MONTEVIDEO

What the Uruguayan capital lacks in size, it more than makes up for in cuisine. This is a city busy carving out a new culinary identity, driven by a longstanding

local obsession with its home-grown food and wine. Words: Jamie Lafferty

Of all the curious things about Uruguay’s food scene, perhaps the most peculiar is that despite bodies of water marking its eastern, southern and western boundaries, no one eats fish. Or almost no one. Mercifully, Montevideo’s Es Mercat restaurant goes against the grain by dedicating itself to seafood.

“This was the first fish restaurant in all of Montevideo,” chef and owner Roberto Connio tells me before lunch service. I assume this means it was handed down through his family, generations of old seadogs, refining recipes to the art he presents today. “No, we opened in June 2011, so nine years old,” he replies, sipping an espresso. “Now there are some other restaurants selling some fish dishes, but if you’re serious about it, then we’re number one.”

Roberto explains that in the wake of the Second World War, people pushed further into Uruguay’s interior, developing more of the land for agriculture. The main product people wanted was leather, so cattle farms grew quickly, filling the cheap land available outside of the capital. Uruguayans also wanted the beef, of course; ironically, though, it was almost a by-product of the leather industry.

As the decades rolled by, the quality of Uruguayan beef grew to rival that of its gigantic neighbours: Argentina to the south and Brazil to the north. Its people continued to look away from the sea and, despite all that coastline, the locals seemed to forget about seafood.

Not that Roberto thinks his compatriots lack imagination. “They’re very loyal — if they find somewhere they like, they’ll go back every single day.” All of which is to say, it’s a bold play for him to focus so heavily on the ocean.

Es Mercat was initially opened, like so many establishments in Montevideo, as a ‘resto-bar’, focusing largely on drinks, with food presented almost as an afterthought. These days, the cellar remains excellent, but the food has come to the fore.

Street fair in Carrasco; Plaza Indepedencia and the Palacio Salvo building; barbecue pork with roast pumpkin and sweet potato, served at the Bodega Artesana winery; wine glasses at one of its tasting sessions