North of Jose Ignacio, a few kilometers inland from km marker 176 on Ruta 9 lies the tiny village of Garzon, the latest extreme-makeover subject of chef/entrepreneur Francis Mallmann, the same who put Jose Ignacio on the map.
After hearing the fans and detractors for a couple of years already, we finally made the trek this past weekend. We actually got the idea while having lunch, so we saved dessert for El Garzon, the restaurant.
Our impressions are as follows:
The village is as cute as it is tiny. The square, with the old palm trees is beautiful.
The extreme makeover job is only partially done, and therefore the town is not a Disney version of its former self, although that could easily happen in about 5 minutes, so hurry over to check it out before it's quaint in the bad way.
The impeccable good taste of Mallmann, Hojman and other assorted trendies (too much of which can make you gag) contrasts with some of the "renovations" by locals who don't quite get it but think that a couple of cans of paint -- of the most unfortunate shades -- will net them a fortune in flipping profits. Funny.
As for the restaurant, it's charming enough, and the desserts were wonderful, especially the lemon crostatta. It was cute on arrival to see a few local kids using the restaurant's wifi with their Ceibal laptops...
I recommend going back to Punta del Este through a different back road so you can appreciate the countryside, including Agroland's olive plantation and windpower farm.
The restaurant, predictably, was full of Brazilians from Sao Paulo, coinciding with the long September 7 weekend. Both tables next to us were returning clients who were not scared away by the prices (steep) and found the place charming enough for a second visit after their initial one last summer.
wow - it all looks so..."normal"! Judging by what I had heard about this place before I was so confused as to what to expect!
ReplyDeleteI came across yet ANOTHER article calling it a "boutique hotel" in the middle of nowhere.. http://blog.totaluruguay.com/boutique_hotel/20090713-18516-Visit-El-Garzon-for-a-big-city-meal
So you recommend trying it out? or can we only afford dessert? ;)
Well, the normalcy is its very exoticness! :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you can or can't afford it, but it may easily count as the most expensive meal you ever had in Uruguay. That said, I personally would not mind the extravagant (for Uruguay) pricing. The way I see it is you dilute the price of the meal among a few hours of your "outing" or "day in the country" or whatever designation for the drive out and about, and it's a steal! The further away you come from, the cheaper!