Zonda, Cocina de Paisaje

This place blew it out of the park. We did the cooking class + wine paired lunch and it truly exceeded our expectations. You start with a wonderful breakfast and then get a tour of the area and the organic garden - which is such a special touch. The whole property is unbelievable. The food is so well presented and really pushes culinary boundaries. All the pairings worked so well with the dishes. This was our favourite experience on our 3 week trip. I can’t wait to come back!!!

Short Summary: 7 course set lunch experience with wine pairing Overall I thought the restaurant had a lot of great things going and had lots of potential but our experience was definitely sub-par for a Michelin star restaurant charging ~200$ USD per person. Wine pairing was overall fantastic with very knowledgeable wine sommeliers Food: very hit or miss, some dishes were fantastic, others were a complete miss. (Salad was wilted and poor quality with a bug found in one of our salads. Generally would expect higher scrutiny and quality from a Michelin star restaurant) Service: service was overall good, they did completely forget to serve the side of bread with the main entree. Thought the wine pairing and wine sommeliers did a particularly great job. Atmosphere: very beautiful setting with large windows and a great view of the on-site vineyard. Would have given 5 stars but there were over 10 house flies flying around near the tables sat near the windows. They were constantly disturbing the dining experience often landing on the wine glasses of all nearby tables. Further explanation of dining experience: The Main entree was a wonderfully cooked steak served with like 7 different plates which was confusing as there were some dishes (fried potatoes) that would be enjoyed hot but by the time you had a bite of your steak and had a drink of your wine pairing the rest of the food was cold. Wished they would have broken up the main entree experience into smaller pieces to reduce the clutter of the table (not helped by the fact that they had all wine glasses from the entire 7 course meal sitting out the entire meal, it created a wine glass wall that made navigating additional plates very awkward). Or they could bring out individual wine glasses with each pairing to reduce table clutter. They also didn't ask how we would like our steak cooked until after the steak was already served which was really odd. We were fine with medium rare and how it was served but if you didn't want it cooked that way I'm not sure how they would have fixed it. Additionally, the home grown salad served with the main steak entree was terribly wilted and unwashed in some parts (there was a small bug in my partner's salad). Service was generally good but they completely forgot to serve the bread with the main steak entree (which was bizarre because they brought out salt, pepper, olive oil and a house made butter for the bread specifically. The bread was also cold and was served from a large basket with a bunch of bread slices thrown in together, would have hoped it was made/cut fresh so the bread wasn't served cold and soggy) They could potentially avoid situations like this if they broke up their main entree. The dessert (lemon sorbet) was a complete miss for us as it was generally uncreative and a little too acidic especially considering it was at the end of a meal with 7 wine pairing. The wine plus the acidic sorbet and the addition of another sorbet served earlier in the meal was just a little too much. Overall, I thought the restaurant had a lot of great things going and had lots of potential but our experience was definitely sub-par for a Michelin star restaurant charging ~200$ USD per person.

Amazing culinary experience, one of the best meals we have ever had!! The food is locally sourced and the wines were perfectly paired. The service by all of the staff was exceptional. The building and vineyard property was beautiful.

We had an incredible time at Zonda. We booked their “experiencia Gilanco” which is a set menu with wine pairing. From the very attentive staff, knowledgeable smellier, to the delicious food, it’s no wonder why they have a Michelin star. We enjoyed every bite and every glass of wine! We appreciated the staff’s service and attention to detail!!

This place is so amazing we did the full experience not just once but twice (and we brought our French friends). Literally a beautiful experience connecting land, nature and the craft of growing deliciously healthy food to be eaten and paired with amazing local wines (particularly from their organic varieties planted at the spot). Juan Pablo served us this second time around and boy did he impress. His English was amazing and he surprised us with speaking French to our friends! I love how much he connected with us in general — it made the experience that much better. The food and wine was amazing and everyone had a different favorite. The most impressive thing was how they catered to my lactose intolerance and never left me wanting for more just because I couldn’t have dairy. Bruno, one of the chefs, was kind of enough to teach us how to make a traditional Argentinian food. Maxi showed us the beauty of “his” backyard in the gardens.

We had the best time at Zonda! I love their sustainable and green concept and it was wonderful to see the garden. The design of the place and table settings is beautiful and stylish. The staff is outstanding and the food, along with the wine pairings, is excellent. If I could suggest one improvement, it would be to add a bit more creativity to some of the dishes.

An absolutely incredible experience. We booked the Zonda Experience and had the most wonderful day. It started out with a breakfast of coffee, kombucha, pastries and fruit, which were all so delicious. We then got a small tour of the vineyard and learned more about the property. In the garden, Max carefully explained all of the crops and their uses in the kitchen. We had a beautiful infusion and learned more about the farm to table philosophy. Back in the restaurant, we made tortitas with one of the chefs who was amazing and very knowledgeable. We then began the tasting menu, each course was absolutely amazing and paired perfectly with each of the wines. The sommelier was eager to tell us about each wine and answer the questions we had. Overall, this experience was very memorable and is something I will look back on as a highlight of our Mendoza trip.

We had an amazing lunch experience at Zonda. Something happened with our reservation, but they made a table for us under an olive tree right outside in their gardens and we enjoyed one of the most magical meals and wine pairings we have experienced. The service and the meal was everything you would expect from a Michelin star restaurant which they received a couple weeks before our visit. They also received a green star for sustainability which is awesome. The young women who run the restaurant and vineyard are amazingly talented. Congratulations and keep up the amazing work!