Garage Restaurant

A friend who knows Punta del Este better than I do put Garage Restaurant at the top of a list of three. He was right, as he often is.

The room is exactly what you want it to be: summer Atlantic breeze, white linens. We were seated near the back, given menus we hardly needed, and brought a small bowl of olives without being asked.

We started with grilled provoleta with chimichurri, which set the tone — generous, unfussy, and confident enough not to crowd what was coming. With it we ordered an Argentine malbec the waiter chose for me, and were glad of both.

Then the main event: lomo with chimichurri, the dish that puts Garage Restaurant on every short list. There was a thumb of butter melting into the cross-hatch, and a single sprig of thyme on top, and not one thing more. The signature touch — the wood-fired grill in the open kitchen — is not a gimmick; it is the reason to come.

For sides we asked for wild mushrooms in butter and hash browns the size of a hubcap. Both arrived hot, both arrived early, both were exactly large enough to overdo it. We overdid it.

Dessert was a slab of New York cheesecake, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

It is not cheap. It is, in this case, worth it.