Dinning Area at Café La Biela, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Café La Biela

What better way to soak up the local culture than to enjoy a coffee in this historic café with its large outdoor terrace overlooking a Recoleta park. This corner coffee shop is over 150 years old, and on Sundays, it is particularly popular with locals who come to shop for artisanal crafts and tchotchkes.

Exterior View - Café San Juan, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Café San Juan

This family-run San Telmo institution, helmed by the rakish Leandro Cristobal, has a great bistro vibe. Waiters scurry back and forth across the black and white checkered floor, ferrying chalkboard menus scrawled with Cristobal's winning interpretations of Argentine staples. Café San Juan is perfect for lunch after a Sunday morning stroll around the neighborhood's famous crafts market.

Exterior View - Café Tortoni,  Buenos Aires, Argentina - Courtesy of Kaled Naya

Café Tortoni

Yes, it is always filled with tourists but locals also adore Café Tortoni and the grand interiors are virtually as they were a century ago—and decades ago—when this was the haunt of the city’s great intellectuals. Founded in 1858, Café Tortoni celebrates traditions: the traditional cuisine and atmosphere. The churros and hot chocolate are incredibly rich and tasty, but skip the regular menu. Best as a coffee stop while touring the Plaza de Mayo.

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Cumaná

This Recoleta standby specializes in the earthy cazuelas (casseroles) and locros (stews) of northern Argentina. Given its relaxed atmosphere and convenient location within walking distance of many of the city's best hotels, not to mention the extensive selection of empanadas salteñas, Cumaná is a brilliant low-key dinner option for families with young children.

Food at El Cuartito, Buenos Aires, Argentina

El Cuartito

El Cuartito's crusts are thick and doughy, draped unapologetically in dense, oozy mozzarella and liberally spangled with jamón (ham) and morrón (roasted red pepper). Authentic Neapolitan pizza this is not, but you're unlikely to find a slice—or a setting—that's more categorically porteño. Tango memorabilia and photos of Diego Maradona cover the walls, which are painted a patriotic fútbol blue. The boisterous dining rooms are packed nightly until 1:00 am with families digging into the local favorite "Fugazzeta" (a white pie topped simply but unsparingly with onions and cheese) and abuelitos with pleading eyes, who gesticulate to the harried waiters as if they've been waiting for a round of Quilmes since the joint opened in 1934.

Bar at El Obrero, Buenos Aires, Argentina

El Obrero

Locals and in-the-know tourists (plus the occasional celebrity) flock to this old school eatery in La Boca. Owned and managed by the waiters, El Obrero is a good stop for an authentic lunch after seeing the neighborhood’s famous painted houses. Keep in mind that La Boca is one of BA’s tougher barrios, so if dining here at dinner, be sure to travel by taxi, not on foot.

Dinning Area at Fervor, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fervor

This elegant, European-style bistro in Recoleta attracts an affluent crowd of locals, from bespoke-suited businessmen and bejeweled ladies at lunch to couples and families at dinner. Walking distance from the Recoleta hotels, Fervor is also a great option for visitors tired of a steady diet of steak; the fish here is fantastic.

Bar at La Brigada, Buenos Aires, Argentina

La Brigada

Tables aren’t easy to come by at this classic steakhouse in San Telmo. Reputedly a favorite of Francis Ford Coppola, the meat is excellent and the atmosphere authentic. Says an Indagare member: “This is a delicious restaurant. The steaks were great, although the waiter looked very alarmed when I asked if there were any ‘vegetables,’ and he had to say no, although he did point out some vegetable fritters. Again the wait staff did not speak much English, but we got by with an Italian/English/Spanish combination and had a great dinner.” La Brigada is an excellent choice for dinner before a tango show.

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La Cabaña

This is Buenos Aires’ version of the 21 Club in New York, and in fact, both were at one point owned by the Belmond Hotels company. So, yes, there is something historic and traditional about it but also a bit touristy. There are wonderful wood paneled walls and old leather club chairs that give the place the feeling of an old speakeasy or a gentlemen’s club. There are certainly more authentic places to experience old world Buenos Aires, but the food is delicious, and it can handle larger groups of family and friends traveling together. As at ‘21’, there is a great wine cellar and great private dining rooms.

Dinning Area at La Cabrera, Buenos Aires, Argentina

La Cabrera

Widely considered to be a less commercial alternative to the parrilla experience at Las Lilas, this perennially packed Palermo restaurant serves all the same parts of the cow, minus a bit of the theater. Go early as both locations (they are almost next door to each other) tend to fill quickly in the evenings.

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La Rambla

If you're looking for an authentic porteño café complete with locals reading the paper and old-school waiters wearing bow ties, don't miss La Rambla.
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Maru Botana

In addition to sweets, Maru Botana's bakeries offer salads and savory tarts, but to eat here without ordering dessert would be missing the point. It would also require superhuman restraint. The celebrity pastry chef is famous for her indulgent tortas, often layered with dulce de leche and cream and topped with perfect peaks of snowy meringue. Her Belgrano shop, tucked between Victorian mansions on a leafy cobblestoned block, makes an ideal conclusion to an afternoon stroll through the picturesque residential neighborhood.

Munich

The most old school of the Recoleta restaurants, Munich has no tables outside and is barely marked as a restaurant (just a brass plate and polished wood doors), which is the way the locals like it. Tourists tend to go to the restaurants on either side, while porteño families gather here for Sunday brunch as they have for decades. The food is very traditional with a focus on great cuts of grilled meat and German-influenced sides like cabbage and potatoes. Reservations recommended.

Food at Oui Oui, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Oui Oui

This tiny French-inspired, expat-adored café is Palermo's uncontested Gringo brunch darling. Order a revitalizing mint lemonade to mitigate the weekend wait for a table on the sidewalk.

Entrance at Persicco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Persicco

The scene at Persicco is a bit more chic than most ice cream shops, so you’ll probably want to linger awhile. Pay for your ice cream, grab a number and ponder the flavors (banana split and maracuyá—a type of passion fruit—are tops) as you wait to be called.

Pulpería Quilapán

Pulpería Quilapán offers is a no-frills but decidedly atmospheric lunch spot set in a restored colonial era house with a whimsical aesthetic.
Food at Siamo Nel Forno, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Siamo Nel Forno

Most everyone in Buenos Aires seems to have an Italian grandparent—and a favorite pizza joint. And yet, it can be surprisingly (and frustratingly) difficult to find a perfect, chewy crust. The family-run Siamo Nel Forno is one of few establishments in the city serving la vera pizza napoletana. Its name is a clever play on the Argentine expression "Estamos en el horno", which is like saying "We're toast" (literally "We're in the oven"). From almost any seat in the house, patrons can observe Nestor Gattorna, proud pizzaiolo and gracious proprietor, rotating pies in and out of his brick oven with academic precision. Meanwhile, his daughters, whom you might recognize from the collection of black-and-white family photographs covering the walls, take orders for the pizza del giorno, the traditional Margherita and the not-so-traditional but incredibly delicious white pie with nutella.

Exterior View - Sottovoce, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sottovoce

This family-style Italian restaurant was opened in Recoleta by two Argentine brothers, Alejo and Tomas Waisman, after Alejo apprenticed in such locations as the Ritz in Paris and the Cipriani. Porteños come for the homemade pastas and traditional dishes like eggplant parmigiana and tiramisu. Although the original location can get quite crowded, the Puerto Madero one usually has more availability as well as outdoor dining overlooking the water.

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