Pair serve up taste of Argentina

A FORMER doctors’ surgery has been transformed into a little patch of South America – thanks to the opening of the borough’s first Argentinian restaurant.

Jill Lafleur, 24, and her partner, 32-year-old Joey Abid, have worked hard to bring Latin fever to Urmston.

Joey – whose father is Argentinian – and Jill have now opened the eaterie, on Victoria Parade. Jill says its varied menu offering steaks cooked the Argentine way and tapas dishes influenced by South American, North African and Middle Eastern tastes, is proving popular.

She said: "Joey loves cooking, it’s his passion. We did want to do something different because and we really liked the idea of doing tapas as well as steaks.

"People seem to love it and some have come back four to five times in the short time we have been open. A lot have told us that they’re so glad that it’s something different rather than an Italian or Indian restaurant. We really have confidence in this business."

Holland-born Jill says the restaurant is a real labour of love for her and Joey – who embarked on a 2,000-mile round trip to buy exotic furniture for inside Grillados.

She said: "Setting the business up has been a challenge.

"Joey even went to Morocco in an old van to pick up a sofa and doors to make the restaurant look authentic.

"It meant he had to drive to the south of England to catch a boat and drive through Spain to reach northern Africa.

"We also had to buy the building with our money because we couldn’t get a mortgage.

"It’s going really well and both Joey and I have been amazed at how busy the restaurant is so far."

Joey and former waitress Jill moved from France to the UK two years ago and have since been working on their plan to open their own restaurant.