Purmamarca, Argentine

Nous n’avons pas poussé la porte de ce restaurant par hasard puisque les bonnes critiques de français sur trip advisor nous avaient mis l’eau à la bouche, mais il faut connaître pour le trouver, sans enseigne ni menu affiché, dans une rue de Purnamarca.

Gabriel donc, c’est le nom du chef. Le gars nous vient de Patagonie et a décidé un beau jour de poser ses couteaux ici, pour explorer la cuisine du nord. Il revisite à peine quelques plats typiques andins mais on est surtout dans la justesse, des produits, des cuissons, des assaisonnements. Et malgré un outil de travail assez sommaire (il rêve d’avoir sa propre cuisine/restaurant pour aller plus loin), tous les plats que nous avons goûté (nous y sommes allés les 2 soirs) étaient exceptionnels.

La petite particularité est qu’il nous amène à chaque fois un seul plat à partager à quatre, ce qui rend l’expérience encore plus intéressante. 

Au menu:

– salade de quinoa, roquette, avocat (photo ci-dessus)

– Lama confit dans des sortes de gros raviolis.

– Ravioles de quinoa, poivrons (photo ci-dessus).

– Lama avec des pommes de terre au goût typique (en casserole le premier soir) et choclo (gros mais) au fromage de chèvre (en steak le deuxième soir).

– Des lasagnes (bonnes mais moins intéressantes).

– Farandole de desserts dont un à la coca et chocolat super bon.



En plus, il préconise de boire de l’eau avec sa cuisine (on a quand même pris un Malbec Don David le premier soir), donc ça fait une pause car depuis notre arrivée en Argentine, on arrête pas de picoler.

Pour conclure, nous recommandons bien sûr chaudement Gabriel si vous passez par là. En plus il est très sympa et parle bien de sa cuisine. Voir aussi la 1mv qui lui est consacrée le jour 11.

Wendy

(Translation of Alexis’ article – see photos above)

It was not by mere chance that we ended up at Comidas Gabriel. The stellar reviews from French travellers on Trip Advisor drew us to seek out this chef, and seek we did as the restaurant, on a street in the middle of Purmamarca, has a vaguely designed sign written in chalk and that is it. 

Gabriel, the chef or « cocinero » as he prefers to be called, is from Patagonia and after what sounded like a multitude of interesting culinary experiences decided to travel to Purmamarca close to the Argentinian/Bolivian border to explore northern cuisine. After cooking outdoors in seemingly highly rustic conditions, Gabriel moved into town where he produces Andean dishes often with a twist. We were impressed not only by the freshness and quality of his products but also by his mastery in terms of seasoning and how each element was perfectly cooked. Despite the fact that his kitchen, even now that he is in town, is still surprisingly basic, every dish we tried was exceptional. We even returned for our second night in Purmamarca!
One of the differentiating factors of Comidas Gabriel is that he serves a single dish each time for the whole table to share, which adds an interesting convivial dimension to the meal. He does not have a menu but rather spontaneously proposes his suggestions. During our two dinners there, we tasted:
Quinoa, arugula and avocado salad (so good we actually asked Gabriel to make it for us the second evening as well)

Quinoa raviolis with a red pepper cream sauce (also requested for the second night!)

Llama confit stuffed raviolis

Llama stew (first night) with different types of potatoes

Llama steak (second night) served with a kind of corn au gratin made with choclo (large light colored kernels) with goat cheese. 

Spinach lasagna (good, but less original than the other dishes)

A dessert plate with a chocolate/coca leaf cake which was exceptional. 

Gabriel recommends drinking only water with his food and not wine. We, of course, did order a Don David Malbec the first night…but actually found it superfluous and we stuck to water the second night. 

Though we generally don’t believe in going to the same restaurant more than once when discovering a new place, we definitely made the right decision to do so in Purmamarca. The restaurant itself is nothing to write home about, but we could not recommend Gabriel’s cooking highly enough – simple yet interesting with a certain sophistication. Not to mention Gabriel’s charm and hospitality. It is a pleasure to hear him talk about his experiences and his food. 

Check out the 1 minute video (1mv) with Gabriel from Day 11 of our trip!