Of things Pertinent to Porteños
Pro A decent taste of Buenos Aires.
Con It's not a budget choice.
Pay
€€€€
Per Person A group of three meant €33-36. Two shared starters and desserts, a main, a shared bottle of wine. Gratis: Crunchy toasty things with chimichurri butter; Limoncello chupito,
Find
Website https://elcamoati.es/
Access A couple of steps up from the street.
In Short
Hopes. Would the portents for a touch of the Porteño be attained?
Reality. It's up there.
First Impressions. 1950s jazz dive.
USP? A very stylish, mature food/atmosphere match-up.
The offer in three words. Herby, savoury, generous.
Service! Friendly and quick, if occasionally forgetful.
Friend friendly? Vegetarians will be fine, Vegans probably not.
Rating for dating. Very high. Lighting, decor, the whole shebang.
Tip? 5%
Change one thing? Encourage customers to smoke away from the entrance to help the first impression.
Revisitability. Quite likely, for more genuine Argentinian experiences.
Compare & Contrast
La Dominga in Malasaña
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
A very enjoyable evening awaits at El Camaoti - in fact it's more or less the complete package. Flavours, ambience, drinks, It's all there and feels right.
Walking in on a cold and very damp Easter evening, the atmosphere instantly warms you up. It's dim. There's vintage paraphernalia on the walls that looks like it's been there for decades. At least two people are wearing gratuitous hats and the guy behind the bar, who cheerily accepts my Jesús! when he sneezes, has a seriously meant Errol Flynn pencil moustache. Welcome to little Buenos Aires.
The lighting aids the mood, but not the menu reading. Be ready to get the phone out. After some debate, a cherry tomato provolone was elected on a majority decision from the candidates on offer.
Absolutely delicious this, it disappeared between three of us in seconds. Recommended. Two empanadas - thank the Galicians, the Cornish or both - were an essential try as we're on an ongoing mission to explore them around town. Criolla was very good - a filling that's seasoned not spiced. The cheese and onion option is an equally tasty choice.
Amongst the differences between Argentinian and Spain eating are how it treats steaks and the fact pasta is a key part of the offer. Thank the Italians for that.
A bife de chorizo, the classic Argentine loin/lomo-style cut was an absolute winner. Probably as good as I've had in Madrid, if it's not quite Argentine quality (i.e. no garnishes needed at all), it's a mighty fine effort, and the accompanying provence-style potatoes - think garlic and parsley dressing - are excellent, although our photo makes them greener than the reality. In this case we say bring on the garnish, it'd be a shame to miss out. You may have to protect them from eager extended digits of your tablemates though.
Naturally, there's an excellent pot of fresh chimichurri. The vinegar-herb-chilli mix does the job it's designed for perfectly, seasoning through the meat perfectly.
It is a meat-heavy menu, but the pasta offers genuine choice, not consolation dishes, for the Vegetarian. We felt there were mixed results, here. Mexican-influenced ravioli sounds a smart idea, but needed refinement to fulfil its potential. Seasoned guacamole would be more lively than simple avocado; saucing up of the chipotle filling would help too. There's real potential in the dish. Our second was also about half a dozen pieces, but it turned out to be plenty. The flavours combined very well; soft ricotta, squash, caramelized onions, with some nice texture variation from sliced almonds, and freshly grated parmesan/grana to season. A success, this one.
And so, dessert. Argentina knows its priorities. Dessert is a thing. All those incoming cultures made their mark again. So, courtesy of the Anglo-Irish - hello, apple crumble. And Grazie mille Italia - it's Tiramisu time.
You're not going home hungry after one of these, so wise not to share as there's plenty in a portion. The crumble had two important detail issues. Bowl serving means topping overwhelms the excellent stewed apple a bit. That topping was more crusty than crumbly and shouldn't need bashing into next weekend with a fork to get it bite-size. The tiramisu was the complete item though, with a boozy sponge quotient not to be underestimated if you're a designated driver.
A bottle of Quilmes brought back happy memories of the giant ones needed to combat a Buenos Aires summer. A bottle of the - brilliantly named - Trumpeter Malbec rounded things off. Service was friendly and pretty reliable, with a dedicated server and the odd forgotten request quickly addressed. A friendly chupito turned up too. Nominally on a two hour clock, we never had any impression it was ticking and were easily finished in good time, even including a brief billing delay.
There are vintage radios and posters. Candles on tables and a touch of tango on the soundtrack. Putting those together with the price makes this an experience for adults and a noisy group of twentysomethings really needed somewhere more suitable for raucous banter.
All told, El Camoati is a memorable, intelligent and rewarding experience. I can see us repeating it when an occasion demands.
Pro A decent taste of Buenos Aires.
Con It's not a budget choice.
Pay
€€€€
Per Person A group of three meant €33-36. Two shared starters and desserts, a main, a shared bottle of wine. Gratis: Crunchy toasty things with chimichurri butter; Limoncello chupito,
Find
Website https://elcamoati.es/
Access A couple of steps up from the street.
In Short
Hopes. Would the portents for a touch of the Porteño be attained?
Reality. It's up there.
First Impressions. 1950s jazz dive.
USP? A very stylish, mature food/atmosphere match-up.
The offer in three words. Herby, savoury, generous.
Service! Friendly and quick, if occasionally forgetful.
Friend friendly? Vegetarians will be fine, Vegans probably not.
Rating for dating. Very high. Lighting, decor, the whole shebang.
Tip? 5%
Change one thing? Encourage customers to smoke away from the entrance to help the first impression.
Revisitability. Quite likely, for more genuine Argentinian experiences.
Compare & Contrast
La Dominga in Malasaña
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
A very enjoyable evening awaits at El Camaoti - in fact it's more or less the complete package. Flavours, ambience, drinks, It's all there and feels right.
Walking in on a cold and very damp Easter evening, the atmosphere instantly warms you up. It's dim. There's vintage paraphernalia on the walls that looks like it's been there for decades. At least two people are wearing gratuitous hats and the guy behind the bar, who cheerily accepts my Jesús! when he sneezes, has a seriously meant Errol Flynn pencil moustache. Welcome to little Buenos Aires.
The lighting aids the mood, but not the menu reading. Be ready to get the phone out. After some debate, a cherry tomato provolone was elected on a majority decision from the candidates on offer.
Amongst the differences between Argentinian and Spain eating are how it treats steaks and the fact pasta is a key part of the offer. Thank the Italians for that.
A bife de chorizo, the classic Argentine loin/lomo-style cut was an absolute winner. Probably as good as I've had in Madrid, if it's not quite Argentine quality (i.e. no garnishes needed at all), it's a mighty fine effort, and the accompanying provence-style potatoes - think garlic and parsley dressing - are excellent, although our photo makes them greener than the reality. In this case we say bring on the garnish, it'd be a shame to miss out. You may have to protect them from eager extended digits of your tablemates though.
It is a meat-heavy menu, but the pasta offers genuine choice, not consolation dishes, for the Vegetarian. We felt there were mixed results, here. Mexican-influenced ravioli sounds a smart idea, but needed refinement to fulfil its potential. Seasoned guacamole would be more lively than simple avocado; saucing up of the chipotle filling would help too. There's real potential in the dish. Our second was also about half a dozen pieces, but it turned out to be plenty. The flavours combined very well; soft ricotta, squash, caramelized onions, with some nice texture variation from sliced almonds, and freshly grated parmesan/grana to season. A success, this one.
And so, dessert. Argentina knows its priorities. Dessert is a thing. All those incoming cultures made their mark again. So, courtesy of the Anglo-Irish - hello, apple crumble. And Grazie mille Italia - it's Tiramisu time.
There are vintage radios and posters. Candles on tables and a touch of tango on the soundtrack. Putting those together with the price makes this an experience for adults and a noisy group of twentysomethings really needed somewhere more suitable for raucous banter.
All told, El Camoati is a memorable, intelligent and rewarding experience. I can see us repeating it when an occasion demands.