La Cabaña Argentina, Mojacar Playa
La Cabaña is the original Argentine on Mojacar Playa. Late last year they were evicted from their original premises (opposite Tito’s) by a landlord who tried to triple their rent. Once they had gone, he reopened the premises keeping almost everything identical.
This little scam didn’t work too well, as not only did all the regulars quickly catch on to what happened, but they managed to get new (larger and better) premises only 100m down the road.
So they’re currently just past Palacio Imperial, in front of Mediterraneo restaurant (Price Brown estate agents?).
Now, we decided to look for a restaurant on Monday 5th, at about 2030ish. So we left, expecting Mojacar to be dead. Instead, almost everything was open, although nowhere seemed busy.
When we got there, we seemed the be the first people in, followed shortly afterwards by a table of 4. Their new premises are spacious, comfortable, clean and modern. I liked it.
The menu is the same as before. Here’s a slightly skewed photo.
As you can see, the most expensive steak is €38. Which seems high. Are they shipping this stuff in first class? We ignored this, and went for a combined mixed salad, plus a ribeye (Churrasco de Cuadril Argentino) and Solomillo Argentino (200 grms, the GF ain’t big enough for the big one -the big one, by the way, costs €27).
The salad came, and it was very nice. But still, just a salad. €9, I have just spotted while looking at the bill to write this, which seems high for some lettuce, tomato, sweetcorn, palm heart and one bit of asparagus.
Out came the main courses. The ribeye was all right. Not amazing, but Churrasco rarely is. Tasty enough. Delicious jacket potato, with some garlic butter dribbled in it. The Solomillo Argentino was off, and as soon as the owner sniffed it is was back in the kitchen. Very good service there, can’t complain, changed it at once. However, the second one wasn’t a lot better. Cooked nicely over their open barbecue fire, cooked to perfection in fact, just wasn’t amazing. The owner confirmed that it’s shipped in vacuum packed.
I had a cortado and a glass of Orujo (Hierbas).
Now, apart from the bad Churrasco, I can’t complain. Lovely place. Wonderful service. But, for the above plus a couple of beers and a water, the bill came to €55,90.
€55,90? For two steaks, salad coffee + liqueur and two beers? No wonder we’ve lost the tourists. Nobody is going to come to Mojacar for an average steak and pay €30 a head for it. But, and this is amazing when you think about it, it’s not an expensive restaurant for the Playa.
La Cabaña Argentine Steak Restaurant
Mojacar Playa, Mojacar, Almeria
950 61 5 79
Paseo del Mediterraneo, 163, Mojacar Playa, Mojacar, Almeria.
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La Cabana could have changed their raw material when livestock prices rocketed due to the cost of hard feed (Wheat & Barley to the non farming amongst us) trebleing last year but they didn’t, they stuck to their guns and sold the material they always have, decent South American meat.
If you hadn’t realized that this was the case then i apologise, never the less the cost of red meat in particular to date has doubled in the last 18 months.
I know of countless examples of restaurants changing suppliers / origin / standard of their raw material to fit a price unbeknown to the gullable customer that wouldn’t know their Aberdeen Angus from a barren freisian milker. La Cabana did not do this and i respect them greatly for that as i know that they did not pass the full brunt of these increases onto their customers.
Which brings me onto my next point – how on earth can you state that a ribeye is hardly ever good? The cap of a ribeye is the most tender, flavoursome & succlent muscle in the carcass. I wont bother explaining which muscle that is it because its obviously wasted on you. In addition Churassco de Cuadril is NOT a ribeye at La Cabana its a rump. A Entrecote is a Ribeye at La Cabana and as somebody that has been raised in the beef trade and i’m 3rd generation; i can tell you i’ve never had a bad ribeye at that restaurant, period.
Why dont you order a decent cut if you are going to the trouble of eating out? I mean what is the point of going out for a steak and buying the cheapest steak on the menu, have something decent for gods sake, or if you cant afford it go for some nice tapas.
Vaccum packed beef accounts for 99% of primal beef sold globally. It allows beef to mature in a controlled condition post mortem. Are you familiar with Harrods? or perhaps Harvey Nicks food hall on the 5th floor? What about Jack O’Shea at Selfridges? Well i can tell you all of those top drawer meat retaillers handle an amount of “Vac Packed” beef and bone in beef . You mentioned that the beef was Vaccum Packed and that was precceded by a detremental comment which therefore inferred that VP beef is poor quality and that is total rubbish.
My best suggestion to you Sir is firstly, get to know your cuts before you embarrass yourself further and secondly dont be a skin flint when you go out for a steak. In fact if its cheap food that your after why dont you go to the Irish Rover where they combine poultry with beef and lamb topped with mountains of boiled veg and smothered in bisto?
Shall i continue? “Tourists” – Sterling vs Euro conversion – need i say more. It is nothing to do with the price of Cabana’s menu or any other restaurant in Mojacar; its purely down to the battering that sterling has had over the past 4 – 6 months.
“In addition Churassco de Cuadril is NOT a ribeye at La Cabana its a rump. “
Then they need to change their translation.
“Vaccum packed beef accounts for 99% of primal beef sold globally. It allows beef to mature in a controlled condition post mortem”
Fraid you don’t know what you’re talking about there. It stops beef maturing, that is the point. It must be kept under -3C or it still goes off, and if punctured in transit the meat will spoil. Which is what seems to have happened here.
PS – A “Churrassco” is an Argentian term generically referring to a thick slice of slightly fatty beef on the barbie. It is not, per se, a specific cut of meat. “Cuadril” is generally the rump. I’ll admit the ribeye bit was a mistranslation but as I remember I got it off their menu.
(Confirmed after looking at the photo of the menu: they translate “Churrasco de Cuadril” as 1/2 Ribeye steak”)
Anyway, for me, Cortijo Albari, Terraza Carmona (or years ago Casa Egea) are the best for meats around here.
Well did his best to put you down didn’t he. Just a couple of points – if the owner sniffed the steak in the restaurant, why wasn’t it “sniffed” before it left the kitchen ? In my good old days, I used to cook minimum two hundred steaks a night in a top quality Forte hotel. You knew whether your products were fit to eat as they came out of the fridge. Looks like your restaurant owner would have preferred your cash in his till rather than the steak in the bin. Very short sighted of him because I suspect you never went back and you bad mouthed him as he deserved. Perhaps also illustrated by his €9
“salad”.