Hidden away behind the shop fronts of Manuela Pedraza Street in the barrio of Nuñez, Amina is Buenos Aires' latest and, until now, best-kept secret. A fine-dining experience that elevates Argentina's bodegón favourites - steaks and milanesas (otherwise known as schnitzel) with chips or mash, tortillas, seafood and pastas - to perfect parcels of intense flavours.
Buenos Aires' bodegón experiences have a charm all to themselves - the buzz and bustle of the unpretentious diner, where loud laughing families get together and huge portions are slapped down before them, along with mountains of papas fritas. Sundays in Buenos Aires wouldn't be the same without them.
For those of us who love the atmosphere that charismatic Argentines naturally provide, along with the classic tried-and-tested bodegón dishes, but who appreciate quality over quantity (and also love a cocktail or two) Amina is just the place - a bodegón "reinterpretted," priding itself on being "tidily untidy."
Proposing to reinvent much-loved classics, Amina avoids the obvious, right down to its location: tucked away in a neighbourhood north of the trendy Palermo, you actively have to seek it out, and will probably miss it, as you pass what looks like a tiny café, on Manuela Pedraza, between 3 de Febrero and 11 de Septiembre. But after walking through the unassuming door, the coffee machine and the kitchen, you stumble upon a large indoor dining space and outdoor patio, dressed in a kind of minimalist bohemian chic that is characteristic to Buenos Aires. It's a style that I really love and is extremely pleasant to pass time in.
It's always a treat to find Cocteles de autor on the menu, these ones designed by Sergio Ancarola. I started with the Ambrato Martini, a take on an apple martini with roast apple vodka, sherry and vermouth, which was the perfect prologue to a wonderful beef tartare and the burrata with creamed maiz.
For mains we had the octopus with almond cream, black garlic and tiny chips, followed by the vacio braseado, braised flank steak, with tripled fried chips and a poached egg. Normally I'm not a big fan of sharing dishes, but the delicate flavours of this seafood dish, followed by the intense, fall-apart meat, made them the perfect size. The chips were so rich, flavoursome and crunchy, you really needed only a few. We accompanied this with repollitos (brussel sprouts) in cauliflour cream and garlic crust. The whole collision of flavours was divine, particularly washed down with the wonderful Entometida - a white wine of mixed grape (Torrontes/Ugni) from Finca Primera.
Of course, we couldn't leave without trying Amina's take on the milanesa - soft, moist tender mouthfuls of chicken, enveloped in a rich and perfectly crunchy crust - definitely a cut above your average bodegón milanesa.
For desert, we tried the favourite of bodegón favourites, flan con dulce de leche. Rather than the usual dollop of dulce de leche on the side, the caramel was mixed into the flan reduction for a smoother, richer experience, lightened up by some whipped cream. Divine. We also had the chocolate nemesis de chocolate, which was also to die for.
This was a really delicious and pleasant experience, which I would definitely repeat, curious to try some of the other dishes, including various vegetarian ones such as 'potato millefeuille' or the 'burnt avocado.' Amina's menu is very obviously the happy love-child of two chefs with complimentary inspirations: Agustín Brañas having finessed his craft in Switzerland, where he fed the world's wealthiest at Chubut at the Food & Fire luxury hotel in Park Gstaad; and Gastón Despessailles, whose life's mission has been to recreate the delights of his grandmother's milanesas, along with a love of Argentine ingredients and nature. The combination is clearly a reflection of their passions and devotion, and it works.
