38 Best Restaurants in Palermo, Buenos Aires

This venerable steak house has waiters in bow ties and vests who maneuver around the farmhouse-style dining room, serving flavorful, tender cuts of meat including entraña (hanger steak) and matambrito (pork flank). Although the menu appears pricey, portions are massive, and they know it: the steaks are set atop small hibachis to keep them hot. Your best bet is to order one steak for two to share and a platter of the papas rejillas, and thick waffle-cut chips.

Sure, this family-style restaurant can be chaotic, but it's the place to go for great Middle Eastern food. You could easily fill up on several of the small dishes from the expansive selection of mezes, which are the restaurant's best work. The lamb kafta completo is the most memorable item on the menu, but there are also great options for vegetarians. Be sure to leave room for one of the honey and nut pastries. Most nights there are belly dancers and coffee-ground readers wandering through the dining room. Arrive early or expect to wait for a table. The place is technically in Villa Crespo, but it's only about a block from Palermo Soho, across Avenida Córdoba.

After spending a year studying traditional techniques in Naples, pizzero Néstor Gattorna imported a wood-burning oven, specially milled flour, and extra-virgin olive oil to reproduce the best Neapolitan-style pizza. Italophiles looking for an alternative to cheesy pizza porteña jam into the place for his smoky, perfectly charred pies and equally good calzones. End your meal with a "white pie" filled with Nutella. Service can be abrupt, and you may have to wait in line, but it's worth it.

This Mediterranean-style bistro is wildly popular at night, and reservations are recommended if you're intent on sampling the creative fare. At lunch, when most of the same menu items are available, it's far easier to snag a table. Enjoy a risotto or pasta dish from the à la carte menu, or opt for the great value two-course lunch special. You can practically sit inside the open kitchen and watch the young cooks work their magic on a range of dishes, including many vegetarian choices. If you prefer dining alfresco, there's a small garden patio with a couple of tables and sidewalk seating out front.

When you step behind the red velvet curtains you'll feel like you've wandered into a carnival, because that's kind of where you are. Part restaurant, part cabaret, part sideshow, this exotic place is designed to distract your attention and separate you and your cash—although it's all in good taste and good fun. Bizarre names for dishes meant to invoke sexual situations are just a smokescreen for creative and interesting-sounding ideas—they don't always live up to the billing. The cabaret shows, a mix of sleight of hand, a teasing level of stripping, and sometimes even puppetry, are fun, but expect a modest charge on your bill.

On the southern edge of Palermo, this place serves pints of ale—not too cold, as is British custom—and what are easily the tastiest Indian-style curries in the city. The best part is that there's no stinting on the picante, as is more typical at Indian restaurants in this spice-averse city. These dishes will make you sweat, so you'll definitely need that beer. This place is a hangout for British and American expats, but there are always a few intrepid locals. If you choose to sit upstairs rather than take a seat in the pub, order your food before climbing the steps. The waiters will go up to deliver your plates but not to take your order.

Casual style, fantastic service and atmosphere, and a prime location in Palermo Chico make this one of the city's top Italian restaurants. For the more adventurous, don't miss the "surf and turf" of gamberi e animelle (perfectly grilled prawns and sweetbreads), or guanciale (braised pork cheeks). The multilayered house lasagna is also fantastic. There's a great wine list too.

One look at the frozen margarita machines and bags of supermarket corn chips and you'll know what you're in for at this colorful dining room. But strangely enough, this is where you'll find some of the city's better Mexican food—it's reasonably authentic and comes truly spicy if you request. Don't expect to be wowed, but an ice-cold beer with a plate or two of quesadillas or the delicious tacos al pastor (stuffed with sliced pork) may just hit the spot.