I love the global and diverse appeal of markets the world over. Montevideo has it's fair share and I visited about 4 or 5 markets in the city during my stay there. Whether it's a food market or a goods market, I love my visits to them.
Mercado del Puerto is obviously down near the port and is actually indoors, the area nearby can be dodgy at night I heard but by day and especially late afternoon, this is the place to eat! A great atmosphere and aroma within!
The layout of the market is easy to navigate and it is clean. You find a seat by any restaurant and oder directly from the bar in front. Some bars and restaurants have waitress service. We ate at a place called La Maestranza a barbecue restaurant with a waitress called Natali.
The beer was Patricia - very popular and thirst quenching in Uruguay. You buy beer by the bottle and share it in glasses. This is the cheapest option and the beer doesn't get too hot quickly. At that time (November 2010), Montevideo was enjoying a hot summer.
To get there I hired a bike and paid a local guy to look after the bike while we were inside, this is actually safe enough!
You choose what you want from the many items on the menu - as much or as little as you want (and you can buy more if its not enough) and they fire it on the barbecue and cook it in front of you. When it's ready they put it on a plate and you share it. Wesley and I both had similar tastes so no arguments! We chose Chorizo, Morchillo, Salchincha and Rincon - 4 types of cooked (pork or beef) sausage and meat. You get bread and sauce to eat them with.
The garnish, bread and crackers that come with it is free. So you only pay for the meat they cook and the beer. Tipping is optional, but we left a bit for the staff.
While we were eating a local TV crew were filming and they came over to ask us questions! This was funny as my Spanish wasn't very good but we were able to have a chat and talk about a few things! I enjoyed it!
A beer cost around 100 pesos and for the food it's best to do a pick and mix option which gives you variety and saves a bit of money as you are buying in bulk. The menu is straight forward and no problem with ordering.
The market is actually on two floors and at one point I popped upstairs to check out the view! I would strongly recommend trying the Parrilla (that's what Uruguayan barbecue is known as locally) if you happen to be in Montevideo!
Mercado del Puerto is obviously down near the port and is actually indoors, the area nearby can be dodgy at night I heard but by day and especially late afternoon, this is the place to eat! A great atmosphere and aroma within!
The layout of the market is easy to navigate and it is clean. You find a seat by any restaurant and oder directly from the bar in front. Some bars and restaurants have waitress service. We ate at a place called La Maestranza a barbecue restaurant with a waitress called Natali.
The beer was Patricia - very popular and thirst quenching in Uruguay. You buy beer by the bottle and share it in glasses. This is the cheapest option and the beer doesn't get too hot quickly. At that time (November 2010), Montevideo was enjoying a hot summer.
To get there I hired a bike and paid a local guy to look after the bike while we were inside, this is actually safe enough!
You choose what you want from the many items on the menu - as much or as little as you want (and you can buy more if its not enough) and they fire it on the barbecue and cook it in front of you. When it's ready they put it on a plate and you share it. Wesley and I both had similar tastes so no arguments! We chose Chorizo, Morchillo, Salchincha and Rincon - 4 types of cooked (pork or beef) sausage and meat. You get bread and sauce to eat them with.
The garnish, bread and crackers that come with it is free. So you only pay for the meat they cook and the beer. Tipping is optional, but we left a bit for the staff.
While we were eating a local TV crew were filming and they came over to ask us questions! This was funny as my Spanish wasn't very good but we were able to have a chat and talk about a few things! I enjoyed it!
A beer cost around 100 pesos and for the food it's best to do a pick and mix option which gives you variety and saves a bit of money as you are buying in bulk. The menu is straight forward and no problem with ordering.
The market is actually on two floors and at one point I popped upstairs to check out the view! I would strongly recommend trying the Parrilla (that's what Uruguayan barbecue is known as locally) if you happen to be in Montevideo!
About the Author:
For further articles on Uruguayan cuisine, Mate in Uruguay and Uruguay football trip head to Jonny Blair's backpacking lifestyle site for further marvellous stories.
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