Mostrador Santa Teresita, from Argentine chef Fernando Trocca together with Martín Pittaluga, changed the way José Ignacio does lunch: instead of a menu, a long counter displays salads, roasted vegetables, grains, tarts and desserts that change daily, and you build your own small or large plate, adding a protein — fish, meat or chicken — cooked to order.

The setting is a bright, relaxed beach house with tables inside and out, serving from breakfast through the afternoon, with extended hours at the height of the season. The concept proved so successful that Trocca replicated it in Buenos Aires and New York, but the original is still here, at Las Garzas and Los Tordos. Go early: it fills up fast at midday.