recommendations for Montevideo?

We are spending two weeks in mid-March in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. There have been posts on Buenos Aires on the board, but none on Montevideo. (No, I am not surprised!) Anyone have any suggestions? Or new suggestions for Buenos Aires?

I hope you have a good time in what I (lovingly) like to call South America's Most Boring Country. My family hosted an exchange student from Montevideo in the 1980s and as a result, I have actually been there TWICE.

You will probably have at least one meal in the Mercado del Puerto. It's a cavernous waterfront structure containing endless grill stands -- luscious cuts of beef, morcilla, maybe even chicken. I don't know; I didn't waste my time on chicken. There is also this drink medio y medio, I think some combination of sparkling wine and white wine, quite popular and refreshing. If you are sensitive to noise, perhaps it would be better to sit inside or upstairs in the Mercado -- I recall a roving band of young men marching up and down, playing drums extremely loudly.

We also ate at Bar Tabare, which offered a lovely combination of small-plate type dishes. Tabare has a website all in Spanish. Tabare stands out in my mind b/c the the food was actually interesting, rather Lula-like. The homecooked meals we ate were tasty enough, but rather monotonous -- beef, beef, and more beef, molded rice salad right out of a 1950s Betty Crocker cookbook, and hearts of palm with "Salsa Golf," aka Russian dressing.

Oh, and don't count on getting dinner before 9:00 p.m., but you probably already know this. Have fun!

We were in Montevideo last Christmas. You will quickly find you will have a tough time spending a full day of touring -- there's just not tons to see. As such, we'd tour morning/afternoon, and then hit a patio around 3-4pm for Pilsen beer and people-watching. One area we found consistently busy with locals was the Plaza Constitucion. The side streets are quite busy, and we ate at a very good small plates resto here (no recollection of the name), although it is primarily a drinking area.

We also spent an afternoon at La Pasiva (there are several around the city), basically a beer pub that serves hot dogs and other like snacks. The beer was cheap, again Pilsen, and it was entertaining to watch young professionals in suits, particularly attractive, thin women, gorging on 3-5 hot dogs with mayonnaise (warm -- on the table all day -- yuck!) with their large litres of beer.

Near the La Pasiva in the Plaza Constitucion, on the same laneway, was a trendy restaurant (again don't remember the name) that was fantastic. We enjoyed a Uruguayan red with our meal, and ate a lot of red meat. After, there is a gelato truck on the laneway that has what we considered the best ice cream ever -- better than the stuff in Argentina, even. Super creamy, bold flavours... we loved it... especially at 40 cents a double-scoop cone!

We stayed at the Sheraton, which is actually in a tony area, by Montevideo standards. There is a mall within spitting distance (apparently the "it" mall in Montevideo, although a bit spartan), the food court of which actually served as a good place for a dirt cheap early lunch (wood fired pizzas, traditional sandwiches, etc). It also contained a grocery store where we bought water, and finally a pharmacy (unfortunately needed).

Near the Sheraton, on the main road running along the "back" of the hotel, we ate at a very modern, trendy restaurant that was fantastic. Again, don't recall the name (however, Montevideo is quite small so you can probably figure these out). It was primarily grilled meats/fish, and fancy martinis. I'm sure the concierge at the Sheraton could direct you. It had a very chi-chi crowd, and was expensive by Montevideo standards.... our bill with drinks came to $40 total (everywhere else was below $20).

Enjoy!

Thanks, Kasia and Marno! We are going to Montevideo because of a special offer with airline miles, but Buenos Aires is not far off!

Mrs. JiLS and I will have one day and one night in Montevideo at the end of May (making a day trip from our longer stay in Buenos Aires). Any suggestions would be welcome!

Hi,

Maybe Chapulin will post their detailed food recommendations in time for your visit, because they were recently there.

Regards,