El Claustro Santa Cantlina

Location:
El Claustro Santa Catalina

San Martin 705

Buenos Aires, Argentina
Microcentro, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Restaurant

By Antoinette Ford

Are you looking for sinfully delicious food? Then try “El Claustro,” the restaurant inside the Convent of Santa Catalina. It is a true refuge of not only fine dining with a fresh take on modern Pan-Latin American cuisine, but also a cool break from the frenzied shopping on Florida Avenue, in the heart of Buenos Aires.

The convent is cloistered behind a twenty-foot high stucco wall, so the only sound you will hear as you dine alfresco in the Zen-like garden is the tranquil sound of falling water from the antique rain tank turned into a fountain and the soft rustle of palms blowing in the breeze. While you enjoy such mouth-watering starters as “terrine of rabbit on brioche toast, spinach salad and mango dressing” or “carpaccio with rucula salad and parmesan cheese.”

I loved the camembert cheese rolled in sesame seeds, served warm on a bed of greens, but also notable is the stuffed mushrooms filled with baby shrimp in a wine cream sauce. Priced from $15-26 pesos.

Chef Rolando Benitez Cuella offers a daily lunch special, a three-course meal, prepared with only the freshest local ingredients for $46 pesos. The regular menu boasts such creative choices as grilled chicken with feta cheese, capers, black olives in a red pepper sauce or smoked salmon salad with ciboulette cream dressing. For heartier appetites, try the locally raised braised leg of lamb with fine herbs; this is their signature dish. The menu changes seasonally and always includes a pasta dish, as well as delicious homemade desserts, and a good selection of wines by the glass or by the bottle. But make a reservation, this restaurant is only open for lunch 12-3 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Regulations: Smoking section

Dress Code: Dressy casual

Reservation: Recommended

Contact Information:
Zip: 1004 Capital Federal
Phone: 4-312-0235
URL: www.elclaustrosc.com.ar