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The Independant Magazine
Saturday 7 May , 2005

Santa Maria de Buen Ayre, London E8
By Thomas Sutcliffe

My understanding of South American gastronomy has always been disproportionately informed by Creature Comforts, the great Aardman animation in which zoo animals are interviewed about their living standards. "I miss a lot thee food," complains a puma, draped disconsolately across a log. "I miss thee fresh meat! ... because in Brazil we are predominately carneeverous." This is borne out by the Rodizio Rico barbecue restaurants in London and it's obviously not just Brazil, either, judging from Argentinian chains, such as the Gaucho Grill, and from Santa Maria de Buen Ayre - a traditional parilla restaurant (built round a grill the size of David Beckham's garden gate) which recently opened in Hackney. All are predominately carneeverous - dedicated to celebrating the sacramental union of raw cow and hot charcoal.

In terms of decor and style Santa Maria de Buen Ayre (pictured) is pretty rough and ready. The sign above the door is cantilevered out on two-by-fours, the interior fittings look as if they have been knocked together out of MDF by the waiting staff and I have a suspicion that the chips are by McCain. But somehow the atmosphere feels just right. Parilla restaurants aren't necessarily fancy, they're fixtures of the barrio; and although they offer cuts that count as premium in this country, they're just as happy to serve you a selection of the slaughterhouse also-rans - flank steak and offal and black pudding. They're the kind of places you can go into in bloody overalls and expect a friendly reception and the Argentinian staff here certainly manage that. You sense that they have a stake in the operation ... and when the place fills out, as it did the night we went, they look so gratified and happy that you can't help but be tugged along in their wake.

I took my son, who attends a strictly vegetarian school, and thus craves meat with an almost religious fervour. We started with good empanadas (£4) stuffed with spiced chicken and spinach and cheese, and provoleta (£4), a giant slice of grilled provolone cheese which confirms suspicions that this place is a cardiologist's nightmare. After that we shared a parillada al paso - a table-top barbecue with a selection of meats. Our mid-price option (£10 a head) came with a delicious morcilla, a blood sausage perfumed with fennel, a good spiced meat sausage (made locally to their recipe) and some hefty chunks of flank steak and ribs that frankly needed the spicy chimichurri sauce to kick them up the backside. The waiter told us the cheaper cuts come from Holland, so this is probably not representative of the Argentinian beef they use for their main steak dishes. A chorizo steak (£14) served to a nearby table was as thick as the London Business Directory and looked fantastic. Desserts, which include dulce de leche cheesecake (banoffi pie without the bananas, £4) and pumpkin in syrup (£4), should come with a free insulin shot - but we braved the coma and finished with maté tea as a belated gesture towards digestive restraint.

Email: info@buenayre.co.uk - Tel. 020 7275 9900