7 Best Restaurants in Salta and San Lorenzo, The Northwest

A group of chefs launched a restaurant and catering service with high Andean cuisine as its goal—"high" referring to both the altitude and the gourmet techniques. The result is José Balcarce, in a brick-and-wood building with large windows just two blocks from bustling Balcarce Street. The menu is short, and the service can be slow, but the creative dishes—using local ingredients such as quinoa and llama—are delicious.

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.

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.

Picadas—assorted cured meats and local cheeses, accompanied by home-baked breads—are the star attractions here (try the smoked boar and trout). Although this deli and wine bar does get busy, the staff is generally friendly, and you can escape the bustle by retreating to the back terrace.  Wash down your meal with one of the hearty Los Morros-line reds, produced by Casa Moderna’s own small winery.

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.

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.

A great-value restaurant on a bustling downtown corner, Jovi Dos has several airy, high-ceilinged rooms with wood beams and plate-glass windows. Noteworthy starters include marinated eggplant and baked beef empanadas while grilled meats, seafood, pizza, and pasta have equal billing on the overly long menu. Dishes such as the ravioles mixtas (ravioli filled with spinach and cheese, then topped with a creamy sauce) are big enough for two people. The waitstaff is attentive, and the wine list is solid.