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Argentines seem to live for their food. The dining experience is high on their list of daily activities, although most eat their main meal very late, usually at 2200 or later. Traditional and modern parrilla (grill) restaurants serve up a cornucopia of meats to a discerning clientele, while pizza and pasta restaurants are found on every street corner. But there has been a food revolution in recent years and many international influences have crept in, including modern Mediterranean and Asian food. Argentina also has some of the world’s best wines, which shouldn’t be missed. A service charge is not usually automatically added to the bill and a tip is appreciated. Prices are quoted in Pesos.

The restaurants below have been classed into four different pricing categories:
$$$$ (over $150)
$$$ ($95 to $150)
$$ ($60 to $95)
$ (up to $60)
Price indicators below are for a three-course meal, without wine.

Gourmet

El Bistro
It would be worth visiting the new Faena Hotel + Universe just to experience the décor of this Philippe Starck designed restaurant. The bizarre interior is a dream world of pure red and white furnishings interspersed with unicorn heads mounted on the wall. The surreal surroundings don’t detract from the sophisticated international cuisine served up by attentive staff.

Martha Salotti 445
Tel: (011) 4010 9200.
Website: www.faenahotelanduniverse.com
Price: $$$$
La Bourgogne
The traditional, plush interior of the Alvear Palace Hotel flows flawlessly into the exquisite La Bourgogne. This is one of the best restaurants in town, where the city’s elite and VIP visitors from abroad come to dine. Chef Jean Paul Bondoux delights the most demanding gourmands with a refined blend of French and International cuisine, or diners can opt for meats cooked on the rotisserie grill.

Avenida Alvear 1891
Tel: (011) 4805 3857.
Website: www.alvearpalace.com
Price: $$$$
MAAT
This ’Private Gourmet Club’ allows non-members in to dine three times before they have to join the club. Superlative French cuisine with just a hint of Argentine and Italian influence is served up with a suitably refined wine list. The service is equally sublime. Open for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. Make sure to have a cocktail in the library before or after your meal.

Sucre 2168, Belgrano
Tel: (011) 4896 1818.
Website: www.maatcluprivado.com.ar
Price: $$$$

Trendy

Baez
This sophisticated place is popular with the city’s young and fashionable crowd. The minimalist interior is complemented by an eclectic mix of delicious dishes, drawn from Mediterranean, Argentine and Japanese cuisine. Diners can enjoy a snack, such as a sushi dish, sipped down with a refreshing cocktail at the bar or sit down to something more substantial.

Baez 240, Palermo
Tel: (011) 4777 1313.
Website: www.baez.restaurant.com.ar
Price: $$
Bo Bo
This sumptuous diner beneath the hotel of the same name is one of Palermo’s hotspots. Décor is warm and inviting, with dark wood finishes. Cuisine is a smart and well-presented mix of Mediterranean and Eastern influences fused with home-grown favorites. Main courses range from grilled salmon spiced with cinnamon to thrice cooked Patagonian lamb.

Guatemala 4883, Palermo
Tel: (011) 4774 0505.
Website: www.bobohotel.com
Price: $$$
Te Mataré Ramirez
This fun Palermo eatery claims to be an aphrodisiac restaurant. Perhaps a bit risqué, the dishes include such delicious concoctions as ’The Empire of Desires’, which is a dish of noodles with chicken goujons and vegetables in a hot and spicy oriental marinade. Some evenings there are shows, including laid-back jazz performances and romantic cabaret.

Gorriti 5054, Palermo
Tel: (011) 4831 9156.
Website: www.tematareramirez.com
Price: $$$

Other location:
Primera Junta 702, San Isidiro
Tel: (011) 4747 8618.
Thymus
The inventive menu is international in flavor at this popular eatery located in the former home of famous Argentine sculptor Martín Vergara. The creative team has selected a unique set of dishes to wow a smart and fashionable clientele. Duck, cashew and cheese creme brûlée is just one of the unusual combinations on offer.

Lerma 525, Palermo
Tel: (011) 4772 1936.
Website: www.thymusrestaurant.com.ar
Price: $$$

Budget

Galerias Pacifico
Most shopping malls contain food halls where you can pick up cheap and simple rápida meals. At Galerias Pacifico there is a choice of parrilla (grill) cooked steaks, pastas and pizzas, deli salads, sushi and burgers.

Calle Florida and Calle Córdoba
Tel: (011) 5555 5110.
Website: www.galeriaspacifico.com.ar
Price: $
La Vieja Rotisería
This is a fine place to taste quality Argentine meat at a low price. This parrilla cafe is extremely popular and atmospheric, where guests can taste a variety of cooked meats and steaks without breaking the bank.

Defensa 963, San Telmo
Tel: (011) 4362 5660.
Price: $
Social Paraíso
Social Paraíso is a popular lunchtime hangout in Palermo Viejo. With a bargain set menu, it presents one of the best budget options in the city. The small and friendly place has simple décor and a good atmosphere. The food is always delicious and dishes range from wholesome staples to more exotic combinations.

Honduras 5182, Palermo Viejo
Tel: (011) 4831 4556.
Price: $

Personal Recommendations

Artemisia
Even carnivorous Buenos Aires is not without its vegetarian restaurants. In bohemian Palermo Viejo, this wonderful restaurant serves simple homemade natural cuisine. Pasta, rice and soup dishes are brimming with vegetable content, and all can be accompanied by delicious homemade bread.

Cabrera 3877, Palermo Viejo
Tel: (011) 4863 4242.
Website: www.artemisiaresto.com.ar
Price: $$
La Strada
Good honest Italian food is served at this smart modern restaurant in Recoleta. Complete with pavement cafe, it is a good place to watch people come and go on one of the district’s main thoroughfares. The specialty of the house is, of course, pasta, which comes in many regional varieties. They also serve a knock-out tiramisu.

Vicente López 2028, Recoleta
Tel: (011) 4801 1771.
Price: $$
Sudestada
South East Asian food is available at this fashionable corner restaurant in Palermo. Tables are tended by friendly staff, serving predominately Vietnamese dishes with Thai and Malaysian influences. There are plenty of noodle dishes to choose from, cooked with the freshest local ingredients. This is a fun restaurant, which fuels the clientele who invariably move on to the surrounding bars and clubs.

Guatemala 5602, Palermo
Tel: (011) 4776 3777.
Price: $$



Nightlife:

Buenos Aires’ nightlife is one of the most active in the world. Nightlife really means ’night’-life with the young and wealthy porteños, as they usually only embark on their evening’s entertainment after eating around 2200. They’ll while away a few hours in a bar or cafe and won’t even contemplate entering a club until gone 0200 when partying will just be warming up. Drunkenness among the locals is almost unheard of as the porteños only consume moderate amounts of alcohol. Dress is smart, but the extent of the formality depends on the club and the area. The legal drinking age is 18 years.

Palermo continues to be popular with the fashionable crowd, especially the areas of Las Cañitas and Palermo Hollywood, which are packed with trendy bars, clubs and restaurants. The streets surrounding La Recoleta Cemetery are also good places to go out, especially at the weekends when the pavement bars and cafes remain busy until the action moves to the nearby clubs. A number of drinking options, including English and Irish pubs, exist on and around Calle Reconquista and Avenida 25 de Mayo, while San Telmo is a focal point for Bohemian bars and tango shows. Puerto Madero has become increasingly popular for sunset drinks and dining.

Nightlife is at its peak Thursday to Saturday but there’s always something happening throughout the week. Bars and clubs offer a range of music and entertainment options to meet all tastes, from tango shows to techno nightclubs.

Bars: Many bars offer food and live music so sometimes it is difficult to make a distinction between a place offering straightforward drinks and those pertaining to be restaurants or live music venues. La Cigale, Avenida 25 de Mayo 722, is a lively bar in the city center attracting the young with its promise of live music and DJs. Also in the center is Buenos Aires’ longest established wine bar, Gran Bar Danzon, Libertad 1161, which is a fashionable place to sip Argentine wines and cocktails. Voodoo Bar, Calle Baez 340, is a trendy spot with comfortable armchairs and a lively dancefloor. Another popular place, in Hollywood, the trendy part of Palermo is, Único, Calle Honduras 5604, which lures revelers with loud music.

Clubs: Crobar, Paseo de la Infantana Isabel (website: www.crobar.com), and New York City, Calle Alvarez Thomas, both in Palermo, are just two of the established ‘mega-clubs’ where you can dance to mainstream house music amid a smartly dressed, wealthy set. Kika, Honduras 5339, Palermo Hollywood (website: www.kikaclub.com.ar), is a long-standing hotspot in this nocturnal wonderland, while Tequila, Costanera Norte, is one of the most exclusive venues in the city. For the super-club experience and the very best in national and international dance music DJs, head to Pacha, Costanera Norte and La Pampa (website: www.pachabuenosaires.com). Opera Bay, Cecilia Grierson 225, is a lively spot overlooking the docks that gets crowded almost every night of the week.

Live Music: A great many of the city’s bars and clubs offer live music as part of their menu, but good options include the Café Tortoni, Avenida De Mayo 825 (website: www.cafetortoni.com.ar). The most famous cafe in the city, it offers live tango and jazz in La Bodega downstairs. It’s easy to become sucked into the tango obsession that prevails in the capital and there are numerous venues to listen to, watch or participate in tango. El Viejo Almacén, Avenida Independencia and Balcarce, San Telmo (website: www.viejo-almacen.com.ar), offers a tango dinner and show. But for a more reasonably priced and authentic taste of a tango, make your way to Bar Sur, Calle Estados Unidos 299, San Telmo (website: www.bar-sur.com.ar), where audience participation is encouraged. Tourists in search of live blues and rock should head to El Samovar de Rasputin or Del Valle Iberlucca in Caminito, La Boca. Jazz fans could try the Thelonious Bar, Calle Salguero 1884.

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