There’s something inherently suspicious about people who only ever order steak.

At one extreme it brings to mind baying packs of City boys who only relax when chowing Kobe beef, from cows they think have been massaged with rice wine and played classical music. They are identifiable from the blood round their mouths, the white around their nostrils and a wild glint in their eyes.

Or they’re blokey blokes who like a nice bit of medium-well rump with some bread-crumbed onion rings and pepper sauce, scarcely ordering anything else. They tried the fajita at Wetherspoon’s once and have not stopped talking about it since.

Still you can’t blame steak for the hue of its admirers and there are plenty of fine steakhouses plying on honest trade.

Perhaps the whole macho concept of the steakhouse is just a bit tedious and flashy, places where cuts sold by the 100g and sauces and sides are always add-ons. Yes, good meat is expensive. The Gourmand just thinks a single slab is a bit of a gaudy reason to part with upwards of £50.

There are exceptions of course, and one way of overcoming the irritating American stylings or dreaded Angus Steak House, is to go Argentine.

Our Southern American foes have a somehow more genuine approach to beef. The country’s rainfall and climate make for better pastures for grazing and less suitable for intensive agriculture. This all adds up to better tasting meat – albeit a less sustainable process. And with the second-highest consumption in the world, you also get the impression they care about beef.

LatinoAmerica is Hove’s only apparent example, an unassuming restaurant which blends into its sometimes generic neighbours in Church Road.

There’s plenty to warm to beyond the bland interior, the enthusiasm of the waiter single-handedly bringing to life the quiet Tuesday evening.

There’s also Argentina’s other great export, marvellous Malbec, to warm the spirits. Available by the glass is the light, tart ventus Malbec from the cool climes of Patagonia, and the near syrupy delicious tapiz Malbec.

For entradas, the empanadas are a good place to start. Homemade savoury pasties, one is filled with humita, creamed corn native to the Americas before even the Spanish arrived, a savoury, cheesy filling that oozes from the crisp fried pastry, while a chicken option is laced with stirring chilli.

Also highly recommended is the morcilla, Argentine black pudding, which tastes nothing like our variety, but more like a very porky terrine, laced with unctuous globs of fat and served with a sweet salsa criolla.

From the grill there is a straightforward offering of rump, sirloin, fillet and rib-eye, as well as marinated chicken, salmon and the ‘meat experience’ - an overwhelming array of most the above.

The Gourmand had the rib-eye, ojo de bife, which was pretty fine – grassy tasting and a deep shade of rouge. Chimichurri seemed the best accompaniment, a salsa-type mince of herbs, olive oil and vinegar. The 225g steak did look a little lonely at £17 but the Argentine imported meat tasted better than most.

A big disappointment though were the hand-cut fries, which came with apologies five minutes after the steak, undercooked and unseasoned. It’s a depressingly common failure to plonk out sub-standard sides as an after-thought. Given the steak was ordered rare and the restaurant was virtually empty there was no excuse and no rush. Just let the steak rest!

Equally unforgivable was the poor potato quality, something Argentina’s most famous chef Francis Mallmann, who made his name with a ten-course tasting of the humble Patagonian spud, would surely be ashamed of.

That said, the chips were a single disappointing glitch from an otherwise decent feed.

Elsewhere there was humble simplicity in a polenta dish which would not be out of place in rural Lombardy. Served with a tomato sauce and mozzarella it was a pot of comfort albeit monotonous in texture.

More pleasure came in a desert the Argentines call their own – alongside half the world - rice pudding. Served sweeter than western palettes might prefer these days, it’s all the better for for tooth torturing qualities. Very creamy, and with generous amounts of cinnamon, it’s a moreish delight.

Church Road can seem a little undistinctive and outdated at times, but LatinoAmerica's vibrant food and wine are a worthy reason to visit.