As The Vines opens its new doors on Belgrano 1194, over the next couple of weeks I’m going to highlight some of the restaurants in the area that you should really check out. First up, Molokai.
Mendoza’s restaurant scene can sometimes be a little shy of adventure: the usual pizza and parilla places are ubiquitous but everything else in between seems to fall a bit short. So you might think molecular gastronomy is out the window. Fortunately that is actually not the case…
Molokai prides itself on specializing in molecular cuisine, and although it is no Fat Duck (Heston Blumenthal’s famed UK restaurant that first served bacon ice cream and uses nitrogen like it is going out of fashion), there are some nice little touches to the menu that will tickle your palate. The wild boar and pistachio pasta with cherry foam is a triumph in all its camp glory. It is tasty with interesting textures and just leaves you asking ‘why can’t all pasta be pink?!”
As well as lots of ‘salt foam’ and ‘arugula caviar’, playing with kitchen gadgets is not all they do here – you can also get some nice fusion cuisine with dish inspiration from Japan and Hungary as well as the Southern Cone. The menu is small but has a great variety and lots of the dishes are on the lighter side, which is a real bonus after you have spent most of your time in Argentina eating steak the size of your head. The owner Victorio has also pulled together a great wine list with a good selection of varietals and lots of different wineries ranging from the biggest names to smaller boutique operations.
With a warm décor and attractive art adorning the walls, this winter you will want to cosy up inside, however the gorgeous little garden is the perfect place to perch in the summer.
Molokai is just across the road from The Vines on Belgrano 1169
Amanda Barnes is a British journalist living in Mendoza who is molecule by molecule eating her way through all of the city’s restaurants.