In the late 1970s, when Jose Ignacio , Uruguay, was still a little fishing village in the middle of nowhere, an Argentine chef with a desire for adventure, Francis Mallman , opened a restaurant with a very special charm called Sea Inn . Although he was relatively unknown at the time, his restaurant was very successful, which led him to open the next one.
The Blacks , with its tin roof and poems on the walls, also quickly became one of the most sought-after restaurants in South America. When Mallmann he went off to earn his international fame, Jose Ignacio , a place of gravel paths and green-covered dunes, remained the perfect destination for a specific type of traveler: that person who has seen a lot of the world and wants to forget about it for a while.
Bowl of chips at Chiringuito Francis Mallmann.
Playa Mansa is famous for its calm and warm waters.
A little over a year ago Mallmann returned to José Ignacio and he opened a beach restaurant with an open kitchen, the Chiringuito Francis Mallmann . Drawing inspiration from the seaside scenes of Luchino Visconti's Death in Venice, Mallmann created a space covered only by umbrellas and striped fabric awnings, with folding hammocks and low wooden tables directly on the sand. “I have a lot of love for José Ignacio,” he says, “and I love having been able to go back to the beach at a time when going out and breathing fresh air is so necessary.”
The beach bar it is the last restaurant with wood fires that he has opened in José Ignacio. This type of place, with its rustic ovens or barbecues, has become popular following the example of establishments such as Parador The Footprint , a true institution in the area. At the end of 2020 he opened the Cruz del Sur Farm restaurant in the brave beach , a simple place that serves freshly caught fish with colored carrots and Swiss chard from the farm that gives it its name. It's over there too the wave , simple and rustic, with dishes such as roast lamb and grilled pumpkin.
Mallmann is part of the small group that dared to dream of something new and different during the pandemic. Last year, when late summer finally came, Edda and Robert Kofler , an Austrian couple, were finalizing the details of their Posada Ayana, a beautiful eight-bedroom hotel near the mansa beach.
The relaxed atmosphere is reminiscent of Saint-Tropez of the 60s , and people come from all over the world to enjoy their fresh breakfasts by the pool and private yoga sessions. Very soon there will be a new attraction: one of the iconic Skyspaces of james turrell . This artistic jewel will be a room with an open ceiling that will use the infinite blue of the sky as another decorative element.
A few minutes from there, surrounded by huge trees, is the Rizoma. Is bookstore, cafe and four-room hotel , creation of the inveterate reader Eduardo Ballester , is like a miniature world inside a characteristic bright red building. has its own art Gallery , in which the owner's partner, Marcela Jacob, exhibits her handmade ceramics.
“I've been here since 1996, and I've seen a lot of changes in José Ignacio,” says Ballester, who has known the area since the 1960s, when the town didn't even have electricity. “It's still beautiful, but the moment I like the most is when all the people who arrive in summer leave. March It is the best time, when this place shows its best.” And it is that, no matter what happens, this old coastal town remains true to its roots.