MONTEVIDEO

Of all the curious things about Uruguay’s food scene, perhaps the most peculiar is that despite bodies of water marking its eastern, southern and western boundaries, no one eats fish. Or almost no one. Mercifully, Montevideo’s Es Mercat restaurant goes against the grain by dedicating itself to seafood.

“This was the first fish restaurant in all of Montevideo,” chef and owner Roberto Connio tells me before lunch service. I assume this means it was handed down through his family, generations of old seadogs, refining recipes to the art he presents today. “No, we opened in June 2011, so nine years old,” he replies, sipping an espresso. “Now there are some other restaurants selling some fish dishes, but if you’re serious about it, then we’re number one.”

Roberto explains that in the wake of the Second World War, people pushed further into Uruguay’s interior, developing more of the land for agriculture. The main product people wanted was leather, so cattle farms grew quickly, filling the cheap land available outside