I went to Bandoneon yesterday at comida time. It was beyond wonderful in all respects. If I had to complain it was a bit cool and we ate at the tables by the windows. Inside the main dining room would have required a sweater. But better too cool than too hot in Cancun in September. Service - Par excellence. Everything came timely, items were removed when ready, the servers were polite, informative and attentive and we were visited by a manager. The waiters were what I think perfect - they are there but you don't see them and don't have to look or ask for them. Even the bread crumbs disappeared but without being obvious. Atmosphere - Romantice if you like that word; casual elegance if that suits you better. Hey we are in the tropics. Very, very nice to say the least. Restrooms - As good as they get. Choice of paper towels or hand towels. Elegant as my buddy Brian describes anything that suits him to perfection. Price - Well worth it but not cheap at $1,000 for 2, including a well deserved 20+% tip. Value - Excellent value for the cost, keeping in mind that this is not a place you go to every day. The good part - Let's talk food: We started with two glasses of the house chardonnay, $110 each. Very good for a house wine. I was not going there to review the place so this may be much less informative than had I intended a more realistic review. It was too early in the day to start pounding the wine but I have heard great reports about the wine list. Next time for sure. A complimentary bread basket, which was to die for, was served when the wine arrived. I can only describe the piece out of which I saw an olive protruding as wonderful. It was a warm and tasty treat not only of bread, the non-overpowering olive slices, lightly grilled onions (they are big on grilled onions here) and a bit of cheese. There were also the crispy, twisty things about the length of a straw and a perfectly round, melt in your mouth biscuit creation. Served with some flavored butter, with just a hint of garlic. There were a couple of those bigote sytle rolls. All were good. We asked for more bread and got a whole new basket. Then came the treat of the day - Jugo Cameron aka Shimp Juice. This stuff was the real deal. Juice sounds worldly but this was piping hot soup and the 3 shrimp were beside the point to this dish. This was all about the broth. We were offered incredibly finely choppedparsely, more grilled onions but really tiny pieces and chili. The chili was jalapeño. It was cleaned and very finely chopped and without the seeds. So it was flavor and no heat. I had about a tablespoon of each of these and wish I had a bit more of the chili. There were two different types of shimp in the bowl and a boiled shimp mounted on the edge of the bowl next to a slice of limon. It was $85 and a generous portion. Well worth the price even though there were only 3 shrimp. But remember the name of this item. The shrimp were merely a nice bonus. We shared the Ensalada Bandoneon which was a large enough for three mixed salad, with a nice vinegarette. It had some interesting bite sized mushrooms that seemed marinated by their color and some palmitos, or hearts of palm. These were about the size and shape of those baby corns. Very tasty, I think $95, and served with the carne. Next time I think I will order the dressing on the side as it was a bit more than I would normally use. Ahh, the carne. 400 grams, over 14 oz, of Bife de Lomo, Argentinian style. This is a filet but cut with the grain of the beef, instead of with it. You can have it served like a filet but the more customary way is to have the loin sort of butterflied, which is how we had it. It was cooked a tiny bit on the medium side of the ordered tres cuartos, which suited me just fine. It was unbelievable. Served still simmering on a platter with two roasted peppers atop a mound of (more) grilled onions. The peppers will burn the skin of your mouth so pay attention and not bite off more than you can chew. $330 for this crown jewel. I read once that the Bife de Lome is the standard by which Argentinian restaurants are judged. This paased the test. I certainly recommend Bandoneon without hesitation or qualifications.
Bandoneon TJ, we ate there this past Saturday night. Your review is right on and very well written. We also did one but with a few pictures. It was our first time at Bandoneon for us. Our friends Al & Louise introduced us to it and we are happy that they did so. It is one of their favorites.
