Walking through the graffitied side streets of Buenos Aires you wouldn’t expect to find a place so chic, so romantic and at the peak of sophistication. Tucked away like a hidden gem, Aramburu masquerades as a suave restaurant that could feature in a James Bond movie, with all its glamour and refinement. But it is also a romantic, vibrant place welcome to all fine diners. The low-lit lighting spotlights the tables in a tender and relaxing way, and Gonzalo Aramburu’s talent makes every bite of his 17 course-tasting menu a blissful experience.

Since a stylistic flourishing in May 2019, Aramburu truly captures the Latin American culture and cuisine across each one of the 12 or 17 course tasting menus. Each dish is prepared in an open-plan kitchen where the guests can witness the mastery at work. The dining in Aramburu is known for its exotic and creative use of local ingredients, and Gonzalo Aramburu’s cooking has truly defined new Argentinian cuisine. Coupled with the amazing gastronomy, Sommelier Val Nakielski has over 120 wine labels which she pairs impeccably with each course. As each different wine is served to you, the waiters can provide impressive knowledge on each wine, to make you feel as though you are having a culinary tour of Argentinian flavours and tastes. This restaurant does not fall short of its reputation as one of the top 50 Latin American Restaurants.

Aramburu is Chef Gonzalo’s restaurant, and since opening his restaurant, he has also opened Aramburu Biz which is a bistro restaurant further down the street, showing how he has truly made a name for his talent. Gonzalo has worked in the kitchens of great chefs like Martín Berasategui, Daniel Boulud, and Charlie Trotter, and it was through their training, and his own imaginative creativity that his dishes have a dreamlike quality about them. His precise culinary techniques that ensures complete control of cooking and his artistic, intricate presentation of the plates makes each course unique and one of a kind.

Despite first appearances – Aramburu being hidden on a street that is narrow and graffiti-filled – the restaurant has a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere. Gonzalo Aramburu choose this location because he grew up in the area, giving this restaurant something of a nostalgic breath of his childhood, and making the experience of dining here both more exciting and surprising, but also homely and welcoming.

Inside the restaurant, the low-lit lighting aesthetic captures the thrilling atmosphere of a Bond movie, but also makes for a relaxing meal, where after the 12-17 course tasting menu, you can sit and relax in a peaceful, satisfied meditation while enjoying the rest of your aromatic wine. The minimalistic decoration of the stone tables gives the restaurant a modern ambiance, and as there are only 12 tables in the restaurant, it makes the restaurant seem cosier, and ensures your experience feel more private and personal. As the windows are also covered, it hides the gloomier streets outside, and so your meal starts becoming a trip where you have taken a step from one world into another: into the peak of Argentinian sophistication. The restaurant is made even more welcoming by the fact that the waiters all speak excellent English, allowing guests to have an immediate connection with the staff.

Guests can also sit at the Chef’s Table, where they can watch their dishes being prepared in front of them, and watch in awe of the talent, and the intricate cooking techniques used by Gonzalo and his team. Sat in the front row, guests can also enjoy the aromatic smells of cumin, oregano and thyme used in Gonzalo’s cooking that is an endless bliss for the senses and enhances the taste buds ready for the meal.

In Aramburu, many guests are initially confused by the lack of content on the food menu, however after conversing with the Chef, guests find out that they can be treated to anything from a 12 to a 17-course tasting menu. Each journey of dishes will be tailored to the visitors’ food preferences and aversions, making the tour of culinary excellence personal and unique.

From the blissfully tasty experience you can expect to begin with an amuse-bouche of a parmesan crisp, a mushroom truffle with a carob crust and a potato cannolo with house-made aioli, showing how Gonzalo combines a wide variety of exotic and delicious tastes that makes every guest appreciate how Aramburu is the pioneer of Buenos Aires gastronomy.

Following on from this, the tasting menu will take you through a number of appetiser dishes, including a squid ink croquette, a pastry blend served over a hot stone with corn soup, and a salad of fresh peas, green apple, shaved radish, olive oil with house-made buratta cheese. Each of these dishes are exquisitely aromatic, and show you a different flavour of Latin American culture.

The meat lovers will then enjoy a number of delectable dishes including fresh white salmon, along with a fantastically tasty quail and lamb prepared sous vide. This is a way of cooking that cooks food at a controlled, lower temperatures, while sealed in air tight plastic, to enhance the flavours, and draw out the ingredients’ aromas. Guests have often found the cold-smoked fillet steak the most memorable of the meat dishes: it is presented as a small, tender cut of beef, with beautifully cooked sweet potato puree from North Argentina and flavoursome leaves grown in the local area that add a boost of pungent tang to the course. Gonzalo himself claims this to be his favourite dish, and it is said to make guests wonder if the cows are fed on walnuts and artisan beer, as the Argentinian legends claim, for the meat is so flavoursome and tender.

The dessert courses of this impressive menu are a selection of small deliciously sweet bites: a sugar-coated marshmallow, eucalyptus ice cream, a white chocolate truffle and an olive oil jelly perched on a sweet bite of edible wood. While this selection of tastes sounds unusual, each flavour is matched perfectly with the others, and it provides a surprising but delicious finale to the fantastic tasting menus.

These are only an example of the of dishes the restaurant has to offer. There are a number of other dishes that are equally as tasty, meaning that guests could pay a second visit to the restaurant.

The wine list at Aramburu is truly breath-taking. With the 120 different wines to choose from, it is useful that the staff are so knowledgeable and ensure you have the best paired wines for every dish. There are sparkling wines like the elite Rosell Boher Grand Cuvee Millesime from Tupungato, Mendoza, and a wide-ranging variety of whites including the Propositos Michelini I Muffato also from Tupungato, Mendoza. There is a glorious long list of red wines, extending way beyond the traditional Malbec numbers to the Catena Zapata Mundus Bacillus Terrae from Los Chacayes in Mendoza. There is also a number of delicious rose wines, but these are upstaged by the unusual orange wines. The orange wines are made with white grapes where the grape skin is kept on and they are left to ferment for a considerable time, anytime between 4 days to a year. The taste of these wines is truly unique: unlike white wine, orange wine is sourer and has nuttier undertones. The orange wines at the restaurant make for a fascinating new experience for any guest, and add to the uniqueness of the dining experience at Aramburu. The orange wine is particularly excellent when paired with lamb dishes, or courses with roasted or caramelised vegetables because of the rich nuttiness of the wine.

The dining experience at Aramburu is truly unique. The journey of the tasting menus walks the taster through all the flavours of Argentina with small, but delicious bites that leave any guests in a bliss of Latin American culture. The perfectly matched wine, and sophistication of the restaurant make Aramburu a true gem hidden in the streets of Buenos Aires.