A 1913 almacen bar on a Pocitos corner, closed once, mourned loudly, and reopened in 2019 with its original wood and floor intact.
La Giraldita opened in 1913 on the corner of Jose Benito Lamas and Enrique Munoz and spent decades as a working almacen bar, part corner store, part drinking room. Cafe Contado records its reputation for the best cold cuts in Montevideo, ham fine enough that Spain's embassy held gatherings there.
The shutters came down for a stretch, then the corner reopened in 2019 under the affectionate banner Mi Querida Giraldita. The restorers kept the original wood, the original floor, and the furniture that made the room.
Who would hate it? Trend chasers. Nothing here changed in a century, and that is the product.
Evendo describes the interior as a time capsule: wooden tables and chairs, antique shelving, and the patina only a working century produces. Viajeros Conectados notes the atmosphere survived the reopening with its intensity intact. Sit by the window for the corner light, or at the bar for the conversation.
Order a vermouth or a glass of tannat and build the table around the fiambres; the cold cut tradition is the house's century old claim, per Cafe Contado. The kitchen runs classic Uruguayan bar food, milanesas and tortillas included, in portions sized for sharing. Nobody leaves hungry, and nobody orders a spritz.
Pocitos families, old regulars who remember the almacen years, and a newer wave who found the corner after the 2019 revival. Evenings run conversational; weekend lunches are the loud shift.
