Tandory
Uruguayans and hot spicy food don’t get along, but some chefs make the effort of combining them and succeed. Gabriel Coquel runs Tandory, one of Montevideo’s most well-known restaurants. Nestled in the middle-class residential area of Picitos, Coquel serves an international menu fusing Spanish, South Asian and Peruvian dishes amid a charming décor of ethnic elements that reflects it culinary style. Don’t be surprised if the chef stops by your table to personally explain the various options of the day’s menu.

Jacinto Cafe y Restaurant
Chef Lucia Soria is Francis Mallmann’s latest protégée. She moved to Pueblo Garzón (inland of José Ignacio) a decade ago to follow Mallmann and never left. Two years ago, Lucia opened her boho-chic restaurant in downtown Montevideo and changed the energy of the city. Jacinto has an honest “rioplatense” (a name given to those living along the shore of the Río de la Plata River) menu with the scent of homemade food.

Cafe Misterio
Juan Pablo Clerici and Roberto Behrens opened Café Misterio as a pub and restaurant more than two decades ago in Carrasco, an upper-class neighbourhood in Montevideo, and it quickly became one of the hipster places to eat in the city. In time, it turned into a fine-dining restaurant, where chef Clerici surprises with such daily specials as porgy broth with tiny porgy fillets and fresh mushrooms, smoked fish, braised almond-fed pork or slowly grilled lamb.

Lo de Tere
Lalo and Elsa Marfetan came to Punta del Este from the beach town of La Paloma more than a decade ago to run Lo de Tere. Near the yacht port of the city, this restaurant has a strong connection with the seafood and Atlantic-raised lambs of Rocha, La Paloma. María Elena, Lalo’s and Elsa young daughter, is in charge of the kitchen with a fresh and creative menu.

Cuatro Mares
Translated as the Four Seas Restaurant, this family-style eatery with an open kitchen and friendly bar is in the home of Chef Gastón Yelicich and Gabriel Trajtenberg. While having lunch or dinner, share the bone marrow with sea salt and parsley, fish and chips, lasagna, the burgers with homemade ketchup or the grilled beef.

Parador La Huella
Academy members for Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants voted this beachside bar in José Ignacio among its top 20. Built of wood with a huge fireplace and barbecue overlooking the Playa Brava of José Ignacio -- 180 km from Montevideo on the east coast -- La Huella is a boho-chic restaurant you won’t want to leave. Its owners, Martín Pittaluga, Guzmán Artagaveytia and Gustavo Barbero, might exhale a sui generis lifestyle, but don’t be confused. A big service team is committed to make every customer feel like family. If in season, ask chef Alejandro Morales for the deep-fried mackerel, grilled anchovy, milanesas (breaded beef), local clams, native siri crab cakes and the dulce de leche coulant for dessert. The menu is paired with the finest local and regional wines in a list designed by Sonia Martínez, one of Uruguay’s finest sommeliers.

Udaberri Pintxos Y Vino
Udaberri may be known for its cocktails and late-night bar feels, but its lesser-known food offerings should get just as much attention. The sautéed portobello mushrooms with egg yolk is delicious. Juicy and meaty mushroom pieces are sautéed in a rich butter sauce combined with a golden egg yolk, resulting in absolute bliss. Even meat eaters would be impressed. Other items on their ever-changing menu are also worth a taste, in particular the monster-sized steaks and watermelon and feta salad drizzled in honey. Get in early to snag a seat as Udaberri gets packed early on weekends.

Porter & Rye
At this modern European restaurant and bar, tasty slabs of meat catch your eye as you enter this haven of beef. With their own dry-aged meat and a selection of knives for you to choose from - you just know they take steak seriously here.

Opie's Barbecue
About halfway between Austin and Llano, on beautiful Highway 71, Opie’s Barbecue serves slow-smoked BBQ seven days a week. Just inside the door is a holding pit, and when they lift the top and reveal their offering of proteins, just start pointing at what you want and they will snag it for you. Take your tray of selections to the counter, and while they slice it up for you, pick from an array of homemade side items and desserts.

Hays County Bar-B-Que
On the I-35 frontage road in San Marcos, Hays County Bar-B-Que is an easy stop between Austin and San Antonio. The hardworking Hernandez family will take care of you, with an array of meats, slow-smoked in one of several large smokers. You can dine inside, or you could go to the back, where you will find a space unlike any other in Central Texas, with lots of tables, games, a stage and a bus-turned-bar.