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.
The best one for food was the trendy "Mercado Del Puerto", situated down by the harbour in the Old City (Ciudad Vieja). That particular area of Montevideo is apparently a "no-go" area at night for lone foreigners due to poverty and robbery, so my hostel mate Wesley and I decided to eat there just before dark. However we also did an Irish Pub on the way and I later walked Panny Yu to her hostel in that area after I had moved in with my Uruguayan family. The market was safe and cosy and is mostly indoors. Trendy restaurants serving typical Uruguayan barbecue food and local beer are the norm. The atmosphere is fantastic.
You won't get lost in the market - it's a an easy square layout with an abundance of restaurants and bars. Take your pick then sit down anywhere you want and order a beer and some food. It's that easy and it's that relaxing! I went to a restaurant called La Maestranza and was served by Natali.
You have a few options for beer, I chose Patricia one of the local Uruguayan beers and it went down well. Buy it individually by bottles and share it - this saves it from getting hot which was a hot time when I visited.
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.
With your barbecued meal you get sauce and some garnish and crackers - you don't pay for this - it's free - you only pay for the meat and the beer so leaving a small tip is a good idea.
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!
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 has an upstairs as well and I just popped up to capture a photo. Our restaurant - La Maestranza. Well recommended. Seriously, as foods of the world go - you will love it! Uruguayan Parrilla (pronounced Parisha by the way). Yum!
The best one for food was the trendy "Mercado Del Puerto", situated down by the harbour in the Old City (Ciudad Vieja). That particular area of Montevideo is apparently a "no-go" area at night for lone foreigners due to poverty and robbery, so my hostel mate Wesley and I decided to eat there just before dark. However we also did an Irish Pub on the way and I later walked Panny Yu to her hostel in that area after I had moved in with my Uruguayan family. The market was safe and cosy and is mostly indoors. Trendy restaurants serving typical Uruguayan barbecue food and local beer are the norm. The atmosphere is fantastic.
You won't get lost in the market - it's a an easy square layout with an abundance of restaurants and bars. Take your pick then sit down anywhere you want and order a beer and some food. It's that easy and it's that relaxing! I went to a restaurant called La Maestranza and was served by Natali.
You have a few options for beer, I chose Patricia one of the local Uruguayan beers and it went down well. Buy it individually by bottles and share it - this saves it from getting hot which was a hot time when I visited.
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.
With your barbecued meal you get sauce and some garnish and crackers - you don't pay for this - it's free - you only pay for the meat and the beer so leaving a small tip is a good idea.
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!
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 has an upstairs as well and I just popped up to capture a photo. Our restaurant - La Maestranza. Well recommended. Seriously, as foods of the world go - you will love it! Uruguayan Parrilla (pronounced Parisha by the way). Yum!
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