Anyone with interest in either bookstores or good food knows, that both can be amazing experiences. You can literally spend hours in either one being amused by the atmosphere, the content and even the tiniest unique details. So what happens when you mix a really good book store with a really good restaurant? At least for me, the experience is irresistible, which is why I am now a weekly customer of both the bookstore and the restaurant of Escaramuza Libros in Montevideo, Uruguay.
I found this place for the first time purely by luck. I was wondering the streets of my new hometown Montevideo, searching for an afternoon snack, when the sky-high bookshelves caught my attention through the large palace-isque windows Having severely underestimated my reading pace, I had been left without books after the first weeks. So far, my experience for the supply of English books in Uruguayan bookstores had been disappointing, but I decided to take a look anyways.
Although the English section ended up being counted in dozens of books, instead of thousands, I was amazed by the cozy atmosphere, and I spent 45 minutes turning pages of the most amazing Spanish books, which I had no competence to read.
While wandering deeper into the store I noticed, that most of the customers walked straight past the bookshelves and deeper to the store. As it turned out the backroom and the garden had been turned into a wonderful little restaurants. When I saw that almost all of the tables were occupied at 2.30 on a tuesday afternoon, the culinarist inside me woke up. After half an hour of waiting, I was guided to the garden, to sit under a roof of leaves, with lanterns lighting up the shadowy space.
The lunch, grilled rib-steak with lemony potatopuré was more than satisfying, especially with a basket of homemade spiced bread together with a salty butter and cheese mix being served with the meal.
(Sorry guys for the terrible quality of the picture!!)
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After that time, I have been hooked: For fourth week in a row I have been coming back for a calm lunch, and I haven't been disappointed a single time. Latest today a moist slice of chocolate cake served with whipped cream and juicy orange salsa was the jackpot, which I will dream back to, when my exchange period ends.
In my opinion this place is a must for everybody visiting Montevideo. Since I'll be travelling around South America, I am more than happy to hear about other "best kept secrets" especially in Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile. If you guys are for some reason heading to Montevideo or even Finland, hit me up! I'm sure I can guide you to places you wouldn't find otherwise!