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[title]Konstantin Voronin was already a fan of Patagonian cuisine before arriving in Argentina, driven by the war between his country, Russia, and Ukraine. This chef, who traveled the world cooking on luxury cruises, chose a black hake from South America to impress his future wife, Ksenia Romantsova, on their first date.
Romantsova was a Store Director for a famous Japanese clothing brand. The couple met through the dating app Tinder, and the first dish they enjoyed together would define their future.
During the chef's travels, they would chat virtually, while Konstantin would set Ksenia the challenge of cooking a dish with a recipe he shared with her. “That’s how I learned to cook quite a bit, although now my partner dominates that space,” Ksenia smiles as she recalls the early days of their romance.
When the war between Russia and Ukraine began, the couple decided to emigrate to Argentina. Nearly four years after their arrival, with a baby born in Buenos Aires, they opened the restaurant Musgo. As expected, Patagonian black hake became the main dish.
Musgo: A restaurant with a unique concept
“For this opening, I invented the concept of Patagandi,” explains Voronin in an interview with Time Out. “Besides being a cook, I am an interior designer. I’m a big fan of the Japandi style that combines Japanese and Scandinavian elements.” “I even asked Chat GPT to see if it existed because I wanted to be original. And the AI had no answer,” the chef recalls.
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Patagandi fuses Patagonian flavors with Asian techniques and the minimalist elegance of Northern Europe. This blend of cultures is reflected in Musgo's menu and aesthetics, where nature takes center stage with stones and shrubs.
Ksenia, who speaks better Spanish, acts as a translator for her partner's concepts. “I arrived in Buenos Aires alone. Konstantin was finishing one of his periods on cruises in the Mediterranean. And the first thing I saw was how beautiful summer was in the city, with the sun illuminating everything and the trees in bloom,” the young woman exclaims.
“The first thing I saw in Buenos Aires was how beautiful summer was in the city”
As soon as they reunited in Buenos Aires, the Russian couple began exploring the country. Naturally, their first destination was Patagonia. “At that time, we were already contacting the people who would later become our suppliers for Musgo,” Voronin says.
Love for the Sea
What surprised the Russian chef was how little Buenos Aires knew about seafood. “Shrimp and black hake are internationally renowned. Yet, many locals don’t consume them or even know they exist. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of local meat, superior to that of the United States or Japan,” says the chef. He adds that while he and his partner love traditional Argentine dishes, they are fans of asado, especially charcoal-grilled rib-eye.
What’s on Musgo’s Menu?
With 20 years of experience in the industry, Konstantin Voronin applies his philosophy of perfection in every cooking stage at Musgo. The open kitchen allows customers to be part of this experience. Alongside the head chef, Luciano Campos, and wine expert Sorrel Moseley-Williams, they present Musgo’s menu.
Musgo’s menu is a combination of all Konstantin’s experience, his life philosophy, and his travels across Argentina to find the best suppliers for each product.
The chef succinctly describes the foundation of his entire menu, stripped down like the Nordic style that merges with southern Argentina. “Our dishes combine Patagonian products, Asian sauces, and cooking methods, along with the Scandinavian minimalism found in many of the world's best restaurants,” Konstantin states. “We want two people to share five dishes and thus experience nearly half the menu. We aim for them to enjoy a diverse tasting experience.”
The menu features standout appetizers like marinated trout with beet and ginger, fried eggplant with tomato and Asian sauce, bell pepper carpaccio with tonnata cream and capers, baked cabbage with katsuobushi, and beef tartare with caramelized cheese and fennel.
“Musgo’s menu is a combination of all Konstantin’s experience”
Among the main courses, there are options like Japanese-style beef with shiso and ponzu, rib-eye with golden curry and cauliflower, scallops with cherry tomatoes and polenta cream, prawns with kombu and bisque, smoked trout with potato skin and onion cream, and sweetbreads with lion’s mane mushrooms and black fungi.
For dessert, the offerings include chocolate fondant with hazelnuts and Patagonian salt, crème brûlée, and cherries with ginger and egg.
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Musgo: The restaurant and home of this couple
Since May 2, Musgo has opened its doors to welcome its first diners. “We launched with our Russian friends who also live in Buenos Aires. There were about 100 people, and luckily, everything went well. We are still in the early stages, making some adjustments to the menu,” Voronin explains.
“The launch was with our Russian friends who also live in Buenos Aires”
The 200-square-meter space offers seating for 58 guests between the dining room and the patio. The decor, which includes a wine cellar, large windows, and an open kitchen, stands out for its harmony of colors and minimalist tones, creating a unique atmosphere. The couple lives above the restaurant with their daughter and Ksenia’s mother, in a spacious PH on Nicaragua Street in the heart of Palermo Soho.
Fleeing Russia
Konstantin was born in Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city very close to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ksenia is from the border area with China. “There, the two cultures blend. We ate a lot of Russian-style food but also Chinese,” she says.
Voronin started working in a restaurant “from the bottom,” like almost all chefs worldwide. He soon began managing inventory control. “I’m very good at managing processes to ensure a dish is produced consistently and perfectly. After all, cooking is about repetition to achieve the exact combination of what we offer.”
Konstantin explains the situation in his city before the war. “There was constant communication on both sides of the border,” Voronin recalls, with some nostalgia for those times. “I even went to the stadium to watch the Mariupol team, a nearby Ukrainian city.”
The chef and owner of Musgo also speaks about the relationship that existed on both sides of the border. “I would cross over to a famous electronic music party. Many Ukrainians worked in Russia and traveled almost daily. All of this ended with the war.”
“Many Ukrainians worked in Russia and traveled daily. Everything ended with the war”
When the conflict became imminent, Konstantin was working on a cruise, and his partner Ksenia decided to wait for him in Argentina. Their daughter was born in Buenos Aires, and now Ksenia’s mother also lives with them to take care of the baby while they work.
Russian nostalgia, Argentine dreams
They sometimes miss aspects of their life in Russia. “It’s much easier to find imported items there. In Argentina, it’s complicated. That’s why we brought many items from Moscow for Musgo’s decor,” Ksenia says.
The couple doesn’t like to talk much about the near future. “We don’t see ourselves returning to Russia. For now, our place is in Argentina, with this project that is just starting and has much room to grow,” Voronin says enthusiastically.
“We don’t see ourselves returning to Russia. Our place is in Argentina”
The couple doesn’t plan to stop at just the restaurant. “The idea is to open a brunch bar, which we believe is not well developed in Buenos Aires. The goal is to do it with excellent ingredients and offer customers the option to have a drink or cocktail to accompany the dishes,” the chef explains.
One thing they miss is caviar, which is easily available everywhere in Russia. “The plan is to import the product to create dishes here that include it with Musgo’s touch, but adding that unique Russian flavor,” the chef shares about their future plans.
When and Where: Musgo is open for dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights in two shifts: at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Nicaragua 4758, Palermo Soho.