I was recommended Baqueano by a colleague and decided it seemed like the perfect place to celebrate my birthday!
It’s run by a family – Adriana and Jorge are business partners and a married couple, with their children helping in the restaurant too. Everything they serve is Argentinian style, as they want to make you feel Argentina.
I wondered how busy it would be on a random Wednesday in January and I was pleasantly surprised that every single table was full. They were having to tell people to come back later. It was fantastic to see a new Brighton business thriving!
All of the starters sounded incredible and honestly, I could have ordered one of everything. In the end, we went for two. First, Provoleta. Provolone is a type of cheese, and we went for the option of walnuts and honey on top. It’s gooey, it’s delicious, the honey made it sweet and the walnut gave it a crunch. It’s a pretty good size as well.
For our second starter, we had the Picada Argentina for two. This is a selection of cold cuts, cheeses, pickled vegetables, mixed nuts and bread. The lovely lady serving us explained what each meat and cheese was, and I loved that – it was good to learn a little about what we were eating! The selection was varied in flavours and textures and it was all delicious on its own, but also combined. It was a great way to try lots of little bits.
For the main, obvs I went for a steak. Steak is the main feature of the menu and I don’t know why you’d get anything else tbh. I went for a 340g ribeye, but you can also get a smaller size too. It was INSANE. The slab of meat that arrived felt hugeeee. I had mine medium rare and it was perfect – no blood on my plate and pink in the middle, exactly how I like it. It was so juicy and full of flavour, every single bite was incredible.
It came with a side of fries and I loved the selection of Argentinian dips that came with it too. A spicy but not too spicy “putapario” sauce, chimichurri and “golf” sauce, which is kinda creamy like a mayo.
The waitress explained everything to us so well and answered all our questions. The attention to detail is great, they really go through everything with you in detail and explain everything so well. I’m not sure I’d really tried Argentinian food before this, so it was great to feel so comfortable asking questions and having things explained.
I loved that it was busy and that it was full of all different types of people – families, young couples, people eating alone. It’s got a great, buzzy atmosphere and it’s a lovely space to spend an evening in. I loved supporting a local, family-owned business and seeing it full up. If you’re a meat-eater and you’re looking for somewhere to get steak, I would 10/10 recommend Baqueano. The food is delicious, and the people are lovely. What more could you want?
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