David K.
Yelp
Two words describe the experience at Sarkis: organized chaos. There was already a small crowd of people waiting outside before the restaurant opened for dinner service, but the dining room is absolutely massive, so everyone was seated quickly. Then came an army of waiters passing out menus and taking orders. Much of the menu actually consists of cold appetizers/mezze, and these came out lickety-split, within minutes of being ordered! But figuring out what happened to our hot dishes was another story altogether. We were ignored multiple times by our waiter when we tried to flag him down, and we were even brought a few dishes we didn't order at all (but which we happily took). The restaurant was so busy and crowded the entire time that it was a wonder that the food was brought out in an orderly manner from the kitchen at all, and by the time we left, there was still a line of people waiting outside for tables!
So while the dining experience here was totally comical, how was the food, you ask? For Armenian cuisine in Argentina, this was really good stuff! Every table was started with a basket of pita bread (which was a bit on the tough side), and we ordered the baba ganoush (puree of roasted eggplant), which was creamy and nicely balanced in flavor. We also had the "Empanada Lasmayin," which was actually lahmacun (minced meat in a grilled flatbread), but (this being Argentina) I thought it was so funny that this was called an "empanada" on the menu!
One dish I really liked was the Keppe Crudo Armenia, which were small patties of raw meat mixed with bulgur, and served with chopped onion, tomato, and parsley. Amazingly, there was almost no "raw meat" or bloody flavor to these little kibbeh at all, and they were amazing with a squeeze of lemon juice and eaten with pita! We also got the fried kibbeh, which were balls of bulgur and minced lamb, inside of which was stuffed more ground meat. These kibbeh weren't the best I've had, as I thought they were a bit underseasoned. We also had the Kafta al Fierrito, or kafta kebab, which took quite a while to arrive, but were perfectly seasoned throughout and tasty.
But my favorite dish had to be the falafel, which were served unlike any other falafel I've had. The balls themselves were crispy and perfectly spiced, but the amazing thing was that they were covered with tahini sauce and served over pickled cabbage. Perhaps this combination doesn't sound all that unusual, but the tang of the crunchy pickled cabbage really brought out the flavors of the tahini and the falafels in a way that I just can't describe!
For a completely local experience, come to Sarkis! We didn't see another tourist in sight, and this restaurant was super popular and simply flooded with locals. If for no other reason, come to experience the comically bad service, but be amazed that everything somehow works out at the end..