Food and Drink

Santa Maria del Sur

Above: Santa Maria del Sur

What is it these days that encourages chefs to play around with food and over-complicate dishes? So many talk a good game of seasonal produce, locally sourced (never easy in London) and simply prepared, then deliver to your table something resembling a cubist painting with more flavours, tastes and directions than a Picasso masterpiece. Santa Maria del Sur on Queenstown Road ignores all this tomfoolery and gets back to basics with no-nonsense, rustic cooking from Argentina, and reminds us of how important basic ingredients are, when prepared with love and affection. Every wine on the list is home grown, as is the beef, exquisitely prepared on an authentic grill, placed right in the front window for that extra piece of theatre. The food here pays tribute to the cow in every cut of meat served. If I was proud bovine from Argentina, waiting for export to the UK, I’d be demanding to be sent recorded delivery to Santa Maria. The restaurant has a relaxed, rustic feel of oak floors, simple furnishings and warm colours and the staff are the most welcoming I have encountered for some time, and proud too, which speaks volumes. My Empanadas, traditional Argentinian pasties, were a delicious and homely way to start. In an act of pure glutton I then opted for a 14oz sirloin steak, very rare, and I can’t tell you how melt in the mouth it was, simply stunning. And just to complete the experience I was treated to a particularly tasty pisco liqueur, a speciality of the country. Go to this place, tell your friends, you’ll love it for doing what it says on the tin: great food, cooked simply, a good wine list, great staff and what’s more, a music night starts in June to add to the fun. I for one will be back, if only to try and finish the steak that defeated me this time!

Two-course meal for two with a bottle of wine: £65