Mecha restaurant - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Further cementing Villa Devoto as Buenos Aires’ new culinary hub is the arrival of Mecha, an all-day steakhouse and bar, from the same group behind other neighbourhood favourites Alicia de Luca and Casa Lucca, just around the corner.

Local studio MMCV - who are also behind the design of the other two restaurants - has this time teamed up with architecture firm NidoLab to assemble a trio of glass an iron-framed cubes anchored by a distinct concrete building, which houses the main dining room.

With the intent to create a diverse space that could be used year-round, the architects say: ’we needed to build closed, temperature-controlled spaces, that could be used as an extension of the covered salon, and that would adapt to the neighbourhood’s lifestyle of group gatherings and family outings.’

White bricks, concrete and terrazzo flooring line the interiors of the main restaurant. This is softened by adark leather banquette that runs the length of the space, simple timber tables and chairs and hanging cage light fittings covered in ivy. A glass wine case meanwhile takes centre stage, encasing the staircase and also linking the ground and mezzanine levels. This provides a visual sense of continuity that is further highlighted by a mirrored backing, creating an infinite repetition of the bottles on display.

A 30-metre long concrete bar serves as the stage for the open kitchen, which sends out local dishes cooked on an open fire from a menu devised by the late chef Hugo Macchia. Expect deliciously rich sweetbreads served with potato rostis and charred sweetcorn; crispy lamb empanadas; or -for true meat lovers - the extra large, 1,200 gram T-bone steak.