My wife Jun and I couldn’t get enough of Ushuaia during our trip to Patagonia. The lovely scenery of the town with the glacier mountains in the background was breathtaking, and one underrated aspect of the place was in the food department. I didn’t have a ton of expectation in Ushuaia’s dining scene, but already had a superb meal at Kaupé (see my review here ) and was looking forward to our next dinner reservation at Maria Lola Resto, one of the more well-known restaurants in the town. All around, we had a very solid dinner here as well.

The vast menu at Maria Lola Resto (with each dish listed with suggested wine pairing) may overwhelm you initially. By the time we visited the restaurant, we already had plenty of king crab, first at Kaupé the night before and then at Volver for lunch, so we didn’t feel obliged to order a dish just for king crab. Instead, we opted for the Degustación de Mar appetizer dish consisting of king crab, scallops ceviche, pink salmon sashimi and Creoles octopus. Everything in the dish was fresh and the flavor was well-balanced throughout. For main dish, if you want to have more seafood at the restaurant, I recommend trying the seafood risotto. Jun was initially skeptical with how good the risotto would be (we weren’t after all dining in Italy), but eventually was won over by this well-executed dish with generous portion of seafood on top of the creamy rice. We also learned during our stay that Patagonian lamb is one of the staples in the region and decided to order the Fueguian lamb dish with sautéed mix vegetables. The lamb was a pleasant surprise, offering great texture without the gamey flavor that Jun is not particularly fond of. The meat’s portion was quite large, allowing Jun to expertly carve it out with pleasure. For the dessert, we shared a decent chocolate brownie topped with ice cream and warm caramel.

Getting a reservation at the restaurant wasn’t too difficult and the reservation desk is pretty responsive to email inquiries. The wine list at Maria Lola Resto was quite extensive as well, featuring many Patagonia-produced bottles with varying prices. The sleek interior of the restaurant, along with the view overlooking the entire town, is another attraction to the dining experience here. While the service could be a little bit faster, the staffs in general spoke pretty solid English so the language barrier won’t be an issue. Maria Lola Resto is another good option for dining in Ushuaia, showcasing ingredients from the Patagonian region prepared with consistent execution without too much flair.

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.0/10)

• Creativity: 7.5/10
• Execution: 8.0/10
• Ingredients: 8.5/10
• Flavor: 8.0/10
• Texture: 8.5/10
• Value: 8.0/10

Address: Deloqui 1048, Ushuaia, Argentina

Telephone: +54-2901-42-1185

Website: https://www.marialolaresto.com.ar/