116 Best Restaurants in Argentina

Empanadas, llama dishes, and other hearty regional specialties served in earthernware bowls lead the menu at this friendly spot. Standout dishes include regional stews such as lamb and quinoa; the house wine is worth ordering. Most evenings, local musicians such as the Pasakana band take to the stage, giving the restaurant much more of a lively peña animada feel.

This intimate eatery serves up comforting Argentine cuisine each evening for just 10 tables in a romantic, candlelit garden. The menu changes regularly, but some favorites include homemade gnocchi and mollejas (sweetbreads).

About 100 yards west of the Estación Fluvial, this cozy eatery is seemingly miles away from the automobile and boat traffic. In a quiet quarter among a scattering of shops and cafés with bohemian flair, it's a great place to get away from the weekend crowds and enjoy a freshly made salad or sandwich. Aside from the tasty food and friendly staff, you'll be surrounded by freshly cut flowers, as the place doubles as a florist.

Folks from Salta and San Lorenzo favor this bright, semi-enclosed brick-and-glass building with a vaulted ceiling for weekend dining. Lo de Andrés prepares a lightly spiced Argentine-style parrillada, but if you're not up for a full-on feast, there are empanadas and milanesas (breaded steak), as well as regional dishes like humita.

This restaurant in the center of town is one of the many typical and popular tenedor libre (all-you-can-eat) parrillas on the main strip—nobody orders à la carte. Skip the Italian buffet and Chinese offerings and fill up instead on the grilled meats and morcilla (blood sausage). Sit by the interior window toward the back where you see the parrillero artfully coordinate the flames and spits, and ask him to load your plate with the choicest cuts.

The young owners of this resto bar provide friendly service, a creative take on Argentine and international cuisine, and excellent microbrews.

The coolest bar in Pirámides is also the town's best seafood restaurant where—amid nets, nautical gear, and glam-rock posters—the requisite fish and steak dishes are offered alongside pizzas and homemade pastas.

A romantic bistro located down a secluded Recoleta alley, the sister restaurant to Aramburu deals in classy comfort food. Expect dishes such as rabbit terrine, Patagonian lamb, wood-grilled octopus, and a steak tartare that comes with mustard ice cream. The outdoor patio is lovely when the weather cooperates. In 2023 it was awarded a Bib Gourmand for great value by the Michelin guide. 

Stop by for a tasting of easy-drinking whites and reds at Bodega Colomé’s sister winery just outside Cafayate, and stay for lunch with beautiful valley views from the foot of Cerro San Isidro. The spacious restaurant and wine bar opened in 2023, a refreshing and contemporary addition to the winery scene, and the solid menu provides several short, paired tasting menus that might include lamb casserole. It’s one of the few wineries to also open for dinner (on weekends). Wine tastings from 10,000 pesos. 

After a bumpy three-hour drive to Cachi, the rounded wining and dining experience at this rural bodega run by fourth-generation vintners at the foot of snow-capped Cerro Cachi is most welcome. Sample the seven wine labels made at extreme elevation, including Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon, in a tasting under the pink pepper tree or over a barbecue lunch prepared by a champion asador at the old farmhouse a few blocks from Cachi’s main square.

A mustard-yellow pioneer house that lights up the main street, this traditional eatery is driven by its ebullient owner Sergio Otero, a constant presence bustling around the bench seating, making suggestions, and revving up his staff. Sample the picada plate (king crab rolls, Roma-style calamari, marinated rabbit) over an artisanal Beagle Beer—the dark version is the perfect balm on a cold windy day. Lamb dominates the mains, and the emphasis is on hearty rather than fashionable. Tables filled with locals and visitors make for a boisterous atmosphere. 

When famed "anti-chef" Leandro Cristóbal decided to return to his roots, he dropped his trademark modern cuisine in favor of huge platters of rustic traditional dishes with little creative twists reflecting his own bad-boy personality. That carries over into the decor and setup—the room has a sort of farmhouse-chic feel with the addition of graffiti and tattoo-covered cooks working the open kitchen. Roast partridge with hazelnut stuffing, sweetbread-and-ricotta cannelloni, and tender wine-braised rabbit are among the stars here. A second location is open nearby at Chile 474 focusing more on pastas.

Its façade leads into a tiny vermouth bar but the back is a huge dining room, where tattooed celebrity chef Lele Cristobal prepares tasty dishes with Spanish and Italian inspiration and Argentine heart, such as lamb meatballs with chickpea mash and ossobuco stew. Start an evening with a glass of the house aperitivo—vermouth comes on tap—with soda at the bar with just eight stools, then move onto the main salon for a buzzy evening.

In the middle of the chaos of Palermo, Casa Coupage is an oasis of tranquility. Located in a converted home, the beige-on-beige dining area takes up most of the main floor. Decor is simple, mostly wine related, plus the odd choice of postage stamps glued in a swath around the rooms at eye level. Your best bet is the frequently changing tasting menu that lets you sample the full range of chef Pablo Bolzan's creative take on traditional Argentine cooking. A limited selection of à la carte dishes is always available. Sommelier Santiago Mymicopulo knows his stuff, and his great wine-pairing options are usually a much better value than ordering from the somewhat overpriced wine list.

At this adorable spot in Seclantás, Pío Díaz and his family cultivate heritage ingredients in their organic garden then harvest them to create delicious regional dishes. Many recipes, such as charquisillo made from jerky, have been passed down through the generations and are served in this gorgeous 18th-century farmhouse. Try the Díaz’ mistela wine as well as ulpada, a fermented corn beverage.

Exquisitely prepared Argentine plates, from pizzas and pastas to milanesas to vegetarian wraps (and don't miss their desserts!), are served here. It has a cozy, laid-back atmosphere with live blues music for dinner some evenings and an occasional poetry reading.

This restaurant and wine bar boasts a hipper-than-thou interior and modern menu serving such delights as Patagonian lamb with calafate sauce (calafate is a local wild berry). The Casimiro Biguá Parrilla, down the street from the main restaurant, has a similar trendy feel, but you can recognize the parrilla by the cordero al asador (spit-roasted lamb) displayed in the window. A third branch, also on Libertador, offers Italian dishes in a less formal setting. 

This lively beer hall claims it was the first brewpub in Argentina; true or not, its relaxed bustle hits the spot after a day on the slopes. Come in for an après-ski beer sampler, but stay for the pizzas, steak potpies, and other Anglophile dinner options. Don't miss the excellent bock beer, with a toasty coffee flavor, or if you prefer hard cider, the Fruto Prohibido.

An eclectic menu with a mix of seafood, international and Argentine classics, including all manner of beef options, this is a fine stop for a meal. They also have vegetarian and gluten free dishes. The service is excellent, but the prices are steep. 

Known for its no-frills decor, this Palermo Soho stalwart is where generations of locals have been coming to dine. It's located inside a soccer club of the same name and draws its clientele from club members, neighborhood residents, and pretty much anyone who wants honest cooking that doesn't put a dent in their budget. While the menu features three different pastas and a dozen items off the parrilla (grill), your waiter will tell you what's actually available for the day.

For decades the Jones family, owners of this stately redbrick corner building, ran a hotel and bar (complete with a boxing ring in the basement) here, but switched to serving steaks, pizzas, and pasta in between the tea cakes. The decision has been a success: on weekends locals pack themselves around the wooden tables to devour the generous parilladas (mixed grills).

The hearty stews, steaks, and empanadas at chaotic Cumaná are a far cry from Recoleta's European pretensions. Skip dessert, though (nearby ice-cream parlors are better).

At this single large restaurant with a large patio that's perfect for outdoor dining and with lively folk music, the primary menu includes well-prepared pastas, local fish, and meats. There are separate menu pages for pizza, East Asian, and burgers, all of which they take seriously. The fresh pasta is especially good, maybe because the couple who own the restaurant are from Italy. The children's menu covers a lot of bases, but it's a little pricey.

With a prime location right in front of the Boca Juniors stadium, this bodegón is an institution not only for soccer fans but for the likes of movie director Francis Ford Coppola and chef Francis Mallmann. Owner Carlitos Zinola basically chooses your Italo-Argentine menu for you, which could be steak, pasta, tortilla, pascualina tart, or a combination of them all. The neighborhood is dodgy, particularly at night—take a taxi to and from this restaurant.

This warm, festive, family-friendly locale serves dishes quite typical of Salta and the Northwest such as classics like humita (steamed corn husks filled with cheese) or the local locro stew, with beans and hunks of beef. You'll dine in a room steeped in local tradition, amid wine jugs and old wooden implements. Empanadas and meats are also reliable; the pastas are unremarkable, though. The location, across from Iglesia San Francisco, is very central. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

On a prominent corner of the downtown business district, Down Town Matías is the flagship of a group of Irish-themed pubs. Drop in at lunchtime for a simple steak with mushroom sauce, a well-prepared piece of fish, or a simple sandwich. Pints of ale on tap and plenty of noise, particularly at dinnertime, are the order of the day. Weekday evenings there's an early happy hour followed by live music, generally local rock groups, which can make dinner conversation a challenge. At the other locations outside of downtown, the ambience is a bit more laid-back, and prices are a touch lower.

An oasis of elegance and grace in the heart of Recoleta, flame-grilled cooking drives the menu, with standout dishes including butter-soft Angus tenderloin, crispy sweetbreads, and a decadent molten chocolate cake. If the weather is nice, ask for a table on the terrace overlooking the courtyard gardens. Don't miss a pre- or post-dinner visit to the wine-and-cheese bar with a fantastic array of each, and be sure to take an after-meal stroll through the hotel's underground art gallery.

When a top Buenos Aires restaurant moved to the northwest, salteños couldn’t believe their luck. Taking their concept of cooking exclusively with Argentine ingredients, chef Fernando Rivarola and sommelier Gabriela Lafuente now focus on giving  contemporary identity to the northwest’s abundant pantry, while illuminating alternative proteins; you can only order the tasting menu. There’s also a fantastic vista thanks to its location at the top of Cerro San Bernardo; taking the cable car up adds to the magic.

An homage to the rugged terrain of the Argentine wilds, every surface in this downtown eatery seems to be rough wood or tanned leather. Chef Paula Comparatore turns out modern twists on classic regional dishes, often making use of rarely seen ingredients. Her tehuelches, a type of Patagonian empanada named after a near-extinct southern tribe, are among the best in the city, and her classic slow braises of lamb, goat, and beef are simply divine. For those with something lighter in mind, there are indigenous fish preparations and even a vegetarian dish or two.