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We've compiled the best of the best in Mendoza City - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
This character-filled restaurant has stepped up in recent years, bagging a Michelin star for its Argentina-focused tasting menus in 2023. Start dinner over a glass of espumante bubbles in the tasting room, next to the old grape press that's been upcycled into a tasting table. Offering a welcome break from parrilla fare, the two tasting menus, which can be paired, give traditional Argentine and regional ingredients a creative twist.
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).
Priding itself on cooking dishes like your Italian nonna would make, Fuente y Fonda offers hearty Argentine fare in family size portions that are designed to be shared by at least two people. Expect deep dishes filled with stuffed cannelloni, milanesa napolitana (topped with cheese and ham), or roast meats.
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).
They've been serving homemade pasta at La Marchigiana since 1950, and many of the recipes were passed down from founder Nonna Fernanda; today her descendants carry on the tradition in the kitchen. Popular with Mendocinos looking for a reasonably priced meal (and a great lasagna), there's a second restaurant at Ruta Panamericana 3200 in Godoy Cruz.
Mendocinos have been coming here for years to get their beef fix—lomo and bife de chorizo are grilled to perfection at this comfortable country-style restaurant. Pastas, grilled vegetables, and salads are also on the menu. Their other restaurant in Palmares is more upmarket.
