Eat - my goal!
Pro Plenty of great Argentinian flavours near the stomping ground of a great Argentinian.
Con Not a location you're going to stumble across by chance.
Pay
€€€€
Per Person €35-€40. Our set menu included 3 starters, three cuts of beef, dessert platter, wine, beer and water.
Reservation essential on matchdays.
Find
Website Click
Access Step free throughout.
In Short
Hopes. Lunch with impact.
Reality. Back of the net.
First Impressions. It's a rainbow of greys. And red and white.
USP? Tastes of Argentina before you watch your game.
The offer in three words. No own goals.
Service! Premier league.
Friend friendly? They'll be on the grilled veg and provolata, I reckon.
Rating for dating. Location makes or breaks it.
Tip? Yes.
Change one thing? More chorizo!
Revisitability. The quality's up there.
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
And, yes. You're wondering. I know you are. We were all wondering. Donna's even written a song about it. That's how much she was wondering. Well, breaking news. I was sitting there. I was eating my heart out. But did I find hot stuff, Donna? Nope. Those peppers still aren't piqueing for me.
So the posse are still on the lookout. The search, like we all knew it would, continues.
Hello, it's dessert time. Look, Argentinian eateries are basically like heaven for those sweet of tooth and, as a result, a gym in need of (and I'm sure you know what that's worth as heaven is, after all, a place on Earth). La Gradona had a cunning plan. They served up five dishes for us to attack. Perhaps it was meant to resemble the stadium round the corner. Referee!
Pro Plenty of great Argentinian flavours near the stomping ground of a great Argentinian.
Con Not a location you're going to stumble across by chance.
Pay
€€€€
Per Person €35-€40. Our set menu included 3 starters, three cuts of beef, dessert platter, wine, beer and water.
Reservation essential on matchdays.
Find
Website Click
Access Step free throughout.
In Short
Hopes. Lunch with impact.
Reality. Back of the net.
First Impressions. It's a rainbow of greys. And red and white.
USP? Tastes of Argentina before you watch your game.
The offer in three words. No own goals.
Service! Premier league.
Friend friendly? They'll be on the grilled veg and provolata, I reckon.
Rating for dating. Location makes or breaks it.
Tip? Yes.
Change one thing? More chorizo!
Revisitability. The quality's up there.
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
Football fan or food fancier? La Gradona should please both. Located outside the stadium, you don't need a ticket or an interest in football to feel welcome.
Today's menu was set. And for a large group. But it's a fair test of the flavours on offer. No aperitifs, but I've got to mention the house olive oil at this point, by the way. Absolutely excellent, fruity rather than punchy, up there with the best we've tried.
So, kick off. Out come the starters. Appropriately it's a roughly red and white combination of sliced roasted peppers...
So, kick off. Out come the starters. Appropriately it's a roughly red and white combination of sliced roasted peppers...
...and pickled aubergine slices. Often served straight from the fridge, the good news is both dishes were at room temp, so the flavours had developed fully. A good start. Lots of minced garlic on the peppers might be an acquired taste for some, but the second dish was a revelation for the aubergine agnostic in me. Spicy. Vinegary. I'm a convert.
Chorizo chunks and a beef/veal empanada followed. Both were excellent, so much so, I'd have liked a lot more sausage. For the uninitiated, paprika-free argentine chorizo is much milder than you might be used to. Think Spanish textures, but almost British flavour. A touch of chimicurri made it fly. So - cumberland sausage with chimichurri? My Anglo-argentine fusion bar might open soon in La Latina. Bring your own ankle socks.
The empanada was also a winner, complete with something not unlike gravy on cutting into it, all that juice - or should that just be jus? - meant quite a bit of suace moppage was required. Good flavours, and a smidge more spice would have been welcome. So spiced up mini Cornish Pasty? Another dish for that fusion menu, there. Time to get on to Idealista. Anyone got €50k start-up capital spare?
The empanada was also a winner, complete with something not unlike gravy on cutting into it, all that juice - or should that just be jus? - meant quite a bit of suace moppage was required. Good flavours, and a smidge more spice would have been welcome. So spiced up mini Cornish Pasty? Another dish for that fusion menu, there. Time to get on to Idealista. Anyone got €50k start-up capital spare?
Back in the bar for the main event. Three cuts of beef came today, in turn. All good quality, but for me all deserved less time on the griddle. Perhaps that's what comes when you're in a large group being catered for. Pleasingly, the garnish came in self-service form, with this nice primary coloured platter. Not sure I'd have added the cherry tomatoes, but they all vanished, so someone got that right.
And, yes. You're wondering. I know you are. We were all wondering. Donna's even written a song about it. That's how much she was wondering. Well, breaking news. I was sitting there. I was eating my heart out. But did I find hot stuff, Donna? Nope. Those peppers still aren't piqueing for me.
So the posse are still on the lookout. The search, like we all knew it would, continues.
Hello, it's dessert time. Look, Argentinian eateries are basically like heaven for those sweet of tooth and, as a result, a gym in need of (and I'm sure you know what that's worth as heaven is, after all, a place on Earth). La Gradona had a cunning plan. They served up five dishes for us to attack. Perhaps it was meant to resemble the stadium round the corner. Referee!
Along the north and south sides, two hefty wodges of pudding! - a little light on caramel, but up to standard. At the west end, cheesecake. It felt a bit mass-produced, but had good Haagen-Dazs richness and there was a bit of bite in the strawberry gunge. At the east end, excellent Tiramisu did feel more handmade, with a decent whack of buhzy spuhnge. We normally give splodges of instacream a red card, but it's let off with just a yellow today. Occupying corner flag positions, were two lovely dulce de leche crepes. Actually...add cooked apple and a dollopette of custard and I've got my fusion bar's dessert sorted. Just need a name now....Buenos Aires and Graces? Sounds more like a tea room, now I read it back.
Service was excellent, keeping their wits about them like smart midfielders, the eagle-eyed waiting team are clearly well trained. Perhaps they all come in at 8 am and jog v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y round the walls of the restaurant. Beer and extra wine arrived in seconds. Chupito/digestives were present and from a choice of three. Decor is simple, but ideal for football fans with a sense of heritage. Black and white images of an illustrious past loom up, ready to act as talking points and, as likely as not, history lessons. The odd ex-player might even be in to tell the story themselves. Waiters - genuinely- have pens at the ready for autograph hunters.
Eating in a group of twenty plus isn't the ideal way to judge any restaurant. Catering is a different test to dining. But the evidence is that dining is worth the trip. The ingredients are the quality you'd hope for, and the cooking, simple though it appears, makes a good job of them on the whole. We need to see if they can get the meats how we like them.