La Hormiga

La Hormiga is an extremely popular bistro-style restaurant in Palermo Soho offering traditional Argentine dishes such as humitas (tamales), locro (a traditional bean soup) and other types of cazuelas (soups). The menu also includes the more usual Porteño dishes such as steaks, pasta and milanesas (breaded cutlet). The menu is quite extensive.

There is almost always a wait for a table regardless of the time of day. The owners also operate to very popular steakhouses, Las Cabras in Palermo Hollywood and Las Cholas in Las Cañitas.

The décor is fairly nice with a white subway tile wall along one wall and a big open kitchen overlooking a dining room with about 50 tables.

I ordered the steak which included a small, boring salad and some small, boring French fries. We ordered the steak medium-rare and in typical Argentine fashion it arrived medium-well. A rather ordinary cut of meat, not very tender.

Not really wanting the fries I ordered up a baked potato. Again, nothing unique.

Service was not very good. We had difficulty getting the attention of the waitress who was also wearing a big frown as if she absolutely hated being there. The service was so poor that the table next to me ended up requesting the check for their drinks and went elsewhere. Apparently the waitress wasn’t the only one who didn’t really want to be there.

The prices are fairly reasonable with the main course dishes ranging in price from about US$8 to $11 ($100 to $130). But with the very average quality of the food and the bad service, this could not be considered a value.

The experience was so bad and so contrary to the reviews I’d previously read that I returned within the week to see if I had merely experienced an anomaly. The service was considerably better on the second visit although not flawless. At least the waitress smiled. But the execution on the preparation of the food was once again short of the mark. The steak on our second visit was overcooked again.

La Hormiga just goes to prove you can’t trust consumer reviews. This place is at best average and that’s a stretch. Yet it has a 4.6 star rating on Google reviews and a 4 star rating on Tripadvisor.com. My recommendation. Steer clear. There are too many other good options within five blocks.