Found in Recoleta in Buenos Aires, Roux serves contemporary cuisine in a light and airy space. While the area isn’t particularly renowned for its dining scene, Roux is the kind of restaurant that would shine even if surrounded by Michelin-starred eateries.

All buffed pale wood, black chairs and white tablecloths, the colour in the Roux dining room is found on the plates. San Pellegrino award-winning chef Martin Rebaudino creates seasonal, creative dishes with Mediterranean flair that let the fine South American ingredients take centre stage. There are dishes like pumpkin and brie croquettes with quince coulis, a “sea salad” of prawns, mussels, squid and gravlax of salmon trout from Villa La Angostura (a village found in Nahuel Huapi Lake southwest of Buenos Aires), and crispy veal-stuffed green olives. King prawns here are grilled to pink perfection with melon and endives and served with an almonds coulis. Tomatoes are served in a salad with capers from “Sierra de los Padres” and an olive-lemon vinaigrette. In fact, the Sierra de los Padres capers also festoon the delicate llama carpaccio for a pop of flavour.

There’s a pleasing continuity here; stellar ingredients reappear, blend, and disappear into background, giving great depth and heights of flavour, textures are playfully experimented with, and dishes are beautifully plated. It’s a winning combination.