4TA PARED: A DELICIOUS TASTING MENU AND AN INCREDIBLE VALUE
The Cost - $47 per person using the official exchange rate
The Atmosphere – A beautifully built-out restaurant located on the outskirts of the city of Buenos Aires, 4ta Pared features clean, minimalist, contemporary interior design in a very inviting space that only seats about 20 guests. Diners have the option of sitting at a regular table or at the chef’s table and that decision can only be made at the door on a first-come-first-served basis. The ambiance is perfect for everything from an elevated weekday night dinner to a date to a gathering with friends or family. Reservations are accepted and smart casual attire, or anything more formal, is appropriate.
Chef Pablo Cerne is a young and enthusiastic chef who takes great pride in 4ta Pared’s use of sustainable, local, and organic produce with a focus on microseasonality, a further breakdown of the seasons into smaller periods of time. Throughout the meal, I experienced how his careful selection of ingredients made a significant impact in his four course tasting menu, which changes regularly and is the only dining option available apart from the optional wine pairing. 4ta Pared may be a bit off the beaten gastronomic path of Buenos Aires but it still received a 2024 Michelin Guide recognition during Michelin’s first year evaluating restaurants in Argentina’s capital.
The Order – Menu Degustación (Tasting Menu).
The Fantastic –The Bife Madurado, the final savory course, was a single, perfect slice of rib eye that was aged in-house with aromatic spices for about two weeks and then grilled at a low temperature for about forty minutes before being placed on a cast iron skillet for a quick moment on each side. The steak was absolutely delicious and had an excellent touch of black pepper. It was surrounded by a creamy potato puree, an edamame ragu, some edamame beans, and a squash puree. The artistically presented dish had great textures, flavors, and balance and the untraditional use of edamame was a hit. Hope that there is a beef course on the menu when you visit.
The dessert course came in two parts, and it was the second part, the Queso y Dulce, that also earned our Fantastic rating. The simple looking plate contained a large rectangular piece of gorgonzola, a commonly eaten cheese in Argentina, alongside a piece of brie that was topped with sweetened tomato and seaweed. Not only was this a very elegant way, but it was also an exceptionally tasty way to end the meal. The gorgonzola, while served plain, was an excellent piece of cheese but it was the brie that I will most certainly have dreams about. The tomato on top of the brie had a slightly syrupy texture and the touch of sweetness was just right. I made the brie the last bite of the meal so I could savor that taste in my mouth for as long as humanly possible and that was a wise decision.
The Great – The appetizer course, which consisted of two separate parts, was the next best course – and it was wonderfully prepared. The trout carpaccio, which was cured with plum, was the dish you saw when the course arrived at the table. But there was a reveal – the top part of the structure was removed to reveal a bowl of sliced zucchini from the restaurant’s garden in a seaweed foam with pickled mustard seeds, and a pomegranate vinaigrette. Both of the items individually were lovely but the combination of the two was special. The slightly cold Patagonian trout, called truchon because of the size of the fish, was delicious and was made even better by the zucchini with a sexy foam, slight crunch of the mustard seeds and bit of sweetness from the pomegranate; it was a perfect way to start the meal.
In between the appetizer and the meat courses was the fish course which consisted of lisa, a type of mullet that was presented in an algae cream and accompanied on a separate plate by a fig carpaccio with a peanut mayonnaise and an oyster vinaigrette. The presentation of these two plates was fantastic. Though I didn’t love the combination of the fish with the algae cream, I did love how light and fresh this course was. Even with the dish’s soft flavors, the excellent quality of each ingredient really stood out. The quantity of oil in the carpaccio was perfect and the peanut mayo used did not overpower the wonderful fig slices.
The second part of the dessert course (which actually came out first), was the ice cream with wild berries. It contained Patagonian blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries next to a single serving of homemade sabayon ice cream (also known as zabaione), a flavor based on the classic Italian dessert made with egg yolk, sugar, and sweet wine. In this case, Chef Pablo used marsala to make the super smooth and creamy sabayon ice cream, which was brilliant. It may appear to be a simple plate from a visual perspective, but it was a lovely, elegant part of the dessert course.
The Verdict – The meal and entire experience at 4ta Pared was incredible. There was not a single thing that I wouldn’t eagerly eat again and that is quite rare, especially when it comes to tasting menus. The quality and quantity of food were both impressive and for the price, this may just be the best value high-end meal in all of Buenos Aires.