Favorite Buenos Aires restaurants -
 

Hi everyone - i'm very interested to know what your favorite restaurants in Buenos Aires are. I have been reading back through old posts and was hoping to consolidate some answers. I'm looking for a special occasion restaurant(s) and wanted to rack the brains of fellow Fodorites!

So far - our list (and some questions) includes:
*La Cabrera - worth it or is it really a total tourist trap?
*Piegari Restaurant
*Don Julio
*Oviedo (too far out of the way?)

We have 4 nights that we are looking to fill with some great restaurants. We will also be in Mendoza and are all set with our restaurant choices there. If anyone has other rec's that they wouldn't mind sharing - go for it! We will eat just about anything. Also interested in a place w/ a nice ambiance as we will be on our honeymoon.

Thanks!

First things first.

Congratulations on your honeymoon and on choosing our country to spend such a special time!

Your question is obviously a matter of taste, so this is just my opinion, colored by my taste.

La Cabrera: Tourists LOVE it, so maybe you will, too. I feel it's just OK. More English than Spanish spoken, for sure.

Oviedo is not "too far out of the way" at all and it's great, if you like Spanish food. High end place.

I believe there is a Piegari which specializes in steak and another one which specializes in pasta. Both should be good.

Don Julio: never been, but it gets good reviews.

If you like Italian, my suggestion is: http://www.sottovoceristorante.com.ar/en/sottovoce.php
Try sharing an "almendrado" for dessert.

Have a great honeymoon in our country.

Enjoy your honeymoon. I've eaten at all but Don Julio which I wish we had tried. La Cabrera was okay. I thought Piegari --the Italian one--had excellent Italian food. Oviedo I thought was just good, but not great. Also ate at Sotto Voce and everyone had a great meal but me. Perhaps I ordered wrong. One of my favorites is Sirop -- it's small, quiet and cozy with really good food. Have eaten there on both trips and thoroughly enjoyed it. Amici Mei (think that's the name) in ST has very good Italian. I do tend to avoid pasta in Italian restaurants in BA cause I find they don't serve it al dente which is my preferred way. A small place that we liked was Social Parasio -- don't read too much about it on this board, but we enjoyed it both trips. BA has so many wonderful restaurants it really is hard to choose.

Sotto Vocce is fabulous! The food was delicious and the service perfect (and handsome - although that is not likely a concern for you on a honeymoon!)

I also like Filo for pizza and a more casual vibe.

I had some good meals at El Estabilo which is very crowded, noisy, a little bit divey and terrific. By my secfond visit I felt like a regular. The waiters were very solicitous of my well being (no doubt being a single female diner made me stand out). The service to every table from business meetings to big families seemed the same. It's not quiet and romantic, but it is fun.

For lunch El SanJuanino for empanadas and locro is cheap and delicious.

I really did not have a bad meal anywhere in BA.

Oviedo is not too far. Seafood done perfectly.
I agree with yestravel... Sirop is just so nice ..as well as Amici Miei ..
http://www.amicimiei.com.ar/

I would rather go there than Piegari ..

If you want a casual French Brasserie .. in San Telmo, Brasserie Petanque on Defensa ..
http://www.brasseriepetanque.com/EN_inicio.htm


If you can't make it to Filo for a meal, in the Recoleta Cultural Center , in the museum part, there is a small Filo .. very nice and a beautiful setting..

Lunch at Olla de Felix on Juncal and Rodriquez Peña ... he trained in Paris, worked in Paris then came back to BA and opened this little charming restaurant.

Juana M for steak and fish and the best salads in BA.. Carols Pellegrini 1535
For lunch in Palermo - Cluny
When / if you go to the Evita Museum in Palermo, go to the cafe/restaurant.. wonderful!
We meet people there all the time for lunch .. brie quiche .. soups, steak, you name it .. and see the museum too.. in a wonderful old mansion with wonderful music playing throughout .. not like a typical museum, unique and very pleasant.
http://www.evitaperon.org/Museumpic.htm

It's been almost four years, but we loved Piegari, both of them! One is a steak place and one is Italian. They're right across the street from each other as I recall. We will be back in BA in December and will probably go back to the Italian place, though maybe to both.

I suggest avoiding the Brasserie Pétanque, in San Telmo.

The food is OK, at best. Besides, when I went there with some friends, a few months ago, they paid with dollars and were given an extremely unfair quote.

This is from family of 4's trip report, we ate here too, it was one of the most fabulous meals we had in BA and makes my top 10 list of favorites (which includes Le Bernadin and Inn at Little Washington), I'm a big foodie and was impressed by the food/service/wine pairings here. It was our most expensive meal in BA (I think is was $140 US dollars), but a bargain compared to any meal of a similar caliber in NYC.


La Vineira de Gualterio Bolivar (Bolivar 864, San Telmo) – we went here for my birthday dinner. This restaurant only serves a 9 course tasting menu. We really enjoy tasting menus so I thought this would be a great place to celebrate, plus it was our last night in BA. The dinner was fabulous, all courses were great except for one course that included rabbit – it was a bit dry. They do not serve a wine flight but just bring you a new glass of wine when you are ready and pair it with what you will be eating. My DH ordered espresso after dinner and they even brought him 3 espressos to taste. My favorite dish was an egg dish with toasts (I know doesn’t sound that interesting but it was fabulous!) and the three dessert tastings were incredible and just perfect after a long meal.

Funny, because we have been to Brasserie Petanque a couple of times , since you were there probably, and it has been great every time. We always go with friends and they love it too.
And of course, we pay with pesos... most people do, don't they ?

that is really no reason to say not to go to a good restaurant.. better to advise people to Pay with the Local Money ..

Brasserie Petanque is considered to be in Monseratt, if anyone has trouble finding it in a guide book under San Telmo .. I have no idea where the boundaries are but a friend told me and sure enough, in the Rough Guides, it is listed under Monseratt. ( I think I spelled that right :)

It is Monserrat, not Monseratt.

I tell people this restaurant is located in San Telmo, to make it simpler, because it is only a few blocks away from the Plaza Dorrego and right on Defensa street, where our famous San Telmo fair is held every Sunday.

http://www.feriadesantelmo.com/menu.htm

I believe a restaurant located in an extremely touristy spot should offer its customers the alternative to pay in dollars, giving them a fair price for that currency. The Brasserie Pétanque gave my friend an extremely unfair price.

Therefore, I stand by my opinion.

has anyone been to 647 Dinner Club? Heard lots of mixed stuff about it....

Sorry, as you might have noticed before, I tend to misspell so many words here :(

Yes, that area can be packed with tourists during the Sunday feria but when we go for dinner at night, the area is very quiet. Especially since the streets have been torn up for repairs.. you all must have been there before that. it is a big mess now, we had to get out of the taxi and walk the 2 blocks to the restaurant. * there were only locals there when we were there, on a week night*

But if someone is using pesos, or a credit card, then they won't have a problem with any USD exchange rates and the food is really good.
But it is good to know that it is a bad idea to try to pay with US dollars.

Sotto Voce, on Libertador. Excellent.

La Cabrerera

El Miarasol, in La Recova

El Sanjuanino, for the best empanadas, in Recoleta.

Have fun.

The best restaurants in BA are those closest to Argentina's heritige and culture--grilled meat, Italian and Spanish cuisine. These restaurants are at their best when they rely more on fresh vegetables, fruit and pasta and the flavor of pampa fed beef itself rather than sauces and spices. Most of the restaurants that specialize in foods of the world (French, Thai, Indian, Sushi) or "fusion" cuisine are, with a few notable exceptions, not as good as comparable restaurants in other countries with a longer history of preparing more complex dishes.

Tengo Hambre's list includes some great examples of Argentine restaurants at their best....Other restaurants of this genre that others have mentioned in this thread--Oviedo and especially Social Paraiso.

kristind05 I have been to 647. It is beautiful. Go for the ambiance not the food.

I agree with the dean of Argentina posters, the world-famous drdawggy when he says: "The best restaurants in BA are those closest to Argentina's heritige (SIC) and culture--grilled meat, Italian and Spanish cuisine."

In other words, particularly for people who travel frequently to Europe and Asia, it doesn't make much sense to go to French, Thai, Indian, Sushi or "fusion" restaurants in BA.

Have a great time in our country.

As I said in my post Social Paraiso is excellent, but very tiny and reservations are a must. When we were there mid week people were being turned away continually thru the evening.

El Establo in the micro-centro part of town. Don't be put off by the sign Pepsi has plastered above their sign. Great basement dining room like a hunting lodge. A friend and I ordered a two inch thick steak to share and the waiter cut it in half with a SPOON. Tasted better than kobe beef. Three dinners, wine, a shared dessert and limoncello and the bill came to about $15 each.

I was in BA in early June.
I agree with Tengohambre, the best
empanadas are found at El Sanjuanino
in the Recoleta.