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 market is well laid out and very clean. You basically just rock over to a seat by each bar/restaurant and order from the bar. Some are slightly more posh with waitress service. We ended up at La Maestranza, a wee barbecue restaurant with a very pretty waitress who I believe was called Natali.
For beer I tried Patricia the local stuff, quenches your thirst for sure. Better to buy by the bottle and share it. Tap beer isn't really available. It was summer time when I visited.
At the entrance to Puerto Del Mercado. We went there by bicycle, hired from the hostel and you pay a guy to look after the bike - this seemed to be the safest option.
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 bread, sauce and crackers is free and comes with it, you only pay for the meat and the beer and tipping is optional - I left a small tip.
I'm never far from drama however and while this was all happening, a local video crew notice I'm foreign, and hear my accent so they come over and make a video of me. I had only started to learn Spanish and wasn't great at it. But they ask me what I think of Montevideo. I said that I love the food, I come from Irlanda del Norte and I liked watching Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez in the 2010 World Cup. It was all over in a flash and I got on with my dinner. It was funny yo be interviewed as you can tell the camera crew are giggling at me!
The prices were decent - a 1 litre of beer was 100 pesos and we foundt hat to pick and mix the barbecue food is the best option - variety and a deal by buying in bulk. The menu is fairly easy to read.
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 market is well laid out and very clean. You basically just rock over to a seat by each bar/restaurant and order from the bar. Some are slightly more posh with waitress service. We ended up at La Maestranza, a wee barbecue restaurant with a very pretty waitress who I believe was called Natali.
For beer I tried Patricia the local stuff, quenches your thirst for sure. Better to buy by the bottle and share it. Tap beer isn't really available. It was summer time when I visited.
At the entrance to Puerto Del Mercado. We went there by bicycle, hired from the hostel and you pay a guy to look after the bike - this seemed to be the safest option.
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 bread, sauce and crackers is free and comes with it, you only pay for the meat and the beer and tipping is optional - I left a small tip.
I'm never far from drama however and while this was all happening, a local video crew notice I'm foreign, and hear my accent so they come over and make a video of me. I had only started to learn Spanish and wasn't great at it. But they ask me what I think of Montevideo. I said that I love the food, I come from Irlanda del Norte and I liked watching Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez in the 2010 World Cup. It was all over in a flash and I got on with my dinner. It was funny yo be interviewed as you can tell the camera crew are giggling at me!
The prices were decent - a 1 litre of beer was 100 pesos and we foundt hat to pick and mix the barbecue food is the best option - variety and a deal by buying in bulk. The menu is fairly easy to read.
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!
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