Santa Maria Del Sur

This is only the 2nd time to this restaurant and it will be the last.

There were 3 of us on 23/12/11 for a christmas lunch. 2 of us started with sweetbreads. These were undercooked and gloopy. When we complained, we were told they were meant to be like this! They even had the gall to charge us for them. My mixed salad consisted of unfresh lettuce and tomatoes cut in two. Clearly no care was given to either the contents or the preparation of the salad. We complained again and at least we were not charged for this.

As it was christmas we stayed on and ordered further bottles of wine. Just before 5.00, when there were no other customers, we were told they were closing and we had to go. Closing at 5.00 on the last business day before christmas? I dont think so. I stress, that whilst merry, we were perfectly well behaved. The staff had laid up the tables for the evening and obviously could not be bothered any longer, despite the fact that we were spending good money.

A very poor experience overall

I went here for lunch the other day and was blown away! We were the only people in there due to the time of day, hence the slightly lower score for atmosphere, although one of my fellow diners assured me that in the evenings it's fantastic. Every part of the meal was wonderful, the bread rolls to start with came with this delicious blue cheese butter. For my main I had a breaded steak fillet with garlic and parsley chips which i'd highly recommend (i think it may only be on the lunch menu having looked at their website) followed by a wonderful Argentine coffee. I also pinched a bit of my friends dessert, which was ice cream and nuts – just too good to describe!Seriously – I live in east London, but i'd travel to Battersea for another meal here any day. I'm keen to give it a try in the evenings. Brilliant place. Oh and the service was excellent too!

When I first moved to Battersea, my housemate gave me the tour of the local area. What began as a long list of fabulous places to explore, shortened pretty abruptly when we went past the restaurant Santa Maria Del Sur. We were both glued to the window, gawping at the fat juicy steak chargrilling on the open grill, or parilla as they're called in South America and the handsome Latino chef casually flipping them over. Said chef looked slightly amused by us, gave us a cheeky smile and ushered us in. Sold.

The phenomenal steak restaurant that is Santa Maria Del Sur, an Argentinian restaurant run entirely by Argentinians that specialises in flame grilled meat and hearty red wines. The restaurant won Gordon Ramseys F-word last year, just after the first time I went. The F-word gives awards to local eats who offer their clientele something different, special and grounded. This restaurant is exactly that. It offers a fantastic experience built around delicious simply cooked food, the trick being that everything on offer isn't played with. The ingredients are top quality and stand our for themselves, sometime enhanced with some fresh parsley, a slither of red pepper or a simple tomato and coriander salsa.

The steak was (on both occasions) probably the best I've eaten. I've been to Argentina and apart from the prices and not being offered it by a gaucho in a poncho, the quality and freshness is comparable. The fillet was thick, smooth, smoky and rich and cut like velvet. The inside was pink and juicy whilst the outside remained slightly cripsy and caramelised. Each slice encouraged more and more salty and meaty juice to come trickling out, the perfect accompaniment to triple cooked crispy chips. To start, there was chorizo, firey and crumbly and empanadas, deep fried pastry parcels filled with spiced spinach and ricotta, fresh and fragrant. This was all set in warm candlelight washed down with top-class full bodied red wine from Malbec. The meal for two came to £70 for two starters, fillet steaks (only £18 each) with chips and a side salad that we really didn't need..I always try to sneak some green into my meals..and a bottle of wine.

Only thing is we had to book a table 2 months in advance for my second visit.. The F-word may have not changed the quality, but sure has upped its popularity so always book in advance.

Santa Maria Del Sur

Queenstown Road, Battersea, SW8.

A fantastic restaurant. We went on Monday night and enjoyed being seranaded by a very accomplished guitarist, whose voice transported us to Argentina. The staff were helpful throughout our meal, particularly when deciding what dishes to try. I had the Provoletta to start, followed by Sirloin steak accompanied with chips, butter beans and chorizo. My manfriend had the Rib eye steak with the same accompaniemnts, and both of us were blown away by our meals. So we only just had room to share a dolce late ice cream for dessert. A fantastic meal and evening, I will definitely be going back.

I’ve just seen Gerado’s response to previous comments and wanted to add something of my own to it. In August I wanted to fit around thirty of my friends into Santa Maria, which is not a large restaurant, so I booked up four or five tables for various time slots, all around the 6pm mark. I then went in and spoke to a very helpful man, who I remember now was called Gerardo, and explained that although it would be very inconvenient for them I hoped that they might be able to accommodate my friends and I all together, at the same time. Despite our bookings initially being spread all over the restaurant, and my making it clear that we would still take the tables whether or not they were together, Gerardo and his staff went out of their way to accommodate us, and the thirty of us had the most incredible meal I’ve enjoyed in London. We never felt rushed, and I certainly wasn’t made to feel awkward for making such demands of them, and would have been happy enough with the service that even if the food hadn’t been absolutely phenomenal, which it was (no mean feat with over thirty different steaks to be served simultaneously), I still would have had nothing but praise for this restaurant.

Bearing in mind that I only booked my table after the restaurant appeared on the F Word, and that Gerardo knew we would take the tables whether they were together or not, I cannot understand anybody saying that Santa Maria does not care about its customers.

I’ve since been back to the restaurant in a smaller group, and the food and service were exceptional, so I’m going again in a few weeks. Keep up the good work, Santa Maria.

Dear Sir , Madam.

My name is Gerardo and I am the manager of Santa Maria del Sur. I write this in response to some of the reviews I’ve read recently in several sites (some of them are, in reality, the same review, posted under different names in different sites)

For those of you who wrote those fantastic emails and words of encouragement and compliments; a huge thank you.
Unfortunately, bad reviews sound louder, so I am mainly writing to those whose reviews weren’t what we hoped for, and for those who are thinking of coming to visit us and upon reading these reviews, are thinking “ Oh dear..it doesn’t sound good”.

First of all, I am really truly sorry if your experience at Santa Maria was not what you expected.
I could sit here and write a defense of my restaurant but you’ve got your views and I, of course, respect that. Some of the points made are valid and help us get better, and on others I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.
However, there’s one particular comment which I read and I will 100 % refute and it’s what prompted me to write this. The success some people refer to, has not gone to our heads and we care greatly about our customers and their comments, particularly if they are not good.

We are not a fancy restaurant or a flash, pretentious venue in the West End. We are a local restaurant in Battersea. That’s how we started and that’s the way we like it and how we’ll remain. Success or not success. Therefore, our customers and neighbors are all we have. New and existing ones; and them leaving happy is all we care about.

Since December last year when we appeared on the F Word, we’ve seen a dramatic surge in the amount of customers we cater for. Our business changed and the way we used to do things had to change. It’s possible that somewhere along the way we made mistakes, or that on a given night, things didn’t go according to plan. When that happens, our customers have the right to be upset, but I can assure you, so are we.

But while the way we did business had to change, one thing remains intact: the quality of our products and having our customers’ satisfaction as our main and foremost priority. Of that I give you my word.

So I can’t change the way some of you feel about us and your visit, and I can’t change if something went wrong that day or if things weren’t done as they should be, but what I can do, is assure you that your comments have been noted and there’s always room for improvement, so we listen. But we also believe in Santa Maria and what we are, so I felt I had to say something and show you how much we care.

We are not short-sighted and we don’t think (quote) “there are enough people who will keep coming”. Nothing further from the truth. Instead, we are always working hard to make sure our standards not only don’t drop, but that we raise the bar.

With best regards
Gerardo Tejo
Manager
Santa Maria del Sur

I am so happy to eat fantastic Argentinian steak! I lived in Buenos Aires for a while and they are the best steak people in the world.
I will be going on a regular basis as its nearby and the food is excellent. the steak melted in my mouth and the butter beans side dish was enough for me to be satisfied, simply delicious
I will be taking all my friends.

What a terrible experience Santa Maria Del Sur was Easter Monday. I had booked a table for my girlfriend and me, to celebrate her birthday. I had made the reservation for six pm and was told we are very busy; you can have a table but only for one and a half hour. This was ok, but we arrived at the restaurant at 5.55pm and they did not open the door until 6:10pm leaving us and others to stand outside on a horrible grey pavement and not a nice stretch of the Queenstown road.

I should have known the night was going to be bad right then.

We were seated by a professional guy but no smiles or welcome, or sorry to leave you standing outside a main busy ugly road; and for opening late.

The grill hadn’t even been lit! As most people know it takes a grill at least half an hour to forty five minutes to reach the correct temperature. It seemed they were still preparing to open as customers were in their seats ordering. Really bad ethos.

We ordered, I had the tuna steak at 6 15pm to start and asked for it to be left pink inside. It arrived at 6 45pm overcooked. We had waited 30 minutes for our starters; I didn’t say anything.

Then I asked for my fillet steak to be cooked medium, it arrived charred outside and red rare inside. When I cut in to the chips oil seeped out of them, obviously the oil hadn’t been heated and was cold when the chips were put in.

Next the insult to injury, the head guy comes and asks me if I mind moving from our table to one right at the back. He says he knows the grill was late in firing up, right there I reminded him also that they opened late, he then says “oh you came early.” “I said no I got here for 6pm which was the time I was told to arrive at” he ignored that and said we can have dessert if we want to but at the table in the back.

Now it seemed they didn’t really want to open on Easter Monday, it was a half hearted attempt to run a professional busy restaurant, greed has got the better of them.

Finally they wanted almost £9 for indifferent (not rude but indifferent none the less) service on a £75 bill for two(without dessert and only one alcoholic drink)mm. I was not going to pay the service charge, but my GF reminded me how difficult a job this can be..blah blah. (before you start, I have waited tables and tended bar with 12 tills and 400 people on a night) So ok I rewarded them,ARRRRGH.

Their sign outside says best steaks in London as seen on the F word, what rubbish! The success has really gone to their head and standards are dropping. I should have complained but for two reasons. One it was meant to be a special occasion for GF and I didn’t want to ruin it for her. And second in my experience if a place is so busy and has fame currently on its side the management don’t care about the complaints. They tend to be rather short sighted and think there are enough people who will keep coming.

Not the few smart ones who read reviews though I hope. Save your money go elsewhere.

We have eaten cheap, we have eaten expensive, I have just been to Santa Maria Del Sur for Sunday lunch with my wife to celebrate the last day of possibly the worst month of my life. And what a delight, steak cooked medium rare to rare, a lovely bottle of Zuccardi Serie A 2007, relaxed, friendly and attentive staff, all with huge smiles.
Thank you, thank you, and for the divine digestif that wiped the smiles back on our faces. No hesitation whatsoever in recommending this restaurant.

When trying to impress the possible future mother in law, who happens to be Argentinean, it is a risk taking her to a restaurant that was meant to reflect her countries finest cuisine. Would it lead to a long and lasting marriage? Upon arrival, the restaurant presents itself as a rustic and authentic atmospheric steak house, which was combined with a delightful aroma of grilled steak wafting through the air, as we were lead to our table.
Whilst the mother in law passed a critical eye over the menu, I was left to order the wine, with some good advice from the waiter; I received a Merlot 2004, Mendosa. A mop of the brow and cautious look to the other half, we then went on to order the starters, delectable sliced ox tongue, empanadas (which surprisingly matched the incomparable standard of my Cornish heritage, pasty eating). The starters, short of the empanadas, were light and yet prepared you in a bold carnivorous manner for the focal point of the evening, the main course.
I have always been cautious when coming to ordering meat, blue rare, particularly after working as a waiter during my student days, in many “clean” kitchens. However, feeling comfortable, we all ordered the Argentine Fillet Steak. It truly guaranteed the marriage proposal; the steak was succulent, tender and extinguished any thought that Argentine beef is not the highest quality of meat available.
Feeling delightfully satiated and brilliantly serenaded, the evening cemented the relationship. My only regret is that we did not hear the live tango music. I guess we will have to go next week.