Oviedo

[El Queso]

Thanks Juan, you got it.

Also, should mention that reservations are probably necessary. We had them and I understood that was needed and indeed it was packed, even in the midst of the "crisis".

[JuanCaminante]

Correct name is OVIEDO.

Here is the web site.

http://www.oviedoresto.com.ar/restaruant.htm

and some reviews in Spanish

http://www.guiaoleo.com.ar/detail.php?ID=99

[El Queso]

I am pretty sure that's the name of this restaurant. It is at the corner of Beruti and Ecuador, right on the corner across from the German Hospital (Hospital Aleman) The name of the place is on the glass door which is set across the corner of the building at a 45 degree angle.

The interior is very elegant, but not too elegant and not in a dark way. The walls had nicely-, moderately-stained wood paneling and such. The carpets were nice. The waiters were dressed very nicely.

The food was delicious.

I have been to a few places in Buenos Aires who say they have oysters on the menu, but never really do. Just the week before we'd been to a restaurant who bragged it but failed to live up to it.

This place had them. They were a little expensive - 8 pesos apiece, so I ordered 6, wishing for a dozen. Where I come from in the States, oysters can be had by the dozens for much less. They came on the halfshell, as I had hoped, freshly-opened. The only problem is that they didn't have a good sauce to go with it, and they certainly didn't have horseradish, but they did have a thin little toast that worked well, and Jackpot came to the rescue with some hot sauce he had brought with him and was kind enough to share. The oysters tasted fresh but didn't have as good flavor as I was used to. All in all, though, very nice.

Others at the table had shrimp grilled and in a garlic sauce for starters. They were both reported to be very good in flavor, though the shrimp were small (side note - what we in Texas consider as about the smallest shrimp we are willing to eat outside of a cocktail, a couple to three inches long, are called gambas here) The fried calamri reported good to so-so.

For my main course, I had cordero (lamb) raviolis, covered in a reduced lamb sauce that was out of this world (although one of my buddies had the same dish and reported it as "ok") The filling was light and flavorful while the sauce was thick and rich. Very nice.

Others had lamb pieces covered in a gravy and a fish of some sort (haddock I'm thinking? Baked? The menu was small and had a number of lamb dishes, but included the most common parilla items and a couple of local fish dishes. Everyone reported enjoying the meal very much.

The service was excellent. Our waiter was everywhere when we needed him.

It was expensive. 129 pesos with a couple of Cokes, oysters on the halfshell and lamb ravioli, including the "cubierto". But in my opinion, worth it for a once-in-awhile escape from the normal fare.