Ever since she was very young, Jazmín Marturet knew two things: she would work in gastronomy and she would never have a boss. She also knew she wanted to travel, and she did: she trained at the Argentine Institute of Gastronomy (IAG) and later worked in kitchens in Mexico, the US, and Pinamar, cooking for celebrities and for local and international festivals. She also catered for a while until she grew tired of it and decided to open her own restaurant. Six years later, her eatery MN Santa Inés has been recognized by the Michelin Guide in the Bib Gourmand category that awards the value for money ratio.

The culinary concept behind MN Santa Inés is based on the chef’s two fundamental pillars: her grandmothers, who introduced her to the Buenos Aires family comfort food tradition as well as a more modern notion of ​​gastronomy. Marturet’s many travels — South America, Asia, Europe — also nurtured the MN Santa Inés menu. She won’t serve anything she hasn’t tried before elsewhere or in the past. 

MN Santa Inés’ menu changes every five weeks, yet its motifs and structure remain. The menu always consists of four small plates, five full plates, and three desserts. All dishes have “satellite” dishes — extras, because Marturet believes in the creative power of her patrons, and that it’s not good to serve dishes as utterly closed ideas. Everything served at MN Santa Inés enables a possibility of personal creation.

The menu will always include something criollo, something classic, something Asian, a vegan dish, and, most importantly, something spicy. Each dish has between 10 and 20 preparations in it, and while all of them feature a fruit, none have the same flavor — yet they do have the same imprint, the same Marturet signature: acidity. 

Another distinction of MN Santa Inés is that the portions fill the entire plate and that they don’t use anything that was pre-made: the breads and pastries are baked in the restaurant, and the drinks are made there too. The pink carafe is a MN Santa Inés icon: rosé wine, grapefruit, raspberry and pepper. At the end of the journey, the three desserts always include a pavlova, and the other two vary. The wine list, like everything else, is thoughtfully curated and designed by a sommelier.

MN Santa Inés
Ávalos 360. La Paternal, Buenos Aires.
Hours: lunches on Tuesdays to Sundays, starting at 12.30 a.m.. 
Weekends and holidays, with reservation via WhatsApp (+549 11 58486888)
Instagram: @mnsantaines