What to Eat in Punta del Este: Birthplace of the Chivito, Seafood, Parrillada & Garzón Tannat

Gastronomy in Punta del Este brings together three great Uruguayan traditions: Atlantic fish and shellfish pulled straight from the cold offshore currents, wood-fired parrillada cuts of grass-fed Hereford and Angus beef, and crisp coastal Albariño and Tannat wines grown on the ancient granite hills of Maldonado. Above all, the Peninsula is the historic birthplace of Uruguay's national sandwich, the chivito.

1. The 1944 Birth of the Uruguayan Chivito & Harbour Seafood

• How Antonio Carbonaro Invented the Chivito at El Mejillón (1944): One summer night in 1944 at a Peninsula bar-restaurant called El Mejillón (located near Calle 31 and the Rambla), a customer arriving from northern Argentina during a blackout asked owner Antonio Carbonaro if he had any roasted baby goat (chivito), a dish common in the Córdoba hills. Not wanting to turn a hungry guest away, Carbonaro buttered a warm toasted bun and layered it with a thin slice of seared beef tenderloin (lomo vacuno), York ham, melted mozzarella, tomato, mayonnaise, and olives, calling it a "chivito". Within weeks the restaurant was selling a thousand chivitos a day. Today you can order a chivito canadiense (adding crispy bacon, roasted red peppers, pickled onions, and a fried or hard-boiled egg) either in a bun or al plato over a mound of French fries and Russian salad along Avenida Gorlero and the Puerto.
• Atlantic Seafood on the Wood Grill: At the harbour restaurants of the Puerto de Punta del Este and the beach paradores of José Ignacio, order whole corvina negra a la parrilla (black drum split butterfly-style and roasted over hot embers), pan-seared brótola (tender white hake), chipirones a la plancha (baby squid), and mejillones a la provenzal (local blue mussels steamed with garlic, parsley, and white wine).

2. Wood-Fired Parrillada, Dulce de Leche & Maldonado Wine Country (Bodega Garzón)

• Uruguayan Hardwood Asado & Bakery Classics: Unlike charcoal-grilled meats elsewhere, traditional Uruguayan parrillada is cooked exclusively over glowing coals burned down from native espinillo and eucalyptus firewood. Start with provoleta (grilled aged provolone cheese with oregano) and chorizo al pan, followed by asado de tira (cross-cut short ribs), entraña (skirt steak), or vacío (flank steak), and finish with warm panqueques con dulce de leche quemado (caramelised crêpes) or glazed medialunas.
• Bodega Garzón & Sierra de la Ballena Wineries: Just thirty-five minutes inland from José Ignacio in the rolling granite hills around Pueblo Garzón (and closer to town on the slopes of Sierra de la Ballena at Alto de la Ballena), ocean breezes cool vineyards of Uruguayan Tannat, mineral-driven Albariño, and Pinot Noir. At Bodega Garzón (crowned World's Best Vineyard in 2020), you can tour gravity-fed cellars carved into billion-year-old ballast granite and dine at culinary director Francis Mallmann's open-fire restaurant overlooking the vines.