The 23 Essential Montevideo Restaurants

"Chef Lucía Soria, a protege of Argentina’s celebrity chef Francis Mallmann, has had her own place in Montevideo’s Ciudad Vieja for 10 years now. Open all day long, the beautiful space is the perfect spot for taking a break while exploring the neighborhood. Soria’s food is healthy and market-driven, and she makes the best salads in Uruguay using top-notch ingredients like arugula, burrata, goat cheese, and grapes. The small plates on the dinner menu — shrimp empanadas, grilled squid with radish and tomatoes, and inventive toasts made with campo-style bread from the restaurant’s bakery — are incredibly moreish. Soria’s work can also be found at Rosa Pizzería in the Pocitos neighborhood, which serves pizzas and traditional Uruguayan dishes with an Italian spin, and Rosa Vegetal, a small place with a plant-based menu, located across the street from Jacinto. — Nell McShane Wulfhart" - Marcela Baruch, Nell McShane Wulfhart