The garnish that came with the steak was nice but the side salads and chips we ordered were not particularly well presented and expensive.

The most unpleasant aspect was the single toilet for use by both sexes which was not a wonderful experience for reasons best left unsaid but probably easily imaginable and also not ideal in a very busy restaurant.

Mainly I am surprised that they charge the same prices as Gaucho Grill for everything on their menu but at Gaucho you are also paying for the location, setting, ambiance and decor as well as a much larger choice of food. I really don't see how they can justify the same prices when the food is not better and everything else is certainly worse.

Our bill came to £250 for 4 people – £250 I wish we'd spent in Gaucho!

4 April 2009
Overall:5
Food and Drink:5
Service:5
Atmosphere:5
Value for Money:3
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