This Argentinian Bread Has The Team's Full Attention

It’s not every day you visit a restaurant and then go home raving about the bread. But that’s exactly what happened at The Handbook team’s recent dinner at Sucre, an Argentinian restaurant in Soho located in a 310-year-old former concert hall.

You might visit for the beautiful interiors, fabulous South American cuisine and vibey downstairs bar – but you’ll come back for that bread. Our Dish of the Month this chilly January is a warm, comforting bread that’s so good that it got an already food and drink-obsessed team talking.

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Sucre champions open-fire cooking and seasonal produce under the direction of Chef Patron, Jack Godik. Drawing on both Latin American and European influences, the menu is inspired by the journeys of European travellers who crossed the Atlantic to Argentina, paying homage to the country’s rich culinary heritage.

The music, flavours and vibe are all distinctly Latin American, and the menu can take you from fresh winter tomatoes with house ricotta and seaweed, making you feel a little beachy (even in the bleak London winter), to braised brisket empanadas or cheddar and caramelised onion for the veggies. But perched on the top of the menu is the star of the show – the seemingly humble chipá or Argentine cheese bread.

Perched on the top of the menu is the star of the show – the seemingly humble chipá.

The dish

You really can’t go wrong when you put cheese and bread together, but these small but wonderful carbohydrate portions make one want to forget that protein is important for your diet. Because really, the way we dug into these pillowy, golden creations would make one imagine that we’d never seen bread before – granted, we had made quite a sizeable dent in our bar tab when someone declared that they were feeling peckish and we should order the little rolls of heaven we were served at the beginning of lunch – but that feels irrelevant.

Chewy and soft inside with a crispy exterior and a strong cheesey flavour, chipá is traditionally made from cassava flour, eggs, milk, butter and cheese. The outside is beautiful and golden, and you can tear it open and lather the warm rolls with butter before biting in to enjoy that rich cheese flavour. There are similar versions of chipá throughout Latin America, and this is one you’d find at a family dinner in Buenos Aires. Plus, Sucre makes it with tapioca flour, so it is gluten-free. Perfect to start your meal, or to close the bar tab with.

The way we dug into these pillowy, golden creations would make one imagine that we’d never seen bread before

What else is good

There’s lots to enjoy on the menu, whether you’re looking for flavourful seafood, perfectly cooked steaks or fresh winter salads. The burnt hispi cabbage comes with miso beurre blanc and makes a great option for vegetarians. The chicken adobo comes from their sous chef Jennah’s family recipe and is sizzled on the open fire, and you can’t go wrong with the classic Argentinian sirloin with fries and peppercorn sauce.

You can’t go wrong with the classic Argentinian sirloin with fries and peppercorn sauce.

Plus, head to Downstairs at Sucre for an apéritif or spend a few hours after dinner and enjoy the moody, intimate space that serves a chill soundtrack and some great spicy cocktails – the chimichurri margarita is another team favourite. Made with olive oil-washed tequila, and mezcal, chimichurri syrup, lime and ginger, it’s a wonderful explosion of salty flavour, and if you love a savoury cocktail, you will not be disappointed.