Restaurant Spotlight: Corriente
1980s New York City hip restaurant vibes. A fun atmosphere and good food.
The first thought I had when I entered Corriente was that I was walking into a hip art gallery turned restaurant in 1980s New York City where investment bankers go to impress their girlfriends. I then realized I was thinking of the movie American Psycho where Patrick Bateman goes to a restaurant called “Evolve.” I haven’t seen the movie in maybe 15 years, but I pulled up the scene and noticed some similarities between the restaurant in the film and Corriente besides just the general “feel.” For one, both restaurants have columns spread out in between tables.
Watch the scene below on youtube:
In the movie, the menus are made of stainless steel, while the tables at Corriente are made of stainless steel. At both restaurants, there are vases on each table with a flower. In the film, goth-like artsy types mingle with the investment bankers. At Corriente, there was a table of artsy characters, one who looked like a rock star version of the Amish bowler Ishmael Boorg from the movie Kingpin. I snapped a photo of the guy, but it doesn’t seem right to splash it here on these public pages. Let’s just say he had the same haircut as Ishmael, bleached blond/white and wore a stonewashed jean jacket.
While these similarities aren’t perfect, my brain instantly made the connection. The fact that the restaurant in the movie had the columns and also vases with flowers on the tables made me wonder if I had really remembered details that specific or if it was just a coincidence. I have no idea if the owners of Corriente were going for this same vibe, but I dig it. Corriente is all about the ambiance.
On a quiet street in Villa Crespo on the border of Caballito, Corriente's menu departs from the ordinary, featuring intriguing dishes like oysters, duck croquettes, cow brain with potato chips, corn raviolis, and ramen. The portion sizes are satisfying, and the prices are reasonable. “Snacks” start at around 5 USD, while the platitos are priced at approximately 8 USD. Most of the main plates fall between 12 and 20 USD. For our party of two, the waitress suggested a combination of 1 snack, 2 platitos to share. And 1 standard size main course per person or one big main to share.
We started with the duck croquettes, which came with salsa amasake, orange, and chile, along with the “Crudo,” which consisted of raw fish, yellow pepper, ginger, honey, and dashi. We also ordered the “jamón de pato,” deli-style duck slices on “tumaca bread” with duck paté.
For our main dish, we split the gigantic rib-eye milanesa, which was topped with multicolored tomato pesto and melted brie cheese. This was the most expensive item on the menu at 34 usd.
The milanesa came with some large cut potatoes called “papas pavé.”
The food was excellent. I could have used a few dishes with more traditional ingredients (less duck and cow brains), but overall, it made for a distinct menu.
Bottom Line: A creative and tasty menu accents the hip 1980s NYC vibe nicely. I can’t imagine the menu in another place, and I can’t imagine the interior design without this specific menu. Both the menu and the vibe make for a distinct restaurant in Buenos Aires. The staff is excellent, and the atmosphere is fun. It is almost a caricature of a pretentious restaurant, if that makes any sense.
Corriente
Wednesday - Saturday 8pm - 11:30pm
Closed Sunday - Tuesday
Reservation here.