El Mate

A bit more expensive than you might think, but great quality. I went and tried the beef empanada, the melted provolone cheese with green olives, ham and diced tomato, and the rib eye — they were all great and my mouth is watering thinking about the provolone. The place isn’t fancy but the service is friendly and there’s a spacious backyard. Pro tip: If you’re not into huge portions, the steaks are more than enough to share between two with an appetizer or two.

Love it the steak here! And the margaritas also! and the personal is very polite and funny!

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! Went with friends for my birthday, and it was perfect. Everyone loved the empanadas so much that we ordered a second platter. The skirt steak… beautiful piece of meat cooked perfectly. The salad was refreshing and tasty (even my friend who hates vegetables liked it). And dessert of course was a great end to the meal. My favs were the flan and panquettes with dulce de Leche. The service is warm and personal on a lovely space. My only disappointment is that I didn’t take food pics because I was too busy eating

This is my favorite restaurant I have ever been to. I ordered the empanadas as an appetizer. Picadillo and chicken. They were both amazing but the Picadillo was my favorite. So flavorful and the outside crust was so perfect! I ordered the strip steak after asking my waitress which she preferred: the strip or the rib eye. I am SO glad I did. It was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had. It was cooked to medium rare perfection. It had a nice outside crust but the middle was still red. It was so tender and the juice that’s formed on the sizzling skillet is TO DIE FOR. I got a side of black beans and rice which were an awesome contrast to the steak and cleansed my pallet. When I first sat down, The Girl from Impenama came on and they continued to play all of my favorite Brazilian jazz all night. When I asked the waitress about the music she said she would go ask the owner. The owner then came out and shook my hand and we talked all about the music and where I was from and it was all just so amazing. It’s an absolutely beautiful restaurant. Oh! And I forget to mention I came in at 10:45 and they close at 11! Everyone was so nice and welcoming and didn’t seem too terribly upset that I came that late.

Amazing food, great atmosphere and really nice people… what else you can ask for?!
Will definitely come back here…

AMAZING! Being Argentinean I am so glad I don’t have to trek to Queens to find a wonderful Argentine restaurant. My mother was in town and we wanted to try a place local in Brooklyn. I was highly pleased, it also got mi mama’s approval so that means a lot!
Wonder why this place has 5 stars! We tried the entraña with the chimichurri sauce and it was delicious! The empanadas as well were great as an appetizer. There was also $ 7 house wines of malbec —- yes please!
The ambiance is decorated with art local to Argentina, and of course photos of mate everywhere. The service was the best I have had in a long time. I even think it was even the owner that personally came to our table and greeted us as well. Such friendly people and if it wasn’t so hot, I would have sat in the backyard. I saw that they had a beautiful backyard patio that I want try out next time I come.
Perfect for a date, your friends, or family. The portions are big enough to split if you get some appetizers as well. Strongly recommend this place! El Mate got 5 strong stars in my book.

Had dinner at El Mate based on the positive reviews. I agree with all of them. We had dinner in the back courtyard which was very festive. Fernando was a fabulous waiter and made excellent recommendations. The mixed drinks were delicious and the empanadas with the chimichurri sauce were amazing. I had beef and my husband had chorizo and I would recommend them both. Our entrees and desserts were equally good and I would most definitely come back if I find myself in Carroll Gardens again any time soon. You won’t be disappointed by the friendly service and excellent food.

came here expecting to find a 5 star dining experience and left with just that. even at 9:30pm the host was gracious and never made us feel like we were imposing. lots of incredible menu options and the flavors were incredible. lots of seasoning and variety. prices are great and really a bargain when you think about it. cant wait to come back for round two.

My husband and I decided to visit El Mate for dinner because it has great reviews and it did not disappoint. We ordered 2 morcillas and they were very good. We ordered the entraña medium rare and it came out just perfect. We also had the sangria and it was pretty good. Overall pretty good food, service was good too. Good local spot. Prices are also very reasonable. Menu is big enough to try something Brazilian or argentine but small enough to not get overwhelmed.

Love this place. Very cozy and the owner and the staff are super friendly.
I had the skirt steak and it was amazing. I also recommend their passion fruit mousse or the Brazilian flan. Red sangria was perfect as well. :)

Really good food, delicious, I felt like I was in Argentina for a few hours. Cool people and the manager really nice.
Muy buena comida, deliciosa, me sentí en Argentina x unas horas. Gente copada y el manager muy piola!

My husband and I came in from NYC because of the rave reviews about this restaurant, and it was:
DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS!
Empanadas, Skirt Steak, Chimichurri, Polenta, Milanesa with the Fried Eggs, Yucca Mash, and then the Flan for dessert, not to mention the drinks! From the moment we walked in, Fernando greeted us with cocktail recommendations and wine samplings: Malbecs and Syrahs along with the traditional acai cocktail.
A special thank you to Fernando and staff for such a great night out. I can honestly say I’ve never experienced such wonderful, personable service before. Fernando really cares about your time at the restaurant and takes great pride in his culture.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Already thinking about who we should bring with us the next time we go. Wow!
.

I went to this place from my birthday, and I was totally amazed
The food was great, the place was really nice and cozi
The waiters and the owners were really great.
I definitely recommend this place
Is a shame I could only give them 5 stars!!!

Cool place, nice atmosphere. Bartender is really cool. Offers a pre fixe menu as well as a regular menu. Empanadas are great. Can’t go wrong with any one of them. This is my second time there and I must say the first time was a better food experience. I’m a definite carnivore and I love my meat (steak, sausage, ribs) the first time I went my steak was cooked to perfection and seasoned well. Second time hmm… definitely different. Food was missing that wow factor. It was still good but not as great as my first experience. I would still recommend you try them out. I want to check out their weekend brunch soon.

As an Argentinian I guess I feel like some kind of authority on this topic. There aren’t many Argentinian places in New York period, let alone authentic ones. Well, this one is. Genuine home cooking 100%. The empanadas were ridiculously delicious and Fernando the owner is a f**king gem of a man. I would recommend this place to anyone who misses Argentina and likes delicious food.

Favorite place in the neighborhood !
Fernando, Ariel, Claudia and the chef Edu treat us as if we were at home every time we go.
Drinks are very good and their famous empanadas amazing.
They will also prepare special vegetarian dishes for me if I ask for it.

I’m so impressed with this beautiful idea of a business in this amazing neighborhood. It is difficult to find a complete great customer experience in New York but El Mate exceeds everything that we look for in a restaurant. I just tried their amazing sangria, maracuya mimosa, Bloody Mary and the amazing Backyard Chef Burger — it all makes me want to come back every weekend w\o excuse.

My new favorite restaurant in NYC! You walk in and pause in awe at how beautiful and unique it is and then the staff is amazingly personable and the drinks out of this world. This is THE spot to relax and be pampered. I’ll be bringing friends here from now on!

«Nice and friendly»
Randomly, I stopped by this restaurant for a quick bite to eat and was pleasantly surprised. The staff was very helpful in helping me pick out a couple of small plates. I went with the empanadas (I forget which ones), which were AMAZING, and a soup. The shell of the empanadas was so light and flaky and the filling was wonderful. The kitchen staff was accommodating with the soup. The soup of the day was something with pumpkin (yuck) but the kitchen staff whipped me up another soup with Argentine sausage and jumbo beans.
All in all if I am in the Red Hook area then I will be back for dos más empanadas.

The manager and our waiter were so accommodating. They explained the menu to us and made some suggestions on what they thought we would like.
The empanadas were great!

Exelente comida argentina y brazilera tiene que or y probar los trago son buenisimos y tiene un muy lindo ambiente