Buen Ayre

01What to order

• Bife de chorizo grande, 425 g / 15 oz£38. Argentine sirloin, the large cut, starred on the menu as an Argentine favorite.
• Bife ancho, 280 g / 10 oz or 397 g / 14 oz£25 or £37.50. Argentine rib-eye in two sizes.
• Entraña£22.50. Skirt; the menu recommends it medium.
• Vacío, 300 g / 11 oz£20. Flank, the cheapest steak on the list.
• Parrillada Deluxe, two or morePer person: a steak of choice (sirloin 425 g / 15 oz £41, rib-eye 397 g / 14 oz £45, fillet 284 g / 10 oz £47), a sausage each and provolone, on a portable grill.
• Mollejas and provoletaSweetbreads £22 (half portion £12); grilled provolone £10.

02The beef

Argentine beef, by the menu's own note: "prime Argentine beef, free-range and grass-fed, unless stated otherwise". The cuts carry their Argentine names: cuadril (rump, 280 g / 10 oz, £22), entraña (skirt), vacío (flank), churrasco (sirloin, 280 g / 10 oz, £23), bife de chorizo (sirloin, 425 g / 15 oz), bife ancho (rib-eye) and bife de lomo (fillet, 284 g / 10 oz, £39.50; £44 with blue Stilton sauce). The Parrillada Buen Ayre, at £36.50 a head, may include flank and short ribs, with sausage and sweetbreads. No source names the supplier or an aging time.

03The fire

Charcoal. The chef's page describes a movable charcoal grill built for parrillada. Time Out, in 2013, placed the asado grill at the center of a small room. Every cut is grilled to order, and the menu warns that a parrillada takes time. Ask how long when you order.

04The story

John Patrick Rattagan was born in Buenos Aires in 1965 to an Irish-Argentine family with a farm in Baradero, and ran the family asado from the age of ten. He moved to London in 1990, studied at Central Saint Martins, and in 2003 was grill chef at the Duke of Edinburgh pub in Brixton. On Dec. 18, 2004 he opened Santa María del Buen Ayre on Broadway Market, the cobbled market street in Hackney. In 2013 Time Out priced the deluxe mixed grill at £53 for two and noted an all-Argentine wine list.

05The practical

50 Broadway Market, Hackney, London E8 4QJ; London Fields station is about five minutes' walk. Monday to Friday 18:00–22:00, Saturday 12:00–22:00, Sunday 12:00–21:00. Advance bookings by WhatsApp at 07306 096713; same-day bookings at 020 7275 9900. Tables of four or more pay a £10 deposit per person, deducted from the bill, and there are two sittings. Corkage is £21 a bottle; a 12.5% optional gratuity is added. Order the bife de chorizo.

Address

50 Broadway Market, Hackney, London E8 4QJ

Phone

+44 20 7275 9900

Website

buenayre.net

Directions

Google Maps ↗

06In London’s selections