29 Best Restaurants in Argentina

This bright yellow corner storefront has given the humble sausage sandwich called choripán a radical and much-needed makeover, turning it from basic street food to a sleek fast-food meal. All the chorizos that are the base of the sandwich—from lamb to mushroom and even fish—are produced in-house, and there are side dishes such as sweet potato fries as well as beer, wine, and a few cocktails.   If you're after a sit-down dining experience from the same culinary team, try sister restaurant Niño Gordo, a fun, award-winning Asian parrilla. 

While almost every restaurant proudly serves up tiny, handmade, clay oven-baked empanadas, this casual spot is one of the undisputed champions in the city. A popular place located in a 100-yeard old casona, as noted by the lines to get in and online discussions where it regularly features in the top three, the menu is to the point: beef or cheese empanadas. Perfect repulgues (folds), pastry charred just so and tasty fillings make La Salteñeria a go-to. Just remember to bite open the most pointy end and drop llajua sauce in.

Caffeine fans can get their espresso fix at Bonafide. The Bonafide brand was the first to bring a coffee roasting machine to Argentina in 1917, and it now has locations citywide. On the corner of Sarmiento and 9 de Julio near the central plaza, enjoy a steaming cup of joe with medialunas (sweet croissants) and alfajores (cookies with dulce de leche, sweet caramelized milk jam).

The city's first microbrewery is in a prime position opposite Recoleta Cemetery, and it's a prince among frogs in a saturated craft beer market. There are seven different styles of beer (the Porter is highly recommended), and you can have a sampler of the whole range. Great sandwiches and one of the better burgers in the neighborhood are more reasons to drop in. Head up to the terrace on weekends. There are also pubs in Villa Crespo and Belgrano. 

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.

Peruvian dishes at bargain prices have made a name for Chan Chan. The deep-fried corn kernels they bring while you wait are almost a meal in themselves.

This specialty coffee shop, which roasts its own beans, is located on a buzzy Hollywood corner. It is the ideal spot for a flat white or iced coffee, and a little people watching.  Also try the larger storefront, home to the roasting machine, located in Chacarita. 

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).

It's a hard name to live up to, but there's no doubt this casual café pulls it off, with super fresh sandwiches, salads, and smoothies, which you can eat in or pack into your picnic basket. A shot of espresso and a slice of cheesecake provide the perfect dose of caffeine and sugar to get you back in the sightseeing saddle.

Don't expect any frills here, just great steaks, and side dishes such as the papas fritas provenzal, golden french fries tossed in fresh parsley and garlic. Take a table in the cavernous dining room, or grab something to go—steak sandwiches and empanadas fly out the door as fast as they can make them. The portions are huge and the prices are reasonable.

At this classic parrilla (steak house) the trimmings don't go beyond a mixed salad and fries, and surly waiters are part of the experience.

The cheesecake. Wait, the caramelized pear tart. No, the immense chocolate cake. Whichever you choose at this tiny café on a lane a couple blocks north of Recoleta Cemetery, expect near-perfection. Salads, savory pies, and sandwiches round out the offerings.

For wine-tasting with a difference, stop at Heladería Miranda in Cafayate. In 1994, at the age of 60, Ricardo Miranda decided that he wasn't going to succeed as a painter. So he turned his creative energy to making wine sorbets, taking two years to perfect the recipe. Sweet yet tangy Torrontés arguably makes sense as a sorbet; the Cabernet makes a good match for his fruit-flavored ice creams. All are made organically on the premises. 

Mendoza has no shortage of heladerías (ice cream shops) ranging from artisan producers to national chains. It's a favorite pastime of locals to sit down to a few scoops, at any time of the day or night. Try local flavors, including wine ice creams, at Soppelsa (on Belgrano and Civit), Perin (at Sarmiento 799), Michel (at Belgrano 860), and Bianco & Nero (on Aristides and Belgrano).

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).

"Oma" is German for "granny," and visiting this wood-paneled teahouse, with its jam-stocked shelves and bright, blooming gardens, will make anyone nostalgic for holiday visits to la abuelita. The menu boasts an impressive array of teas and tisanes, plus sweets that run from strudel to scones. Moist chocolate brownie cake with dulce de leche is a standout.

Don't let the small tables or surly waiters put you off—the signature chocolate con churros (hot chocolate with crisp cigar-shape doughnuts) at this bar notable are to die for.

Local office workers know where to find the best lunchtime empanadas. Vintage adverts, 1960s LPs, and photos of late, great Argentine celebrities are hung so close together you can barely see the walls.

This colorful old-time café is the place for a licuado (milk shake) or tostado mixto (a local croque monsieur).

Opening in 2022, the Carriages Market is seen as Buenos Aires’ answer to Chelsea Market in Manhattan. With more than 40 store fronts housed at this refurbished 19th-century carriage house, this gourmet food and retail marketplace aims to help bring the city center back to life. Stop by for coffee at Martinelli, a quick bite at La Cabrera steak house, or a glass of wine at Vico, and soak up the atmosphere.

A cheery spot that has lifted Centro’s dining options, this family-run restaurant serves up delicious and authentic Korean dishes. First-generation migrant Martín Ho cooks while daughter Abi runs front of house, and together they run an efficient K-food ship, serving well-priced soups such as budae jjigae as well as the popular meaty main bulgogi. There’s also a wide and tasty selection of veggie dishes, too. This is an ideal spot for early eaters as dinner starts at 6 pm and ends at 9:30 pm.

The checkered floors and glossy black tables of Museo Evita Restaurante are as stylish as the great lady herself. Sticky and flaky, the medialunas here are some of the best in town.

One of the city's best known and beloved pulperías, Ña Serapia (local slang that means the "Martyred Lady") is tiny, with only a dozen seats wedged into a space big enough for half as many. Grab some cheap eats, including great empanadas, local stews like locro or lentil, or even small pizzas.

French-cute is one way to describe the baby-pink tables and the blackboard filled with quirkily named dishes at Oui Oui. Chef Rocío García Orza achieves a rare thing: homemade breakfast, lunch, and tea that are so much better than anything you could make at home.

This old-school pizzeria empire, which now has outposts in a dozen countries, made it big by turning out tasty pizzas, one after another. It's not Argentine-style pizza—the crust is too thin, the sauce too plentiful, and the cheese too sparse—more like an echo of the pizza from the chain's home base in Treviso, Italy. It attracts locals looking for something different and visitors from afar who recognize the name. There's a second branch at Gorriti 5751 in Palermo.

Gorgeous port views await here along with fresh juices, smoothies, salads, and pastas.

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.