Buen Ayre

Broadway Market’s atmosphere of laid-back revelry should make it the perfect spot for Buen Ayre, chef-proprietor John Patrick Rattagan’s attempt to bring casual Argentinian meat feasting to London. The layout is right – one small room, simply furnished, with the asado grill the focus at its centre.

The beef on our ‘deluxe’ mixed grill (£53 for two, plus £4.50 for a side of above-average chips) certainly looked every charred, sticky inch the parrilla victim. Yet it didn’t elicit the gushing response that other steak specialists in the capital can. What felt more appropriate to the no-frills set-up (and service, it must be said) was breaking into the crumbly black pudding, scooping up the oregano-sprinkled provolone and pricking the excellent sausages.

Cheaper steaks are available, and one of those, the sweetbreads or a couple of chorizo would have suited our overall sense of the place better than that expensive parrilla. Wines are exclusively Argentinian, and desserts are the usual super-sweet selection, including assorted ice-creams, pancake with dulce de leche, and flan (crème caramel).