El Potrerillo De Larreta

The phone call to book a table was the worst part of this visit. I got no greeting or offer of help, just "Who are you?" and "What do you want?" Then I was told I couldn't come in unless I was "invited." It's a hotel restaurant, not a private club or members-only dining room. I've eaten here before, and it was fine, nothing special but acceptable. This time the hostility and lack of basic competence were embarrassing. Hospitality seems to have gone missing at the front desk. Real luxury means service, while fake luxury seems to confuse rudeness with exclusivity. The place is trying hard to seem sophisticated, but the setting is an aspirational, deeply boring, middle-class Argentine neighborhood, nowhere near Mayfair, Saint-Germain, or Gstaad. That gap between the attitude and the reality is ridiculous. If they want to act exclusive, they should offer something exceptional, and they don't. Disgusting attitude and amateur service. I won't return, and anyone who expects basic respect should go somewhere else.