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Buenos Aires, Argentina > Buenos Aires restaurants > Eureka Bar and Food Eureka Bar and FoodUruguay 695 (@Viamonte); Tel. + (11.54.11) 4372.5194
‘Eureka!’ the enormous sign on the busy corner of Viamonte and Avenida Uruguay exclaims. Visitors will cry the same if they are searching for a restaurant resembling ‘art deco goes Argentina’. How would Argentina’s take on art deco be any different than the rest of the world? For starters, Eureka’s art deco is more futuristic than most, eschewing and adding to the typical eighties style with lashings of chrome. Perched above the casual diner’s head is a lighting rig that would make sci-fi fans wonder at it’s supernatural possibilities. Art deco Argentina also means large blocks of turquoise. Beyond the décor, Eureka is a small restaurant catering to the local lunch crowd, with a small cross-over to serve the early evening diner. The clientele consists of secretaries and bosses holding hands away from the office’s prying eyes, as well as harangued working mothers trying to juggle time with their children, and finishing ‘that report’ by six. Voyeuristic visitors are also treated to a steady flow of foot-traffic hurtling by the large windows. To avoid the feeling of living in a fish-bowl, there is also the option to sit at the bar with one’s back to the traffic, although in that case chatting with the staff is almost compulsory. The three S’s (sandwiches, salads, and steaks) replace the usual dominance of the three P’s (pizza, pasta, parilla) on this Argentine menu, signalling a move away from the carbohydrate based diet to something that almost conforms to the Atkins menu. The steak special, with up to five condiments and seasonings, costs $AR26. For those who prefer to eat through a straw, there are fifteen different combinations of liquados (smoothies) available for between $AR7.50 and $AR9.50. And although it is not the most conducive environment to celebrate or mourn getting fired from that English teaching job, there is a decent range of beers, wines and spirits. —Eureka Bar and Food review by Murdoch Stephens
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