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[title]Walking into Horta feels a little like discovering a secret. From the street, the restaurant is easy to miss, but as soon as you step through the door, you find a warm and inviting PH with wooden tables, plants, good music and an open kitchen that brings energy to the dining room, with a beautiful patio at the back featuring a large communal table surrounded by greenery. But if there’s one thing that makes you want to come back, it’s the food: a seasonal menu with defined flavors, original combinations and impeccable execution. We went to try it and left thinking about several of the dishes we had, especially the venison cigars, the beef cheeks and those tortellini with Parmesan mousse, which are truly memorable.
Horta opened in Villa Crespo in August 2024, founded by Clara Chavarría and Lucas Díaz, a couple and business partners. Seven months after opening, it received one of those accolades that can change the course of a restaurant: it was included among the recommended restaurants in the 2025 Michelin Guide, a distinction it received again in 2026.
The cuisine revolves around seasonality, small producers and completely artisanal preparation: bread, pasta, ice cream and much of what reaches the table are made in-house. But if one thing becomes clear after getting to know the restaurant, it’s that the concept doesn’t seem to have been built around recognition, but rather around a very specific way of understanding food.
The bread basket is already a good sign
Before the dishes arrive, there’s a small welcome soup, followed by the bread basket. And this is where I have to stop: the brioche with citrus butter is exquisite. It’s the kind of accompaniment that might go unnoticed at another restaurant but becomes part of the experience here.
The menu we tried also makes Horta’s philosophy quite clear: there are venison cigars with beetroot escabeche and shallot mayonnaise; a selection of mushrooms with sweet potato, lacto-fermented lemon and togarashi; sweetbreads with gremolata and naan bread, along with other starters that change depending on product availability.
We started with the venison cigars. It’s one of those dishes you order out of curiosity and that ends up becoming one of the strongest memories of the meal: flavorful, well-spiced and balanced by the contrast of the beetroot escabeche and shallot mayonnaise.
We also ordered the mushrooms, served with sweet potato, lacto-fermented lemon gel and togarashi. It’s a combination that plays with earthy, acidic and spicy flavors without losing sight of the main ingredient.
Two mains worth coming back for
The mains include catch of the day, tenderloin, orzo with cabutia squash and artichokes, but we went for the dishes we were most eager to try: the beef cheeks and the tortellini.
The beef cheeks are braised and served with smoked potato purée, demi-glace and seasonal vegetables. The meat is so tender that it literally cuts with a spoon. It’s a deep, comforting dish, the kind that calls for eating slowly and making the most of every last spoonful.
The tortellini were another favorite. They’re filled with a Parmesan mousse and served with butter, sage and walnuts; they can also be ordered with black truffle. The Parmesan mousse is particularly good: creamy, intense and with enough presence to turn an apparently simple dish into one of the most memorable of the meal.
To finish, the menu offers a 70% dark chocolate ganache with roasted banana ice cream and crumble, a pistachio sorbet with candied nuts and date-and-almond crumble, and a cardamom crème brûlée with coffee ice cream.
A restaurant that feels like home
The Horta experience isn’t only about the food but also the atmosphere. The first surprise comes as soon as you walk through the door: from the outside, it doesn’t look like a particularly striking restaurant, but the interior has a completely different personality. The space occupies a PH and combines exposed brick, wood, microcement, plants, objects and warm lighting.
The kitchen is completely visible and takes up a large part of the room. It isn’t designed to hide away: you can watch the team as they prepare the dishes, breads and pastas.
At the back is our favorite part: an open-air patio filled with plants and a huge round communal table, surrounded by greenery. It has a very relaxed feel and, when the weather cooperates, it’s a particularly lovely place to sit down for a meal. There’s also a small vegetable garden with herbs, flowers and vegetables used in the kitchen.
Horta means “vegetable garden” in Portuguese, a name that makes particular sense once you get to know the place and, above all, discover the story behind it.
From corporate life to opening their own restaurant
Clara and Lucas met while working in the tech industry, quite far removed from what they do today at Horta. Both had experience in corporate environments, but they also had a previous connection to the world of food.
In 2021, they moved to the Algarve, Portugal, where Lucas worked at several restaurants and Clara began to deepen her connection with hospitality and, especially, wine. That experience ultimately proved decisive when, after returning to Argentina, they decided to open their own restaurant.
Horta was born from that journey, partly inspired by their time in Portugal, but also by their family histories and their own search for a distinct identity. Everything that reaches the table is prepared in-house, from the breads and pastas to the ice creams and sorbets. The menu changes according to what they find throughout the year and works with small producers of vegetables, eggs, cheeses, meats and other ingredients.
Clara and a wine list worth listening to
Another highlight of our visit was the service. Clara runs the dining room and oversees the wine selection, and it’s clear that it’s not simply about having an extensive list: she knows the bottles and listens to what each diner feels like drinking.
She helped us choose the wines that best complemented our dishes, and the selection follows a fairly clear philosophy: small producers and wineries with an organic, biodynamic or low-intervention approach. The selection changes frequently, and there are several options available by the glass.
A place you’ll want to come back to
We liked Horta for many reasons, but above all because the experience feels coherent from beginning to end. From the brioche to the wines, from the open kitchen to the patio table, everything seems to be part of the same idea. And there’s that combination that’s always difficult to achieve: a thoughtful, technically accomplished cuisine without any sense of solemnity.
The dishes have technique and quality ingredients behind them, but the restaurant remains warm, intimate and relaxed. After trying the venison cigars, mushrooms, beef cheeks and those tortellini with Parmesan mousse, you understand the recognition, but also why Horta makes you want to come back regardless of any distinction. It’s one of those restaurants you want to recommend and return to in order to try whatever you didn’t get to order the first time.
HORTA
Aguirre 1080, Villa Crespo.
Tuesday to Saturday, 8pm to midnight. Sunday, 12pm to 3pm.
Reservations accepted and walk-ins welcome.