SAVARIN: A MUST VISIT RESTAURANT IN MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY
The Cost - $32 per person (plus taxes back if you use a foreign credit card)
The Atmosphere – Savarin is an absolutely adorable restaurant nestled on the edge of the high end Pocitos neighborhood of Montevideo. There’s a cozy little front room with seating that has a view into the kitchen and a cute back room as well as an outdoor area where diners can also enjoy their meal. The back room, where we sat, features exposed painted brick walls and has a sophisticated yet comfortable feel to it. It is a well-designed space that is perfect for a date or to celebrate a special occasion. Reservations are highly recommended and credit cards are accepted.
The duo of chefs that own and run Savarin, José Pedro and Sofia, are charming, kind, and incredibly gifted. They opened Savarin in 2018 and have become known for the restaurant’s seasonally changing menu that features locally sourced produce and pairs them with French cooking techniques. Savarin’s signature dish may be its lamb, but there are also many vegetarian friendly options on the menu.
The Order – Frescura de Tomate, Cintas de Calamares, Escabeche de Berenjena, Paleta de Cordero, and Marquise de Chocolate.
The Fantastic – When in Uruguay, eat lamb, and when at Savarin, definitely eat lamb. The Paleta de Cordero, or lamb shoulder, from Savarin was absolutely wonderful. It was served over a bed of quinoa and a tomato marmalade with glazed oyster mushrooms, pumpkin, leeks, and carrots. The colorful dish was the best dish of the evening not just because of the incredibly soft and juicy slow-cooked lamb, but also because of the exceptional tomato marmalade, which I wanted to lick off the plate at the end. The superb entrée didn’t even feel heavy because of the lightness of the quinoa and the tomato marmalade. It was wonderfully balanced and an absolute joy to eat.
The Great – The other entrée that was ordered, the Eggplant Escabeche, was also very tasty. A vegetarian friendly menu option, the dish consisted of a homemade puff pastry that made up the base with marinated eggplant and a slightly sweet tomato, basil, and olive oil reduction that served as the sauce. The eggplant was topped with some arugula and a bit of parmesan and the combination of the reduction with the marinated eggplant and puff pastry was excellent. You certainly don’t need to be a vegetarian to enjoy this dish.
The Cintas de Calamares also nearly earned our Fantastic rating. The delicious calamari was cut into strips and poached in ginger and soy before being plated with an incredible squid ink sauce that beautifully hugged the side of the bowl. The texture of the calamari strips was perfect – not rubbery or hard at all. The lime confit in the squid ink sauce gave a bit of a citrus flavor that was really lovely and the small pieces of avocado and crunchy squid ink bits added some great additional textures and levels to the dish.
Rated just below the eggplant and the calamari but still receiving a Great was the Frescura de Tomate, which did an excellent job showcasing Savarin’s incredible use of seasonal, fresh, high quality ingredients. This fresh salad consisted of organic tomatoes, watermelon, mint-infused cucumbers, and crunchy quinoa which all sat in a cold broth made of tomato and lima juice. The tomatoes were incredibly flavorful and reminded me of what tomatoes are supposed to taste like. What was really nice about this salad was the proportions – not too heavy on the tomatoes and cucumbers or too light on the watermelon or quinoa. It really gave the salad nice amounts of acidity, sweetness, and crunch, making it a perfect, light, and fresh way to kick off the meal.
There were a number of incredible sounding desserts on Savarin’s menu but there was only room in my stomach for one, so I ordered the Marquise de Chocolate. The chocolate mousse was wonderfully done and came out as a rectangle with a helping of Patagonian cherries and a homemade cherry syrup drizzled on top. There were also roasted pistachios sprinkled around the plate which were a nice earthy compliment to the lovely sweetness of the cherries and the mousse. It was the cherry syrup though that really brought this dish all together and took this dessert to the next level.
The Verdict – Savarin was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. It was easy to tell that the restaurant sources its ingredients from top quality farms and suppliers and that José Pedro and Sofia are two incredibly talented chefs. There is not a single dish that I would hesitate to order again. If you’re visiting Montevideo, Savarin should absolutely be on your list of restaurants to dine at, especially given its very reasonable prices.
Savarin
instagram.com/savarin_restaurante
Maldonado 2370, 11300 Montevideo, Departamento de Montevideo, Uruguay