El Quincho is more than a restaurant — it’s a story, a passion project born from two cultures that blend seamlessly into an extraordinary culinary experience. The location, while based in the heart of Fredericksburg, transports diners into the world that owners Max and Marísa Pettit worked hard to curate, making it one of the more unique restaurant destinations in the Hill Country. It’s where the kitchen is a stage and the chef is in the spotlight. The location opens onto an unkempt field teeming with Texas wildflowers and wildlife alike — an unexpected and welcome surprise in the industrial part of town where the entrance to El Quincho is unassumingly nestled.
The story of El Quincho began with a chance encounter between Chef Maximiliano Pettit and his future wife, Marísa, during a wine club dinner at a local favorites, Vaudeville. It was an evening that unexpectedly turned into the beginning of a partnership — in life and in business. “I was already dressed up for the occasion, but it was a private party,” Max recalls. “I left, but then something drew me back. And that’s when everything started.” That something was, of course, Marísa. “We started engaging, but she was a wall. Like a stainless steel wall, a little bit because of the way she is and a little bit because she was working.” Max recalls the tipsy encounter with a furrowed brow. “I was on skates that night. Working,” Marísa quips back with a wry smile. The couple have an energy, passion and synergy that has been woven into the fabric of what started as Revel Kitchen and Catering and has evolved into El Quincho’s sold out pop-up events and now into their planned three-day-a-week, consistent restaurant concept.
Max’s journey to becoming a chef is rooted in his Argentine upbringing. Cooking started as a necessity, born from the need to feed himself and his brother after their parents divorced. “My brother and I would come to have lunch at home and my mom would leave me something to eat,” Max recalls. “So I would explore in the kitchen, in the fridge, and then my brother was cool enough to try what I had made and be my guinea pig.
“It wasn’t about becoming a chef back then,” Max says. “In Argentina in the 1980s and ’90s, being a chef wasn’t really a thing. But I knew I wanted to travel, to learn about different cultures, and food became my way to do that.”
Marísa, on the other hand, brings a deep Texan heritage to the table. Raised on a working dude ranch that’s been in her family for generations, hospitality is in her blood. Her passion for wine was evident, as she self-educated and grew to love the complexities of wine and the nuances associated with terroir. “I started as a wine rep for 12 years,” she shares. “I took my sommelier test, but it was more about not having to explain myself anymore. I already had the knowledge from years in the business.”
Together, Max and Marísa have created something unique with El Quincho and Revel Catering. Their backgrounds — Max with his Argentine roots and love for open-fire cooking, and Marísa with her deep connection to Texas hospitality and wine — combine to create a culinary experience that is as much about culture as it is about food. “We wanted to create a space that feels like an extension of our home,” says Marísa, who has overseen many facets of the restaurant’s design. “El Quincho is a place where you can relax, unwind, and enjoy the simple pleasures of good food and good company.”
El Quincho, which translates to “Barbecue” or, colloquially, “Outdoor Kitchen,” was named after the Argentine tradition of gathering friends and family for long, leisurely meals around an open fire making the concept far more immersive than a typical restaurant. It’s a place where the community can come together, where the food and drink are curated to provide not just a meal, but an experience. “We want people to feel like they’ve been transported somewhere else,” Max says. “It’s about creating something consistent, where people know they can come and enjoy, whether it’s for a full meal or just a drink under the mesquite trees.”
The cuisine at this Fredericksburg restaurant is deeply rooted in the culinary customs of Chef Max’s home in Argentina and the diverse regional influences he’s gathered throughout his career. For him, cooking with fire is a return to the origins of food itself, where the simplest elements like wood, smoke, and heat transform ordinary ingredients into extraordinary dishes.
“Cooking in open fire, wood burning parrillas, oven or pozo (underground pit) gives unique and distinct flavor to everything that we prepare at El Quincho,” Max explains. “Good examples are cabrito a la cruz, oven roasted salt-crusted red fish, or barbacoa.”
Each of these dishes carries a rich cultural significance, embodying traditions passed down through generations. Cabrito a la cruz, for example, is a classic element of Argentine asados, which are ingrained in the country’s culinary identity. The process is as much a ritual as it is a method of cooking: the cabrito (young goat) is carefully positioned on a metal cross over an open flame and slowly roasted for several hours. The result is a tender, succulent meat with a smoky, charred exterior that transports diners to the heart of an Argentine countryside barbecue. This method showcases the art of cooking meat as it’s meant to be — slowly, deliberately, and with reverence for the process.
The couple is also happy to recognize the role played by architect Rodney Austin, which was highly significant in the shaping of the space and in bringing their vision to life. “He knew what I wanted, even when I didn’t,” Max says. “He suggested that the kitchen be the centerpiece — the stage where everything happens. It was a brilliant idea that brought everything together.”
El Quincho isn’t just about fancy dining — it’s about simple elegance, the warmth of a fire, and the joy of shared meals, of the old world and of hospitality. After the repeat success of their pop-up events, which are by email invitation only and never fail to sell out, the couple decided that it was time to expand upon their success with a new schedule providing consistency. With that, El Quincho is set to become a fixture in the Fredericksburg culinary scene.
“We didn’t plan for this at the beginning,” Marísa says with a smile. “But it just made sense. It was the natural trajectory of both our expertise and our passions.” With each dish, each carefully selected wine, and each gathering around the fire, they invite their guests to be a part of that story — one that continues to evolve, just like its founders and their adventure together.