Restaurateur and Chef José Francisco Mallmann or simply Francis Mallmann is Argentina’s most famous chef and has been renowned for his expertise in cooking with fire, but started his career at young age by cooking French haute cuisine. He eventually became tired of serving wealthy Argentineans fancy French food, according to himself, so he turned back to his Patagonian roots to become recognised as the master of the grill and cooking based on simplicity.

Francis Mallmann has several restaurants and his Buenos Aires venue is located in the working class neighbourhood of La Boca. The area is not known for its restaurants, but the location once was the home of Chef Mallmann and it still feels like entering someone’s private home when you enter the restaurant. The main entrance door may be locked even at lunch time due to the area the restaurant is located in, which is not too safe and you should be on the alert on your way to the restaurant during evening time in particular. The restaurant was remodelled by architect Pablo Sánchez Elia and interior architect Laura Orcoyen in 1999 and the style of the restaurant is still the same. The Italian townhouse is originally from the nineteen twenties and works perfect as the setting for Mallmann’s cuisine.

100 percent Argentinean cuisine is what you will have and a lot of it originating from Patagonia far south of Buenos Aires. You will probably not find Francis Mallmann in the kitchen, but his team executes his cooking techniques almost flawlessly so expect a lot of signature dishes like the rib eye with chimichurri and Patagonia potatoes, empanada from the wine region of Mendoza and the delicious seven and half hours lamb with mashed potatoes, arugula and almonds.

Francis Mallmann started his cooking career in the nineteen seventies and since then he has established several restaurants. His original domains in Argentina and in the neighbouring Uruguay have expanded and the Restaurateur and Chef flies frequently between his restaurants which may affect the quality of the cuisine. There are many fantastic talents when it comes to open fire cooking, but Francis Mallmann is the most famous of them all in Argentina and you would like to have him in the kitchen during your meal and not just hear about his name.

Written by Andy