REVIEW:
New Argentinean bar/restaurant at the Paris end of town opened October 2011. Following the "modern" Argentinean format of Porteno, Sydney's hottest and - by the 2012 Good Food Guide - most over-rated restaurant (a rating only understood if you chance upon one of the lead reviewers for said guide dining there), Melbourne has San Telmo. The space surrounds a large, very open kitchen that has surprisingly little impact on the dining experience, with heavy wooden tables, cow-hide draped wall, and comfy winged leather chairs for a lucky few. It's charmingly friendly with service varying from slickly professional to "still learning", but trying hard. The menu is mostly meaty mains, and mostly vegetable entrees, forgetting - as seems the norm for Argentinean restaurants - the fact that Argentina has thousand of kilometres of coastline ... and the wine list is completely Argentinean. Meats are char-grilled on a 2.5 metre parrilla and the authentic smokey flavour remains enhancing rather than dominating; and while salads can be bracingly dressed, this acidity counters the richness of the meats. It would help if salads were offered as such rather than being somewhat lost among "starters and sides". Even breakfast here has a strong Argentinean flavour. San Telmo in its early days is easy and fun, and worth a visit for relaxed, meaty dining. We'll be back for an update soon enough. WINE: Beers and wine are all from Argentina where there has been a revolution (in wine quality) for the last decade or more. The local Torrontes white can be very floral and attractive, while Malbec is the red mainstay of the local industry, and well worth investigating. While much of this will be unknown the staff are happy to guide you with some rewarding results.
