Teatro Colón and Tô-Sushi

On Saturday night we get dressed up and go to the ballet at the famous and newly refurbished Teatro Colón. At the ripe old age of 29, I have never been to the ballet, and I love it. We are seated way up high up in the theatre and it's a grand experience I'd recommend to anyone. We thoroughly enjoy the ballet and have a glass of champagne at the bar during the interval.

The view from our seats in Teatro Colon

After the ballet, we head to Tô, another sushi restaurant on Costa Rica with Arévalo. Despite having an 11:30pm booking, we are told to wait for a table - it seems they've given ours away - but we get a cocktail while we wait. The place is ultra-trendy with an open bar full of beautiful liquor bottles, behind which the sushi chefs are hard at work. 

The concept of the restaurant is 'Frapanese' - that's French-Japanese, to me and you. There is a young French guy wandering about, but it turns out he is not the owner. 

There are some pretty fancy French-Japanese creations on the menu and we order a big selection. Chef Toufic Reda, from whence the name Tô derives, likes his trio dishes: The Tô Kobe Beef, which includes Kobe beef tartare, Kobe beef 'tataki' and Kobe beef burger, and the Tô tuna, which includes tuna tartare, tuna 'tataki' and seared tuna.

Le Kobe To - Kobe beef tartare, Kobe beef tataki and Kobe beef burger

Le Thon To - red tuna tartare, seared tuna and tuna tataki

I have had Kobe beef in Japan and am expecting it to be absolutely spectacular but I can't say it meets my expectations. It is delicious, but the tartare isn't actually tartare because the melted cheese on top has cooked it, so that is a little disappointing, and the burger is a bit dry. 
 

Langoustine and avocado salad

We also do ourselves over by ordering too-similar dishes, i.e. the tuna tartare with quail's egg, followed by the tuna trio and the steak trio. It is all good, but perhaps a little too much tartare for my liking. (You live and learn...)

Tartare de atun como lo hace Toufic - red tuna tartare with wasabi, 'fake caviar' and the quail's egg yolk

Had I not been to Osaka and Isabel in recent days and had exceedingly high expectations of Argentine sushi, I think I'd have been more impressed with Tô, but the quality of the food just isn't quite as good. That said, the food is more original and creative and the decor is fun - I'd definitely go again. Unfortunately though, after our late seating, we are the only ones still standing at 2am and felt as if we need to leave. On a Saturday night in Buenos Aires, where people often dine at 11pm and beyond, I would have expected the place to be fuller until later.