Markets are magical everywhere you travel and Montevideo offers a lot of these. I went to a lot of them while in Uruguay and simply loved them, whether it’s a food market or a goods market.

The best one for food was the trendy „Mercado Del Puerto“, situated down by the harbour in the Old City (Ciudad Vieja). That particular area of Montevideo is apparently a „no-go“ area at night for lone foreigners due to poverty and robbery, so my hostel mate Wesley and I decided to eat there just before dark. However we also did an Irish Pub on the way and I later walked Panny Yu to her hostel in that area after I had moved in with my Uruguayan family. The market was safe and cosy and is mostly indoors. Trendy restaurants serving typical Uruguayan barbecue food and local beer are the norm. The atmosphere is fantastic.

You won’t get lost in the market – it’s a an easy square layout with an abundance of restaurants and bars. Take your pick then sit down anywhere you want and order a beer and some food. It’s that easy and it’s that relaxing! I went to a restaurant called La Maestranza and was served by Natali.

For beer I tried Patricia the local stuff, quenches your thirst for sure. Better to buy by the bottle and share it. Tap beer isn’t really available. It was summer time when I visited.

At the entrance to Puerto Del Mercado. We went there by bicycle, hired from the hostel and you pay a guy to look after the bike – this seemed to be the safest option.

Take your time to read the menu as there is a lot on it and a fantastic range of meats that you can eat barbecued. We went for Morchillo, Salchincha, Chorizo and Rincon which are all types of beef or pork and you also get bread and sauce to eat with them. It’s all barbecued in front of you as you relax with a beer!

The bread, sauce and crackers is free and comes with it, you only pay for the meat and the beer and tipping is optional – I left a small tip.

I’m never far from drama however and while this was all happening, a local video crew notice I’m foreign, and hear my accent so they come over and make a video of me. I had only started to learn Spanish and wasn’t great at it. But they ask me what I think of Montevideo. I said that I love the food, I come from Irlanda del Norte and I liked watching Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez in the 2010 World Cup. It was all over in a flash and I got on with my dinner. It was funny yo be interviewed as you can tell the camera crew are giggling at me!

A beer cost around 100 pesos and for the food it’s best to do a pick and mix option which gives you variety and saves a bit of money as you are buying in bulk. The menu is straight forward and no problem with ordering.

The market is actually on two floors and at one point I popped upstairs to check out the view! I would strongly recommend trying the Parrilla (that’s what Uruguayan barbecue is known as locally) if you happen to be in Montevideo!

To read more stuff like a Barbecue in Montevideo head to Jonny Blair’s insightful site about a lifestyle of travel for funny travel tips and stories.