Named after the famous Argentinian sauce Chimichurri, Chimichurri, the restaurant is located on 9th avenue, Theatre District, competing against a million different restaurants. Narrow store, lack of flashy signs, a small bar without draft beer and a little window to the kitchen where you can see the cook, those are the first things in mind when you lay your eyes on the store.
Gregarious chef/owner who was chatting everyone up. Before we left the restaurant, he asked us how the food was- he was concerned but he shouldn’t be since it was excellent!
Still Chatting! Back of the restaurant. You can see the whole restaurant in one glance. It’s tiny so reservation is definitely recommended.
Start off with empanadas- chicken and beef
The chimichurri sauce is amazing- orange one is not spicy and the green one is the tradition chimichurri sauce made with parsley, coriander, garlic, olive oil, perhaps vinegar or lemon for a tinge of sourness and freshness and perhaps a little chili powder for a spicy kick. The green chimichurri is amazing. So good, we asked for extra ( which they willingly gave 🙂 ) .
Beef Empanada on top: ground beef filling, savory and delicious, crust is crispy; thick enough you taste a bit of dough but thin enough that it’s cirspy.
Chicken empanada- shredded chicken filling, equally savory and delicious. I probably put way too much chimichurri sauce because it went so well with the meat that it hindered the flavors of the chicken.
hand-cut french fries seasoned with garlic & parsley (from web site)-I really like this even though the garlic taste is hard to get rid of. Just the freshness of parsley and the strong taste of garlic goes so well with crispy fries. I’d just go to the Yankee stadium to pretend I am watching baseball just for their garlic fries. Total bias on this one. Of course the fries at Chimichurri is much more gourmet and delicate. My friend complained it was too greasy but if you put garlic on your fries, you can’t have dried garlic, you’d have to heat the garlic in a saucepan with oil to get the umami taste of garlic so it’s understandable. Just remember to eat it when it is hot hot hot.
Tadaaaaa! Our main character!
CHURRASCO- filet mignon, pounded thin, topped with chimichurri served with field greens 6oz (from web site)- Grass fed, freshly grilled steak which tastes delicious with chimichurri sauce- maybe a tad salty but with the sweet and sour dressings on the greens, it’s delicious! The pros of a thin steak is the grilled taste is not only on the exterior but all throughout but the cons is the inability to retain a lot of its juiciness. With the sauce, is it not an issue. Magical green sauce.
Overall, Chimichurri is definitely one of the best restaurants I had tasted in a while. The cozy restaurant, with its ninja staffs who can clear the table in a matter of seconds, extensive wine menu and the cook/owner who loves to talk to his guests, is a good place for a casual chat with close friends or even a date. The staffs are very friendly (there was a couple in front of us who had a huge stroller and the staff pushed the stroller patiently inside the restaurant and made room for them!) and the ambiance is celebration with lots of chatting; It has a very South American festive ambiance.
nanansa 