Wednesday dinner at La Alacena made us glad we’d booked. We had a reservation, and the room filled up around us with the sort of energy you might have saved for a Friday. If you’re counting on a quiet weekday to make getting a table easy, we’d have a backup plan—or, better still, a booking.
The indoor dining space is small, which puts you right in the middle of the evening. There are tables on the sidewalk, too, if you’d prefer to sit outside. It’s a warm, busy setting for a pasta dinner, and ours followed a particularly good sequence: something crisp to share, two pastas, then tiramisu.
To start · For the table
Mollejas with a little heat
Order the Mollejas in Padella e Piselli to share. These sweetbreads were tasty and crisp, with enough character to make the starter feel like part of the reason to come.
You can certainly taste the peperoncino. Keep that in mind if you’re sensitive to heat; this is an appetizer we’d recommend to someone who welcomes a little spice with those crisp edges.
The main event · Handmade pasta
Two pastas worth making room for
Chef Julieta Oriolo’s kitchen makes its pasta by hand with Italian semolina and farm eggs. The Lasagna alla bolognese makes a persuasive case for keeping your order classic: very flavorful, distinctly meaty, with a satisfying texture and a decent portion. It’s the kind of dish that earns your attention without needing a complicated introduction.
The menu layers veal bolognese with fior di latte mozzarella and béchamel. With that meaty flavor and a texture we liked, it’s an easy dish to put on the return-visit list.
The ravioli de ternera offer a more elaborate combination: veal-filled pasta with homemade pâté cream, caramelized fennel, sage and aceto di Módena. Think richness from the cream, sweetness from the fennel and a little acidity from the vinegar. We enjoyed these, too. If you’re dining as a pair and happy to share, one lasagna and one ravioli is a good way to explore two different sides of the pasta menu.
Leave a little room
Finish with tiramisu
Tiramisu is a popular order here, and we’d happily order it again. It’s a good finish to this dinner, and a strong choice if you’d rather keep dessert decisions brief.
The restaurant’s version uses homemade ladyfingers, espresso, homemade mascarpone and cocoa. After the mollejas and pasta, we were perfectly happy to end on that familiar combination.
Make a Wednesday of it
La Alacena is a good name to keep for a dinner built around handmade pasta. Book your table, arrive with an appetite, and give the starter as much consideration as the main course. A weekday is quite enough of an occasion.
For another night’s plans, our Buenos Aires pasta and pizza guide takes in five more places, from Doña’s neighborhood cooking to a slice of fugazzeta at La Mezzetta.
Save La Alacena in Plateback, along with the dishes you want to try. After your visit, add your own photos and notes—especially which pasta deserves a return trip.
