Winery restaurants are an ideal place to sample the vast range of local produce and numerous styles of wine available. Here we choose 10 of the best.
A tour of the wineries of Mendoza, apart from offering the chance to enjoy a thousand and one different kinds of wine, is also an opportunity to sample the creations of the talented resident chefs. It’s not all about wine: the province is also a major producer of fruits and vegetables: peaches, plums, quinces, olives, tomatoes, garlic, nuts, melons and onions, to name just a few, are all local specialties.
With such a wide array of succulent produce, plus the excellent wines and mountain landscapes, winery restaurants are the perfect places to experience the abundance and generosity of Mendoza.
The best winery restaurants in Mendoza
The restaurant at Bodega Los Toneles was chosen as the best of the Great Wine Capitals and was awarded a Gold Medal at the 2022 Best of Wine Tourism Awards. The space, located in Guaymallén, just minutes from Mendoza, opened in 2014 and was a pioneer in serving aged meats. The menu is an homage to Argentine beef: Angus tartare, vacio empanadas, pleated entraña, rib-eye or T-Bone (both aged for 30 days) and much more. It’s also an ideal occasion to enjoy the establishment’s wines: Mosquita Muerta, Los Toneles, Fuego Blanco and the Abrasado line.
At Bodega Susana Balbo in Luján de Cuyo, the restaurant won the Silver Medal at the 2022 edition of the Best of Mendoza´s Wine Tourism awards, in the “Excellence in Restaurants” category. Its avant garde concept is based around seasonal products and Argentine producers and overseen by Chef Flavia Amad Di Leo.
The different options (tasting menus, asado, brunch, picnic or afternoon tea) invite diners to a unique experience with pairings of different terroirs and the winery’s products. And the views are just as stunning as one looks out over the Cordón del Plata, the lake and the vineyards.
In the heart of the Uco Valley, this gastronomic concept started out as a pop-up run by Chef Germán Martitegui, one of the most famous in the country. With authentic products from the area (preserves, cheeses and garden vegetables) and the heat of a clay oven (lamb is a regular feature on the menu), Chefs Darío Rodríguez and Alejandro Báez present a field menu in the middle of the mountain that won the Bronze Medal at the 2022 Best of Mendoza Wine Tourism awards. The biodynamic wines produced by the Michelini brothers (SuperUco, Calcáreo and Genitori) round out an unmissable experience.
Run by the chef Lucas Olcese, this restaurant offers one of the most intriguing concepts to be found among the best winery restaurants in Mendoza (it won a Certificate of Excellence in Winery Restaurants from TripAdvisor). At the historic Bodega Lagarde estate, you dine under the trees in the midst of vegetable gardens and vineyards, choosing from a set menu or a la carte (the crunchy sweetbreads with grape syrup and vegetable gratinade lasagna are highly recommended).
The wines can be drunk by the glass or in innovatively themed flights (Malbec Addicts, the winery’s Historic Wines, Acidity and Minerality and much more). There are also interactive tastings that allow you to mix your own blend, and blind tastings.
Alejandro Vigil, a major figure on the Argentine wine scene and the oenologist at Catena Zapata opened this multicultural space as a venue at which to try his personal creations, such as El Enemigo wines (which he makes with Adriana Catena), as well as his beer and olive oil. Although he now has five restaurants, Casa Vigil was his first establishment, opening in 2015.
The kitchen team delivers old family recipes and genuine products from Chanchingo. A classic dish on the menu is a Rack of Ribs cooked for 12 hours in red wine with seasonal accompaniments and, of course, Vigil’s wines pair beautifully.
In Agrelo, the restaurant at the imposing Cavas Rosell Boher (one of the most important producers of sparkling wine in the country) lodge offers modern local cuisine in a distinctive setting where the pairings focus on sparkling wines. Awarded a gold medal at the 2020 Best Winery Restaurant Awards, it has also won the Safe Travels Honor from the World Travel & Tourism Council.
The kitchen – run by Chefs Lucas Olcese and Leonardo Giacconi – is based on sustainable principles, seasonal natural ingredients and the best flavors Mendoza has to offer. Lamb abounds along with Reliquia tomatoes, plums, quinces and other local delicacies.
Riccitelli Bistró is located in Las Compuertas in Luján de Cuyo and its chef is Juan Ventureyra who overseas both the kitchen and the enormous, almost two-hectare organic vegetable garden, where around 400 different kinds of vegetable are grown.
Constructed from containers following a sustainable architectural design, the emphasis here is on protecting the local ecosystem amid the old vineyards while the food is a perfect excuse to learn more about the wines being produced by one of the most interesting oenologists in the country, Matías Riccitelli. There are two tasting menus and they include a tour of the winery.
With stunning architecture that has won numerous awards, the Alfa Crux winery in Pampa – El Cepillo produces wines that deliver an authentic expression of the terroir and pair perfectly with the dishes prepared by the Irish chef Edward Holloway, which are inspired by the wild local landscape. Highly recommended dishes include: jarilla-(a widespread local wild herb) smoked rib eye and stone baked Salmon MiCuit, paired with Crux Sauvignon Blanc.
In 2016, Bodega Trapiche opened its elegant restaurant opposite its historic winery in Maipú. Guided by the KM 0 concept, the restaurant has its own organic vegetable garden on site and Chef Lucas Buscos, an expert in Andean cuisine, has created a tasting menu that invites diners on a tour of all the wines of the winery (including star vintages and major classics).
Located in Paraje Altamira, Uco Valley, with a transparent dining room that provides stunning views of the majestic Andes and surrounded by vineyards, this concrete and stone restaurant pays homage to the mountain itself. Run by Chef Matías Aldasoro, one can enjoy a 4-course menu with regional products paired with Zuccardi Wines (the winery has been named the Best Winery and Vineyard in the World on several occasions in recognition of the work of oenologist Sebastián Zuccardi and his team).
But, of course, the restaurants mentioned above are only a few of the many waiting to be discovered on your next trip to Mendoza.
