San Telmo

As a vegetarian wannabe, I shouldn't be reviewing an Argentinean restaurant. I've recently read Jonathan Safran Foer's “Eating Animals”, a brilliant essay that explains how the animals that end up on our tables live and die. The descriptions are so crude that it's sometimes difficult to turn pages, and as soon as you've finished the book you decide to go vegan right away. As much as I try to stick to a meat-free diet, I always end up in San Telmo, and, to be honest, I never feel guitly. Why? Because the solomillo de ternera that they serve is just glorious, and you are sure that it comes from a cow that was happy during its life. Such tenderness and taste are just incompatible with suffering. Like the Kobe veals, that are treated like kings and even receive massages and just for that taste like no other meat in the world. Well, this restaurant serves the best meat in town, directly imported from the south American pampas to your plate in Barcelona.

What I love about San Telmo, apart from the quality of their products, is the service. It's all Argentinean and Uruguayan waiters, who do a terrific job, making sure that your table is never left unattended. They always serve the meat in the right way, and they bring along a hot iron plate so you can heat up the meat and have it at the right temperature. Of course there's a variety of meat mains, from bife ancho, to entrecôte and the classical solomillo, in different sizes. You always have a welcome appetizer of canapés with argentinean sauces, and a range of empanadas as starters. The meat empanadas come with a meat and tomato filling and taste just delicious. The portions are rich and plentiful, and a starter and a meat main will do, unless of course you are starving. If you have some room left for a dessert, you can go for the dulce de leche, the caramel mou cream that motivates all of my Argentinean friends in Barcelona to go back to their country at least once a year.

The place has a curious layout, with a bar and a few tables in the front and a large back room with an internal patio with a nice olive tree in the middle. It's cozy and warm, and, as I said, the waiters make it even more pleasant. Saturday night is the best evening to go: it's packed but there's a nice buzz, and it's generally full of smart youngish groups who have fun. They sometimes have tango players that entertain for brief moments the customers with guitar and voice. It's not tacky at all, the whole place is very authentic. This restaurant is a passepartout: you can bring there your date, your mum and dad, or a group of friends in a silly mood. I've done all three!

San Telmo

Carrer Vilá i Vilá, 53 – Barcelona

Phone: + 34 934 41 30 78

Price range: in general around 50€, although it can vary according to the quantity of meat ordered and the type of wine and spirits.

Open on Sundays!