Ola Uruguay Real Estate and Investments

Like all good treasures this restaurant is hard to find. I learned about it when I chanced upon a very short Internet review. Curiosity led to our first visit.

The instructions (from Atlántida) said to travel east on the Interbalnearia and look for a sign for Biarritz at km 71. We found that. It’s actually about km 70.5, but close enough. We followed a paved road toward the beach, which turned left about a block from the beach. We continued on, but saw no restaurant. There didn’t seem to be much of a town either and we suspected we were lost. We asked a couple of locals for help, but they didn’t know; or maybe they just didn’t understand our simple Spanish. Eventually, an old man indicated we should go back to the corner where the pavement had turned left and go the other way along a dirt road. We did. With one more stop to ask further instructions we found the restaurant.

That was quite a few visits ago. Now we know how to get there, and today we took some friends visiting from Canada to our treasured restaurant. The posada is a small and unpretentious country eatery perched on the bluff above the beach at Biarritz. There are only eight tables and the decor is very rustic. The restaurant is open all afternoon and evening during the summer; when it is a regular haunt for beach-goers. So, our arrival for dinner at the un-Uruguayan time of 4 p.m. provided no problems to the staff. Needless to say, we were the only diners.

The restaurant is run by three men; two are definitely brothers. We were pleased that the brothers recognized us from our previous visits. The third man spoke to us in very good English. We are never presented with a menu. There is a chalkboard, but today it only read pasta casera (homemade pasta). We were given a run down of the offerings of the day, which included three types of stuffed pastas, or a plate for two featuring all three types; three types of paella for two—a traditional with chicken, chorizo and seafood, a seafood only colored black with squid ink, or one made with noodles instead of rice; a garlicky pork dish; a chicken dish; or a wok stir-fry. The women chose to share the triple pasta dish accompanied by an excellent white wine, and the men chose to share the paella negra, washed down with some large bottles of Patricia beer.

While our order was being prepared fresh at the restaurant, there was time for a short walk to the edge of the bluffs and a look at the beach. When we returned, we were given small plates, a special tomato knife, and two large glass jars holding vine-ripened tomatoes. Along with fresh bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt, we had a do-it-yourself starter. Soon, another plate appeared with eight more warm bread slices drizzled with melted cheese. A yummy beginning!

Outside, a constant parade of people going to and from the beach provided visual entertainment to the soundtrack of birds singing and soft Latin music. Inside, a cooling cross breeze made our table pleasant. Three curious children of the restaurant staff struggled with limited English to ask us questions about where we were from and how old we were. We answered in Spanish. We felt at ease.

The pastas were all interesting. One type was stuffed with sweet potatoes and nuts. The other stuffings were more traditional. The extra sauce was wiped up with more of the great crusty bread. The paella was very good and nicely seasoned. It was simple fare, but appealed very much on the late summer afternoon. We declined dessert, but followed with coffees. The bill was a modest 1470 pesos (about US$75).

The Posada de Biarritz is open daily in the summer season, weekends in the fall and spring, and closed during winter. It is well worth a visit.

To get there, turn off the Interbalnearia at Km. 70.5, and take the right hand road, which is paved. Follow the pavement until it turns left. You must turn right onto a dirt road, actually named Calle Montevideo if you can find a sign. From this road, take the second road that turns left, toward the beach (Calle 6), and again the sign is hard to locate. At the end of the road, on the right, is the blue Posada Biarritz Restaurant. There are no signs for the restaurant before you get to it. Check it their website at: www.posadabiarritz.com.uy.