Happening - Santiago

In Texas, it’s hot in the summer. We’ve become so accustomed to drinking iced-tea, that we now do it year-round. It’s probably the most consumed beverage in the State, next to Coors beer. Although it’s beginning to catch on in parts of Latin America, iced-tea is a rare find.

When we would travel to distant places, my friend, Larry, a mergers and acquisitions attorney in Dallas, would go through a cult-like ritual of ordering hot tea, steeping it there at the table, then icing it down with about two buckets full of ice to make himself some iced tea.

Larry was my traveling companion on my first visit to both Santiago and Buenos Aires, about a decade ago. And I have a distinct memory of Larry going through this ritual on a Saturday afternoon at Happening.

A decade later. Happening is still “happening”. The much-revered steakhouse, born in Buenos Aires, is still serving up a steady stream of steaks and chops and still doesn’t offer iced-tea on the menu. Sorry, Larry!

My biggest complaint with the faux-Argentina steakhouse, Don Carlos, was that the salads and side dishes were so limited (which is a polite way of saying “bad”). That’s not a problem at Happening. They have some creative salads, like one with spring greens and endive, camembert cheese, pears and roasted walnuts. They’re not quite as creative with the side dishes. They have potatoes prepared every way imaginable that involves a potato masher or a deep fryer. But they don’t have the USA steakhouse staple, a “loaded” baked potato. Regrettably!

There are some creative fish dishes, and they do some charcoal-grill seafood as well.

Despite the somewhat lacking creativity on the side dishes, the rest of the menu is impressive. More so than most steakhouses in Latin America.

The décor is nice. Very nice. It’s sort of John Wayne meets Andy Warhol. A modern, leathery take with a definite “cattle” theme, including a collection of art dedicated to the “Vaca Sagrada” (“sacred cow”).

Service is usually stellar, with male waiters wearing fancy vests. They have that Latin American steakhouse-waiter swagger, but they seem to be a bit friendlier than what’s typical. The steaks are usually served, cooked as ordered. Mine was a perfect medium-rare on a recent visit. They provide a helpful chart with the menu to help you decide what the right Spanish word is for how long you want them to cook your steak.

The restaurant also has an impressive-looking website, including a section devoted to the artwork mentioned above. Unfortunately, it doesn’t function very well. If you click on the menu links in any language, it merely reloads the same page. Fortunately, we have posted a menu from early-2018, available from the links on this page. From the website you can only make a reservation by email a day in advance, or by phone. However, you can utilize the third-party reservation system, Restorando.com, to make a reservation, with immediate confirmation. Because of the broken menu link and the lack of access to the reservation system from their website, their Logistics score is lower than other categories.

Happening fits into a niche. It’s not caught in the past like it’s country of origin nor like the nearby faux-Argentine steakhouse, Don Carlos. Yet, it has a bit more of a true-to-form steakhouse feel than the newer arrivals in the genre, like Carnal Prime, which offers a more contemporary version of a steakhouse, or Oporto, the upscale dining restaurant, turned “beef bar”. It’s the perfect “somewhere in between” steakhouse in Santiago!