34 Best Bars in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The team behind award-winning cocktail bar Tres Monos also opened La Uat, a small and hidden dance floor whose street face is Cacho Rotisería canteen. Push through the curtain to unveil DJs playing a range of music from 80s to hip hop, regaetón, and pop latino, while a hipster crowd pulls moves with fluorescent cocktails in hand. For more space, head upstairs to the terrace bar. La Uat’s late hours attracts the young gastronomic crowd, keen to wind down; plus it's right in the thick of Palermo Soho. 

Cobweb-covered bottles line the walls of this tiny venue, with maybe the most authentic tango music in town. It's known by all as "El Boliche de Roberto" after its owner, who presides from behind the heavy wooden bar. When the singing gets going at 2 or 3 am, it's usually so packed there's no room to breathe, but the guitar-and-voice duos manage gritty, emotional versions of tango classics all the same.

This immense gay disco has two floors of high-energy action and shows. Friday and Saturday are fun and frivolous verging on hectic; there's often a one-fee, all-you-can-drink entry. Amerika remains the city's gay club to check out—and be checked out in.

Technically in the otherwise business-oriented barrio of Once (pronounced On-say), adjacent to Almagro, Angels sits just behind the magnificent Palacio de Aguas Corrientes building in easy reach of Recoleta and Centro. It has several dance floors that play electronica, pop, and Latin music. Expect strippers, transvesties, and plenty of gay fun.

Once a bohemian haunt, this bar went international after serving as a major location for Wong Kar-Wai's cult indie film Happy Together. The move to the mainstream has led to glitzier dancing, as well as increasingly bad food and indifferent service. Still, the worn checkered floor and Old World bar make a charming backdrop.

Rousing live orchestras keep even nondancers entertained at the nontraditional milongas that are this club's hallmark. La Orquesta Típica el Afronte provides the music for Maldita Milonga ( www.instagram.com/malditamilonga), while Tango Queer (  www.instagram.com/tangoqueerba) draws both gay and straight dancers looking to escape the confines of more conservative dance floors. There's also a different turn with Latin American music; on weekends doors open at midnight.

Classic trios and quartets share the stage with young musicians performing hip tango and folk sets here. There are also milongas on weekends.

A serious party crowd is found at Club Aráoz. Bump and grind it at Thursday's block-rocking hip-hop night; Friday and Saturday see DJs spinning rock and electronic dance music for a relatively laid-back bunch of Buenos Aires youth.

The creative force behind this laidback venue is the eponymous Orquesta Típica Fernández Fierro—a scruffy young tango collective known for its rock-like take on the 2/4 beat. You can usually catch the orquesta at least one night a week; edgy musicians and the occasional classic quartet perform other nights.

This party palace moved to a new space in 2024 and the beautiful, tightly clothed youth continue packing out the dance floors. This is a great spot to catch local techno and EDM DJs, though there are also big nights with international artists.

Also fondly known by its previous name, Palacio Alsina, this enormous downtown club meets all the prerequisites for an excellent night out—especially when world-famous DJs make a guest appearance. Pop tunes attract a mixed-age gay and lesbian crowd on Friday and Sunday; Saturday delivers hard electronica for the dance mad.

This happening spot enjoys cult status in both the straight and gay communities. Upstairs is a diverse art gallery big on young locals; downstairs, underground house and techno drives one of the city's darkest dance floors, while DJs with huge followings are frequently on rotation.

Soaring columns, tarnished mirrors, and ancient chandeliers are part of Confitería Ideal's crumbling Old World glamour, along with a rather pungent musty smell. The former homewares store that reinvented itself as a tearoom now hosts milongas organized by different groups in its first-floor dance hall every day of the week. Some are held during the afternoon and evening, others late at night.

With frequent visits from "superstar DJs" and a dependable line-up of local party starters, this is the Buenos Aires base of the international Crobar club brand. There's lots of space plus the obligatory VIP lounges, and proximity to the transvestite zone means that leaving the club in the morning can get as interesting as the time spent inside.

The standard of dancing is usually high at this club, which belongs to La Academia del Tango Milonguero, one of the city's best tango schools. Beginners should consult the online schedule for classes; there are usually several a day plus a milonga.

The polished shows at this classic café trace the history of the tango. The dancing and costumes are great, although the stagy interludes might make you wince.

This place was founded by legendary tango singer Edmundo Rivero, though he wouldn't recognize the slick outfit his bar has become. Inside the colonial building a tireless troupe of dancers and musicians perform showy tango and folk numbers while you dine. 

When the most beautiful of people feel like dancing with a bottle of Champagne at 4 am, they come here. Things get even more glamorous a few hours later, when the dawn breaks through the river and the yacht club is revealed. International DJs drop by to entertain the super-swanky set.

Right in the heart of Palermo and next door to Congo Club Cultural, Kika is much bigger than you'd guess from the outside. Thanks to its funky musical orientation, its two dance floors fill up quickly. The back room sometimes hosts live bands but it's mostly about looking hot and dancing to electronica and reguetón with a student-heavy crowd until dawn.

This former grain factory has been converted into a hip club where the tango is somehow very rock. There are classes and milongas every evening, although Tuesdays are the most popular. It's a cool night out even if you're not planning to dance, as you can watch aficionados in action over a beer or a bottle of wine. Note that serious dancers tend not to come here because of the uneven floorboards.

In the heart of the low-key Boedo neighborhood, 30 blocks west of San Telmo, La Esquina was once a traditional café favored by the barrio's old men: in fact, the famous 1948 tango Sur begins by mentioning its location on the corner of San Juan and Boedo. After getting the Disney-tango treatment, it's now a kind of 1940s concept bar—though its checkered floor and original bar remain. Performances are showy but reasonably priced.

For tango alfresco, drop by the bandstand of this Belgrano park on Saturday and Sunday evenings year-round. Classes run from 4:30 to 6:30, then the milonga proper starts at 7. Expect lots of old-timers dancing low-key steps. The event is canceled only during heavy rain; call ahead if you're unsure.

A refreshing exception to the sometimes suffocatingly macho world of tango, this is the gay milonga. The main night is Friday, when a cool set of guys and girls, both gay and straight, look to break with the "he leads, she follows" doctrine.

Milongas Wednesday through Sunday make this the place for a very long weekend. Classes at different levels precede them. The vibe on the floor is friendly and rather chaotic, and dancing standards are low, so it's a good place for beginners to get in some practice. DJs mix tango with rock, salsa, and cumbia.

Attracting electronic music lovers keen on catching big names from out of town, Liv has slowly captured the market that the larger Crobar can’t muster. A more relaxed club than some of its Palermo counterparts, Liv also caters to those who want the full VIP booth-and-Champagne treatment.

Local businesspeople looking to impress international clients invariably choose this showy concept restaurant. A night here may break the bank, but you get varied, highly professional performances sometimes starring Argentine celebrities. Prices vary depending on how close you are to the stage.

The unashamedly theatrical show at this tango-concept hotel dances you through the history of tango. It's a fascinating look at how the dance evolved, and the hotel's art nouveau architecture is pretty fantastic, too.

Clocking up plenty of years on the electro scene, this multilevel, riverside behemoth pulls in big names and bigger crowds. Total sensory overload is the name of the game. In summer, watch the sun ease its way up over the river from one of the best vantage points in the city.

Located slap bang in the middle of Palermo Soho, this place promises a good mix of locals and students. The dark ground-floor bar plays rock and serves stiff drinks (happy hour runs from 9 pm to 1 am). Upstairs in the disco, dance-friendly music is pumped into the psychedelic setting: wear white to be especially eye-catching under the neon lights.