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“Have you seen a lot of cows in Mendoza?” Chef Juan Venturaira asked me, pointing to Mendoza’s ancient vineyards. Riccitelli wine In the area of Las Compuertas, Luján de Cuyo. “When I arrived – he is a native of Tres Arroyos, in the province of Buenos Aires – I saw that all the restaurants had meat, and I began to form my concept of vegetarian cuisine,” he continues, without waiting for an answer. “Mendoza produces 70% of the country’s tomatoes. My goal is to promote the local product, the wild vegetable variety.”
in Richitelli Bistro The “from land to table” concept is not just marketing: the two-step menu they offer, “Mendoza” and “Argentina,” is sourced from a garden growing just meters away and other local produce, and combines 400 vegetables – beets, tomatoes, garlic, onions and about 16 wild herbs – of endemic origin. Protein is the accompaniment, not the other way around. They only offer substitute cuts, and do not use tenderloin or rib-eye, although some tourists ask for it. Also some fish, duck and prawns.
When it all started, in 2020, before Michelin stars, foreigners and sold-out tables, Ventureyra didn’t consider what was coming. After managing the kitchens of several Mendoza restaurants, Matthias Riccitelli knocked on the door one day with an innovative offer. He told him: “I don’t drink red wine, I drink white wine. And my cooking style matches your wine.”
Riccitelli was excited and they made the deal to put the rest in some containers amid the vineyards next to the small winery. The first thing the chef asked him was to have his own garden. “My first employee was farmer Norberto, who continues to work with me,” he says proudly. The project started out in chaos, because about a month later the pandemic came. But it reopened seven months later, incredibly, taking three months of bookings.
With everything going well, the Michelin dedication arrived: “It was a surprise, we did not expect it, and we never knew the inspectors were coming,” recalls the chef. After winning their first green star in 2024, they decided to “beautify” the room and service, and soon the red star came (2025). Unlike what happened to other winners, in his case, the award helped “in this economic context, which has already been a difficult year.” The decision was not to raise prices. “There is a preconception that getting a star is expensive,” says Venturaira, who considers his $160,000 restaurant “cheap for Michelin.”
With a global audience and great service, without losing rigor (in harmony with wine and pop aesthetics in… Riketelli), the menu is a real sensory journey. Cream of beans with parsley oil and fresh ciabatta bread is followed by numerous snacks and small plates that are as unfathomable as they are delicious: crunchy cavolo nero (black cabbage) pacora, alfajor black olives stuffed with ricotta on dried olives, mini beet tacos or some oyster mushrooms. The chef also prepares a very delicious goat cheese: “I will look for it in the Laval desert; it is from a producer who has 30 goats.” Then he encourages us to try wild celery, with an intensity unknown to the taste.
From Tres Arroyos to Mendoza Now that he has set foot in the federal capital, Venturaira does not stop, and admits that he enjoys this vertigo a little: “I have between six and eight planes a month, and if I am not in this quilombo I will come back.” In addition to award-winning restaurant Mendoza, Casa Palanti has just opened in Barrio Parque, one block from Malba, a project that also promises exotic cuisine true to its style.
Richitelli Bistro
Callejon de la Rita 750, Luján de Cuyo.
WhatsApp: (+549261) 316-7775.
Reservations@matiasriccitelli.com
From Monday to Saturday at 12:30. Includes a visit to the winery.