11 Best Restaurants in Argentina

This central restaurant serves up every meal of the day and while the chocolate fondue has some fame in the town, it's really the fusion cuisine in the evening that keeps punters returning. There's a relaxed but professional bistro vibe to Sugar and the chef has an eye for smart presentation.

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.

Take a seat amid the Tiffany lamps and marble-topped tables, and contemplate the fact that you may be sitting in a chair once occupied by a former president, a renowned tango singer, or a world-famous artist or writer while they nibbled an exquisite pastry. The place and setting are from another age, thankfully well preserved, but you may have to wait for a table at the oldest—and highly popular—café in Buenos Aires. Reservations are a must for the dinner-hour tango show.

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.

With a new name and a new chef, the Four Seasons Hotel's spectacularly renovated dining room serves creative fare that blends the traditions of Argentina with touches of the sunny Mediterranean. Don't miss the spectacular sweetbread and poached egg appetizer, and for a true taste of what the chef can do off the grill, order the parrillada (a sampler of various cuts of meat) or the mariscada, (a medley of grilled seafood), both in portions big enough for up to four people to share. If you're in a more casual mood, the Pony Line bar offers fantastic cocktails, great pizzas, and one of the best burgers in town. Weekend afternoons you help yourself to a brunch spread that's unrivaled in the city. A children's menu is available.

A blast from the past, this historical café is one of the best spots in Recoleta for people-watching and celebrity-spotting. For the most part, it's a place to linger over coffee and a pastry, or perhaps a savory sandwich at midday, but there's also a full menu of local specialties, and it's open until 1 am. When the weather cooperates, locals and tourists mix and mingle at the outdoor tables—this despite the fact that there's a higher charge for the privilege. That leaves the dining room dominated by a local crowd.

This impeccably maintained riverside cottage is nestled in a verdant stand of lenga trees and overlooks the Beagle Channel and provides a warm, cozy spot for delicious loose-leaf tea or comforting snacks before or after a hike to the Martial Glacier (conveniently located at the end of the Martial road that leads up from Ushuaia). An afternoon tea with all the trimmings will satiate any peckish trekker, fondues are served at lunchtime, and at 8 pm in summer the menu shifts to pricier dinner fare with dishes like salmon in wine sauce (mainly for the guests at the adjoining cabin accommodation).

An expansive terrace overlooking the river is the appropriate backdrop for Tigre's best fish dishes. The kitchen favors elaborate preparations: some are so packed with unlikely ingredients that the fish gets lost; others, such as the sole in lemon-infused cream, are spot-on. Land-based offerings like pork belly braised in beer are equally well executed. Both the terrace and the sunny, peach-colored inside room fill up on weekends, when harried waitstaff often take a long time to bring your order or the check.

Great spot to dine on the waterfront. They have an extensive menu but are most loved for the seafood and pasta dishes; the seafood pizza is a particular favorite. 

Legend has it that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid once stayed here—search long enough and you might find them among the old photos cluttering the walls. This cavernous old confitería (café) was founded in 1895, and became Chubut's first hotel in 1926. The hotel's rooms are too shabby to recommend, but a toasted sandwich and a coffee or beer here is tantamount to a trip back in time.