Mercado del puerto

The Mercado del Puerto, in Montevideo

The Mercado del Puerto is the gastronomic temple of Montevideo, a nineteenth-century iron hall where you taste the asado, the famous Uruguayan barbecue grilled on a wood fire. The Montevideo audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this emblematic market facing the port, become a high place of grilled meat and conviviality, despite its misleading name.

The temple of the Uruguayan asado

I hope this walk in Montevideo has whetted your appetite, for you arrive in front of its gastronomic temple, the Mercado del Puerto. Do not let yourself be misled by its name of market of the port: you will find there neither fresh fish nor seafood. This emblematic place of the town welcomes tourists and inhabitants around delicious parrillas, these great grills where the asado is prepared. Vegetarians abstain: here, you grill meat and offal on a wood fire, to taste the Uruguayan version of the barbecue, raised to the rank of national art. It must be said that Uruguay counts among the greatest consumers of meat in the world, with a livestock far more numerous than its population, and cattle raised in freedom in the vast pastures. The Mercado del Puerto occupies a superb metallic hall of the nineteenth century, with an iron and glass framework imported from Europe, that was originally to shelter a market. Today, its aisles are lined with a multitude of restaurants and counters where the meat crackles on the embers, in a warm, noisy and gourmet atmosphere. You taste there beef ribs, chorizos, morcillas and the famous chivito, accompanied by a glass of local wine or medio y medio. Especially lively at midday and at the weekend, the market is a must-see of Montevideo life. A gastronomic hall and a temple of grilled meat, the Mercado del Puerto is a fine stop of the discovery of Montevideo.

What to see

Here you discover the gastronomic temple of Montevideo, a superb iron and glass hall of the nineteenth century facing the port, where you taste the asado, the Uruguayan barbecue grilled on a wood fire on the parrillas; despite its name of market of the port, you find there no fish but meats, beef ribs, chorizos and the famous chivito, in a warm and gourmet atmosphere. The Mercado del Puerto is a high place of Montevideo. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Mercado del Puerto lies facing the port, in the heart of the ciudad vieja of Montevideo, reachable on foot. It is a hall freely accessible, lined with restaurants and parrillas that follow their own hours, especially lively at midday and at the weekend. It is the ideal place to taste the asado; it is best to come at midday.

What do you eat at the Mercado del Puerto of Montevideo?

The asado, the Uruguayan barbecue grilled on a wood fire on the parrillas: beef ribs, chorizos, morcillas, offal and the famous chivito, accompanied by local wine or medio y medio; despite its name of market of the port, this gastronomic temple installed in an iron hall of the nineteenth century offers no fish, but meats, in a warm atmosphere.

Where is the Mercado del Puerto in Montevideo?

Facing the port, in the heart of the ciudad vieja of Montevideo, in Uruguay.