Classy cocktails from Maggie's favourite

Argentina does three things well: steak, wine, and developing football players who can win games single-handedly. Adding cocktails to that list: Galante, now soft open in South Ken.

Decked out like a '30s-style speakeasy complete with snappy art deco furnishings, Galante's blue-lit glass bar hosts smart drinksmiths doing their best to replicate a typical menu from pre-war Buenos Aires (where apparently "mixer" meant "more booze"), further setting the mood by wearing either a white tuxedo or a black dress, depending on whether they're a man, woman, or Eddie Izzard. Pure South American numbers ("el coctel" to you) include the rum/ brandy/ gin Zonda, the damnable "Last Chamber of Hell" (gin, dry/sweet vermouth, G. Marnier, maraschino & Campari w/ a flaming twist of lemon), and the Scotch/ Cointreau/ sherry Marciano which, yes, does come on the Rockys. A short selection of UK/Argentina cross-breeds counts the Marie Rose (gin, Dubonnet, grapefruit), and the nutmeg & cinnamon-infused, rum-meets-plum juice Torta Galesa, inspired by the country's Welsh immigrants, except this drink has vowels in it.

In keeping with 'tina's protein-rich traditions, there is of course meat, coming in the form of a chicken & foie parfait w/ port, slow-cooked duck leg empanadas, and a trio of sliders variously slapped w/ Malbec mayo, Dansglad cheddar, and Stilton -- all food you can attack with one hand before eventually bloating 'til you're unrecognizable.