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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
To summarise, Montevideo is excellent for barbecued food, known locally as Parillas and you should head to the excellent Mercado del Puerto to try it!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
To summarise, Montevideo is excellent for barbecued food, known locally as Parillas and you should head to the excellent Mercado del Puerto to try it!
About the Author:
For more articles on Uruguayan cuisine, Mate in Uruguay and Uruguay football trip head to Jonny Blair's backpacking lifestyle website for more marvellous stories.
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