Reviews La Patagonia

If you’re heading to Camden and fancy a good piece of meat... look no further then La Patagonia.
A family run and owned eatery, that offers great quality with a smile! The ribeye was perfectly cooked and perfectly served. The wine list is adequate for the “casual dining” style.

Guaranteed to be back!

Great spot for good, hearty Argentina fare. Very very busy on a Saturday night, with a cosy, friendly vibe (except when people entered and exited - sitting next to the door in the January chill proved trying but we soon fixed that with lashings of Malbec!). Lovely selection of starters - I adored the empanadas, and my companions raved about the melted provolone option. Mains were tasty, but steaks were a tad over cooked - medium-rare became medium, medium well-done etc. Nice wine list, friendly staff.

Two questions – have you ever been to Argentina and have you ever sat in a cosy, friendly Argentinean restaurant with a proper wood barbecue and authentic decorations? No? Well we have two solutions for you, either book a flight or simply come to Camden and grab a table at La Patagonia.   When we do reviews we like to be sure that the quality is always good, so we went twice to La Patagonia, once for the lunch menu and once for an evening meal meaning a barbecue, music, and tango dancing… Well, we may also have gone twice because we are as greedy as our name suggest and we seriously love our Barbecues. The Patagonia lunch experience: Did you think it was possible to have a nice argentinian steak cooked on a barbecue with a generous salad and a nice mash potato AND a soft drink for just £7.95? Or maybe a nice Milanese escalope with a salad and chips or even a steak sandwich with chips and a salad? Well, it is possible and really good. We even took our lovely French intern with us, Pierr

By Esin Huseyin

At the weekend I was surprised with a last minute dinner reservation, and to my surprise it was for a quaint little Argentinian place in Camden.

I’ve never had Argentinian food, but find out what I thought of the place. Read on to see why I pick this place as the most affordable steak in London.

Meat. Bit of a controversial word to start my review with, but seriously the Argentinians evidently love their meat. There were slabs of all kinds of cuts of steak, there were mixed grills with huge sausages, lamb loins, and even huge escalopes.

I ended up being the first one there so had to wait patiently for the others to come along, and I couldn’t help staring around at all of the food. It’s quite an intimate restaurant with maybe 10 or so tables, the kitchen is literally at the back of the room – it really brought an awful lot of heat in to the room, which was quite nice considering the sudden drop in temperature.

The walls are covered from floor to ceiling in an array of different sized frames filled with photographs, illustrations and sketches, and even what looked like film posters. What I couldn’t work out though, was the fact that there didn’t seem to be a uniformed language throughout? Bit confusing, but I’m also a sucker for small details.

The staff were a small team, but were super attentive and friendly, they made me feel welcome even when I was sitting on my tod. They patiently explained the different cuts and ingredients, and even let us in on their sauces – I’m telling you, their chilli sauces made for meat…no words, just sounds…

The menu isn’t huge, but there is great choice. I’m being flooded with memories of how yummy the food was, so I’m going to get stuck in and let you know what I ordered:

Starter: Provoletta a la Patagonia – Provolone cheese melted in the oven

Main: Rump Churrasco – 300g rump with green chimichurri served with chips and salad

Desert: Flan Carne – Crem caramel served with dulce de leche

I was not quite anticipating how huge the portions would be, not that I’m complaining, I was a hungry bear after a long day at school. The provolone cheese literally turned up in a hot plate with a side order of bread, it was baked with onions and what tasted like basil. It was absolutely amazing and was reminiscent of mozzarella, but a little more like Parmesan cheese.

I think this starter would make an amazing sharer, I mean I definitely could have finished it but I wanted to save some space for the mega-ton steak that was coming my way. All in all, stringy molten heaven. Definitely recommend.

When the steak arrived, I genuinely looked around the rest of the restaurant. The steak was genuinely the size of my forearm and was a steal at under £17 including sides! Where in London can you bag yourself a treat like that. The chips were irregular and hand cut which I absolutely adore, although I was unsure which oil they were fried in because they had a bit of an odd taste. They were crispy on the outside and super fluffy on the inside which made them perfect partners to the steak.

The steak, considering it was a rump steak, wasn’t that fatty. It had perfect grill lines, was tender and juicy throughout, however it was slightly…and I mean slightly…overcooked for my liking. I would say it was more of a medium than a medium-rare, nonetheless it was delicious. The meat wasn’t really over-seasoned, but I believe that was to allow us to savor the chilli sauces alongside it.

Oddly, the salad was seasoned with more of a sweet tasting dressing rather than a bitter, which actually complimented the meaty flavours. Either way it got me excited for desert.

Now, did anyone use to buy those creme caramel cartons from their local supermarket? You know the ones you would flip upside down on a plate and peel off the sticker to release it – making you feel like a bluddy amazing chef. Well imagine that and times it by 3, the size of this flan was huge! I was a little off put by the fact that my flan had a wrinkly hard skin at the bottom because it had been overcooked. The consistency was great, enough to want to chew, but soft enough to melt away in your mouth.

The caramel wasn’t too over bearing which is what you need, as it’s a fine balance. It was my first time trying dulce de leche – seriously thick, seriously sweet, beautifully partnered with the caramel, in fact slightly reminiscent of this.

Well, as you can see I enjoyed myself – if you’ve been before let me know what you think and tell me your recommendations in the comments below. But if you’re after authentic food, with a homely vibe at a great price; La Patagonia is the place to be.

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An ideal spot to experience the essence of Argentina's asado! I've frequented this restaurant countless times over the years. While it has gained sophistication, it seems to have lost some of its rustic charm and the abundant portions of meat that once defined it, perhaps due to inflation and meat price pressures. However, they've managed to maintain affordable menu prices. Nevertheless, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu; it truly captures the essence of an authentic Argentine BBQ. The atmosphere is wonderfully reminiscent of Argentina. Don't hesitate, give it a try!

Buenísimo! An authentic Argentinian experience a stone’s throw from Kings Cross station. Food slightly on the pricey side, but the quality is there. We sampled three of the four empanadas, a bife de chorizo and a sirloin for mains, crepe and homemade flan for dessert and washed it down with a glass of Malbec. The steaks were cooked perfectly and suitably large. Empanadas we’re crispy and well filled with the right flavours, although the carne one was a little on the sweet side. The decor of the place is authentic and the painted external building facade in the colours of argentina is hard to miss. Staff were friendly, helpful and fluent in both English and Spanish. Well worth a visit.

Best steak I’ve ever had! And I’ve had a lot of them, my physician will concur… Brilliant job team, keep up the good work

Great food and wine offerings. Delicious from start to end of my dining experience.

What a great establishment, I will definitely be going back at some point. Exactly how it should be, a taste of Argentina in Camden. The wine, superb, the meat cooked to perfection and very very tasty! Everything was superb. Put this on your list of go to restaurants.