Mark F.
Yelp
Before I begin, the service we got from Jose was absolutely 10/10. He handled our requirements with immediacy and the managers, metre's and hostess as well. That being said. Let's begin.
The concept of the restaurant says "new american - italian". First of all, in case the owner has some sort of national identity crisis, this is an Argentine resto. More posh sure, but Argentine nonetheless. And if you're argentine just like I am, you'd understand the standards we hold when we go and eat out, and the quality that we look for.
We were a party of four. We got the focaccia (8/10), the short rib empanadas (1/10) and then we got a Milamessi (7/10) a Pizza Margherita (6/10) and a beet salad (6/10). We got the empanadas replaced by a cheesecake (8/10) and a chocolate cake (9/10).
I come from the same country that Messi is, and that the owner is. I am sure that we can agree and disagree on many things, but the quality of the empanadas for an Argentine place, is just unacceptable.
Argentine empanadas are soft, juicy, and flavorful. The short rib empanadas we got were awful: tasteless, dry, and un-argentine. It's basically Columbian ropavieja in an empanada casing. I wouldn't eat this for free, and definitely wouldn't pay 18 dollars for one order. We ordered four, we returned two.
We never complained about the food in a restaurant, but we were extremely disappointed with the quality of the empanadas.
The truffle mushroom pizza was ok - we weren't expecting it to be a forte per se but this is an argentine restaurant and it's ok but definitely not worth 29 dollars. The beet salad was ok as well. Nothing crazy creative or blown out of the water, but not 21 dollars.
The focaccia was very good, but in this restaurant they won't give you a bread basket. I understand that the style of the resto is not oriented towards it, but, again we're in an Argentine resto. That focaccia was very good, but no focaccia is worth 13 dollars.
The resto's main buzz element was that Leo Messi went there a couple times, and he has his "Messis' Family Table" properly displayed on a secluded booth. So, I had to try the Milamessi.
The chips / french fries were dry and rough to the taste. The quality of the napolitan milanesa (the real name of this dish), was ok but nothing crazy. The milanesa could feed up for two people but not the same about the fries' quantity. Definitely not worth the 48 dollars we paid for.
Then, we replaced two out of four empanada orders. Yes, we sent two empanada orders back - this is the first time I do something like this at an Argentine resto. We don't send food back: we clean the plate and never complain. Yes, that's how bad the empanadas were.
They replaced our empanadas with a fire roasted cheesecake and a chocolate sin cake.
The fire roasted cheesecake was soft to the taste, and the berry compote was the perfect combination. I can't really decide whether this was a regular New York style cheesecake or a Basque one, but then again it was very good, 8/10.
The chocolate sin cake came with a vanilla bean ice-cream (the ice-cream was American, not Argentine and there's a strong difference in taste).
The chocolate and ice cream combo was really good. 9/10.
In total, we spend ~195. That's short of 50 bucks per head.
In all honesty, the best asset this place has is the service.
In my perspective, if they'd stick to Argentine cuisine instead of pretentious dishes they'd score higher.