Porteno Restaurant
“I've spent months in Buenos Aires, and the food here is better than many of the fine restaurants I've had in that city.”
“this little gem in the heart of chelsea has some of the most exquisite argentinian cuisine in nyc.”
“The steak was so tender and the sauce was perfect
We had to try the Flan de Palta for dessert, an avocado custard, it was interesting.”
Porteno Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I love to dine here. It's an intimate cozy restaurant at the end of the Chelsea galleries area.
They have with a great section of wine, and Argentinian-South American appetizers, salads, and main courses.
I came here with a friend from London few evenings ago, and she was so pleased and happy. We had a really nice time, with delicious food, and superb service.
When I am around Chelsea, it's one of my top options. Just remember there aren't many tables, and they are pretty small, so its best for couples or max 5-people groups.
Double date at an argentine restaurant on a Thursday night, i.e. How to have a wonderful evening.
The staff warmly shuttled us into the cozy space and we ordered a bottle of Malbec. We perused the menu and decided on the spinach empanada, bruschetta, calamari avocado salad and eggplant dish. Our fellow couple ordered the cod fish and steak. All were very well cooked and preceded by warm bread.
We decided to be good and skip dessert.
All in all, a very nice meal. Nothing mind-blowing but I'll have to come back and try a steak next time.
Had a fantastic meal here on a Friday night.
Called ahead to try to get a reservation, but they were all booked up. However, I was able to find seating at the bar as soon as I walked in, which worked out perfectly.
They have a solid wine list with many selections across the price range from Argentina and South America. I went with a bottle of red of Argentina and was pretty impressed. The food menu itself was also small and focused. This is always a good sign.
The meal started off with complimentary breadbasket and olive oil to dip. That's always a nice touch.
Started the meal with the calamari and avocado salad. The calamari was very fresh and cooked perfect. Just the right amount of tenderness and char from the grill. It was served with fresh avocado and sliced grape tomatoes and tossed with salt and olive oil. Very simple, yet so well balanced and tasty.
I ordered the grilled 14 oz. rib eye medium rare since I was feeling hungry. What's new…
The meat actually came closer to rare, but that was still ok with me. I would rather have it under than over any day. The texture was tender and and well marbled. I devoured that thing.
Oh yea, there was a three bean kale salad that came with the steak. That was pretty good too. However, I think the steak deserves most of the praises on that meal.
Since I was sitting at the bar, I also noticed that they have a wide selection of whiskey. All solid choices as far as I can tell. Would definitely come back again.
To be honest we didn't enjoy our meal at Porteno. Maybe it had to do with the restaurant's newness and ironing out some kinks, but I can't see us returning.
Perhaps it's not even Porteno's fault. The acoustics were such that there were a couple of tables with regulars who were so loud I could swear they were talking to us and not the folks sitting at their own table (and one of the staff/owners was joining in making it even worse).
Service- kinda bad really. Long, long wait for food and uneven.
The food was mediocre/OK- not bad, not good. The empanadas were tasty. It was BIG food for not so BIG prices so I understand the high reviews.
But this place is not for us…
Porteno is a cute, tasty Argentine restaurant that certainly warrants a reservation before arriving. The atmosphere is personal, the place is small and cozy, and overall set the mood for a great New Years meal. However, a mix of good food but questionable service leads me to rate this three stars.
Food wise- it was mostly very good. I ordered the Salmon Patagonico, and actually enjoyed the quinoa more than the fish (very tasty flavors!) My friends' Malbec-braised beef was good, and the red snapper was also exceptional. While prices seem a bit high, I felt most of it was very enjoyable and would come back to try some other staples like the calamari salad or grilled octopus. The only dish we didn't like were the potatoes on potatoes.
The main reason for the average rating comes from the service. While I try my best to give the benefit of the doubt for what seemed to be "poor service," it's hard when the rest of your party feels the same way. Our server did her job well and we got what we wanted, but some of her mannerisms rubbed us the wrong way:
1. When I declined to order an alcoholic beverage, our server quickly questioned why I didn't want one. It felt a bit coarse. Feeling pressured, I told her instead that I hadn't decided yet, and to come back later
2. I had ordered a steak empanada for myself to try, in which she proceeded to suggest I order the three set for the table of five to share. My friends didn't really want to try it, so I politely declined, to which she responded with a look that said "so you're not going to share? okay." I recognize she may just be offering an alternative to my single order to benefit the group, but it certainly made me uneasy and made me feel like I didn't consider everyone else when ordering something for myself. However, the empanada was great.
3. My friend had asked for a sharper cutting knife over her butter knife to cut her meat. Our server questioned why she wanted one. Subsequently, another friend asked for a spoon to eat his potatoes with, and we were greeted with the same response. It felt as if we were inconveniencing her by asking for these utensils.
Perhaps it was a cultural misunderstanding that I was missing, and I try hard to be conscious about difference when it comes to service. I also understand Argentine culture is big on spectacular drinks and meats, so maybe we offended her by not ordering drinks or asking for a "better knife." However, the other servers that interacted with us were nothing short of splendid, so I am having a hard time attributing our initial server's mannerisms to that.
So overall, a decent experience. Food was great, but service was a bit inconsistent for me. I'm hoping that this was simply a one-off experience. Again, our server wasn't bad, but just rubbed us the wrong way a couple of times that overshadowed the dining experience.
Oh, but be sure to order the Avocado Flan with balsamic vinegar reduction. It was definitely a tasty treat to end the meal.
I wanted to really love the restaurant, but maybe that can wait if I return for a second round to try again for a better experience.
So we didnt plan on going here, we just finished experienced Sleep No More and wanted to go somewhere because I was starving and everyone else wanted to grab drinks.
Stumbled upon this fine small establishment, and once I found out it was Argentinian I immediately thought about meat, and got the ribeye.
Ribeye. 14oz, $33. Perfectly cooked medium rare. Doubt it was aged but so juicy, so tasty. The condiment which came with it (some salsa garlic something?) was also delicious. It came with a salad but meh I didnt pay attention to it because the ribeye was so great.
Such a pain to get to, but I wont take a star away from it. Cost to deliciousness ratio alone this ribeye was amazing.
Keep it up guys
I came here on Friday night with a friend. We made a reservation an hour before and our table was ready when we arrived. The restaurant is very small, maybe 10 tables. We ordered 3 cheeses for an appetizer – the cheeses were great, I think they could have had a variety of bread/ crackers. I didn't enjoy the jam.
For an entree I had the grilled salmon with quinoa. The quinoa was excellent and baked with roasted vegetables. The salmon was seasoned perfectly but quite dry. My friend ordered the cod which was cooked perfectly and served with quinoa and baked potato slices. The service was great. No one rushed us. Overall a very good restaurant.
Tried this restaurant when Jun-Men was closed for some emergency. Tried the calamari salad (which was my favorite – simple, the calamari was cooked well and chewy), the spinach empanada (disappointing – did not taste the manchego cheese and the empanada was dry), the polenta with blood sausage (the polenta is cooked well, but it's a huge dish and definitely gets very monotonous quickly) and the cod (the quinoa that accompanied it was perfect, but the cod was dry).
Wanted to love this restaurant, as it was so intimate and the waitstaff were nice. Looking over at other tables, the drinks looked great. However, when so many dishes were off, I will probably not be making a return trip.