106 Best Restaurants in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The name—which means, more or less, "the way locals eat"—may be a bit of a misnomer, because this restaurant doesn't serve anything that you'd find in a traditional local restaurant. Chef Antonio Sorano takes those traditional concepts and turns them on their head, creating beautifully plated, perfectly prepared dishes that retain the spirit of the original. The menu changes weekly. A well-curated wine list is under the direction of charming sommelier Pablo Colina. This may not be the way locals have been eating, but they're starting to, and you should, too.

With a prime harborside location and a carefully curated tasting menu that delves into Argentina's abundant pantry, Chila is worth the splurge. Book a table on the water and allow the exemplary team (helmed by bright young culinary star, Pedro Bargero), to work its magic. The wine list is one of the city’s best; ask for the pairings.

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 cocktails.

One of the finest steak houses in the planet that ranks in the World's 50 Best Restaurants, Don Julio features cowhide tablecloths, wagon-wheel lighting fixtures, a vast indoor grill, and rows of empty wine bottles signed by satisfied customers. A mix of locals and expats packs the place at lunch and dinner to feast on the fantastic ojo de bife (rib eye) and entraña (skirt steak). The wine cellar is one of Argentina's finest; ask to participate in the sensorial tasting before dining. Book well ahead, or line up around the corner.

In a city filled with Spanish and Basque restaurants, there's not much of a tapas bar scene in Buenos Aires. El Burladero provides a mix of bar seating and communal tables, along with a more formal dining room, where you can mix and mingle with other diners. It serves up not only the best tapas selection in town, but also some of the best Spanish food. Don't miss one of the city's most satisfying versions of chipirones en su tinta (baby squid in its own ink), or the mouthwatering conejo en sidra (rabbit braised in cider). And speaking of cider, the bar pulls pints of the stuff to start off or accompany your meal. At lunch there's a fantastic three-course menu that costs less than a main course off the à la carte selection.

This iconic pizza parlor is frequented by porteños who worship the pies topped with fresh tomato sauce and a mile-high pile of oozing mozzarella. Every square inch of wall space is dedicated to memorabilia of sports legends, musicians, tango dancers, and actors, and every local has their cherished dining spot. The best pizza is the classic mitad-mitad, or half and half—one side a straightforward tomato sauce and cheese, the other swimming with anchovies. Dessert here is a winner, with the classic flan leading the pack.

It may be cramped, crowded, and kitschy—and very warm in hot weather due to the roaring wood-fired ovens—but the empanadas are delicious and they serve the city's best locro (corn, squash, and meat stew) as well as delicious and iconic game dishes. Ignore the wine list and opt for the house vino served in pitchers, which is just as good and half the price. The waiters have fun with the crowd, and speak at least basic conversational phrases in a half dozen or more languages.

A small and deconstructed spot on busy Scalabrini Ortiz, the focus is firmly on raw ingredients in the kitchen, where chef Mariano Ramón brings together Asian and Latin American flavors using locally sourced products. The result is a taste explosion that has caught the attention of many die-hard Dabbang followers keen for spice and spices who return for lamb curry, oven-roasted carrots with garbanzo miso, and squash seed mole, and don’t mind the fast table turnaround. Also opens for Saturday lunch.

An intimate space for just 22 diners led by talented young chef Julio Martín, enjoy a plant-led (but not exclusive) menu at this adorable bistro named after his daughter. Low lighting makes for an intimate ambience, ideal for a date, while you can also take a table on the sidewalk. Sample the tasting menu or go a la carte; the small culinary team enjoys playing around fermentations. Start with the apple, kiwi, and shiso salad before moving on to the wagyu aged in barley koju. 

Having made a name with award-winning fine dining establishment Tegui, which closed in 2021, chef-patron Germán Martitegui has taken a fresh approach with Marti. The discreetly signed entrance leads you to a stylish greenhouse complete with open-plan kitchen, where the team creates a delicious seasonal plant-led menu that’s leading the veggie pack. 

The first purveyor of contemporary Jewish cuisine in the city, Mishiguene brings classic Middle Eastern, Polish, and Russian dishes such as baba ghanoush, varenikes, pastrami, and borscht up-to-date. Vibrant Klezmer music, efficient service, and a party atmosphere add to the reason why these are some of the hottest tables around. Book the chef’s table for an exclusive tasting menu in full view of the open kitchen.

In a meat-centric city like Buenos Aires, excellently cooked seafood is a welcome change, and Oviedo turns out beautifully plated fillets of fish—don't miss the daily catch with pickled baby vegetables or the pristine shellfish. Top it all off with wine from one of the city's finest cellars–the pride and joy of owner Emilio Garip–and you're in for a memorable lunch or dinner.

In a charming and creative space that was once a private residence in Belgrano, chef Martín Molteni's dining room offers up a tribute to the lesser-known products of the region. Specializing in unusual meats—llama, wild boar, rabbit, and quail are regular offerings—as well as fresh fish, unusual grains and vegetables, and hand-crafted cheeses, Molteni brings his overseas training in France and Australia to bear on his Argentine heritage. The menu changes completely every two or three months to reflect the freshest seasonal ingredients. While the menu doesn't list vegetarian options, give advance notice when you reserve and the kitchen will turn out equally stunning vegetable plates. A chef's tasting menu is also available.

A haunt for foodies who adore the creative, contemporary Argentine cuisine and beautiful presentation, there's nowhere better in the neighborhood for lunch or an atmospheric dinner. The star of the lineup is the roasted, stuffed whole quail with squash. Service is very efficient and a top sommelier is in charge of the wine list, heading a young dynamic team.

For a sublime eight-course tasting experience, head to Tegui, helmed by chef Germán Martitegui, who regularly ranks in the top 10 of Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list. Martitiegui has a deft hand with fish, in particular, and is fond of using fruit in his savory dishes. Opt to pair wines under the direction of sommelier Mariano Camaño and you'll have an especially memorable experience.

One of the city's more sophisticated dining rooms, Tomo I is a bastion of modern French-Argentine cooking. Dishes lean towards less-is-more, and truly shine with updated versions of classic French dishes, like kid with broad beans.

Realizing that not every visitor to Buenos Aires has friends or family to invite them to an asado, the traditional backyard barbecue, Colorado native Kelly Brenner and Argentino Gabriel Aguallo decided to take the plunge. They threw open the doors to their charming home, where guests join them on the patio around a massive grill and then adjourn to the farmhouse-style dining area for a family-style steak or seafood fest. Plenty of grilled vegetable dishes, creative salads, and glasses of local wine accompany the meat. More wines are available from the short but well-selected wine list. The exact address is provided when you make a reservation.

Tucked away down a cobbled alley is one of the most beautiful and romantic restaurants in the city. Night after night chef Gonzalo Aramburu turns out an exquisite 18-course tasting menu of seasonal dishes, each reinterpreted through the lens of what is here called cocina vanguardia, or cutting-edge cooking. It's worth the splurge. 

In a city known for its steak and potatoes, vegetarians generally have to make do with salads, pastas, and pizzas to get by. That’s slowly changing thanks to gems like Artemisia, which serves up what is arguably the city's best and most creative meat-free fare, spiced up with Peruvian flavors. It also offers what may be the city's best veggie burger, packed with flavorful lentils. If you're traveling with omnivores, there's always one fish dish on the menu. The service tends to be a bit slow, but it fits the relaxed vibe. There's a sister spot at Cabrera 3877, also in Palermo.

The city’s finest purveyor of southeast Asian food started out as a closed-door restaurant in the chef's home but these days it has a prime Palermo Hollywood location. Adobo pao (steamed pork buns) from her beloved Philippines and delicious Thai yellow curry are two musts, best accompanied by a lemongrass and vodka cocktail. Book a table under the banana trees at the back for a romantic dinner.

One of the first Italian restaurants in Palermo Botánico, Bella Italia is the cornerstone of what has become the city's quasi-official Little Italy. The Lena family runs its flagship restaurant and a neighboring café (along with branches in Palermo and Belgrano) with grace, warmth, and elegance. The star of the menu is one of the city's few veal chops, a whopping cut of perfectly cooked meat encrusted with salt and rosemary and served over beautifully roasted potatoes. This dish is easily enough for two, especially if you start with one of the kitchen's stellar pastas. The restaurant also features a well-thought-out and fairly priced wine list.

Stepping into the wood-paneled dining room, with tables draped in white linens and a ceiling tented with a colorful carpet, you may feel like you've entered a British officers' club from the late 1800s. During the day the clientele seem to be mostly embassy employees and foreign-service workers, which just adds to that atmosphere. At night it changes over to a mix of neighbors and tourists enjoying the offbeat menu that's half Italian and half Indian. For those in the mood for spice, a half-dozen reasonably hot curries are on offer (the fish and prawn curries are the stars). For something milder, pasta is the thing, and the excellent lasagnas are the house specialty. The waitstaff is trained to sell and can sometimes seem a little pushy.

A romantic bistro located down a secluded Recoleta alley, chef Gonzalo Aramburu's BIS deals in classy comfort food with contemporary twists. Expect dishes such as rabbit terrine, wood-grilled octopus, and a steak tartare that comes with mustard ice cream. It opens for breakfast at 8 and keeps serving until 11 pm. The outdoor patio is lovely when the weather cooperates.

One of the few classic French brasseries in Buenos Aires, Petanque is a place to enjoy hearty French fare accompanied by local wines. The ambience is lively, with marble-topped tables so close to each other that you may find yourself participating in neighboring conversations, though service can be snooty. The best dishes are the most traditional, the confit de pato, or duck confit, is not to be missed.

This elegant corner Italian restaurant features wraparound windows overlooking Parque Paseo de las Americas was one of the first spots to bring some life to "Bajo Belgrano." Now, there are a half dozen restaurants within a block, and this area is a dining destination, not only for local Belgrano residents but for visiting gastronomes from across the city and globe. The duo that owns it—restaurateur Fernando Brucco (also owner of Happening in Puerto Madero) and local rocker Fabián "Zorrito" Quintiero (who also owns Soul Café)—have maintained the standards originally set by consulting chef and local food TV personality Donato deSantis. The stars here, other than the owners, are the pastas, made fresh in-house and topped with creative, delicious sauces—don't miss the "Unico," a whopping raviolo filled with spinach and cheese and topped with mushrooms and truffle sauce.

In the heart of the city's Chinatown, BuddhaBA is part pan-Asian restaurant, part tranquil garden, and part art gallery. The service is understated, but always gracious, and the food is a pleasure to both look at and eat. The tastiest dish on the menu is the paté imperial, a unique twist on the classic Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, reinterpreted as a pair of long, delicate, crispy springrolls. The Chinese sweet-and-sour dishes are always delicious, if sometimes erring a trifle on the sweet side. Finish up with a pot of tea, perhaps out in the garden during nice weather.

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 storefronts in Villa Crespo and Belgrano. 

The beef and pork are sourced from the owner's own ranch at this well-known—and expensive—steak house that attracts a crowd of mostly international travelers to the docklands. Service is impeccable, as are the steaks; of note are the ojo de bife and bife de lomo, aka the rib eye and the sirloin.

When famed "anti-chef" Leandro Cristóbal decided to return to his roots, he dropped his trademark modern cuisine in favor of huge platters of rustic traditional dishes with little creative twists reflecting his own bad-boy personality. That carries over into the decor and setup—the room has a sort of farmhouse-chic feel with the addition of graffiti and tattoo-covered cooks working the open kitchen. Roast partridge with hazelnut stuffing, sweetbread-and-ricotta cannelloni, and tender wine-braised rabbit are among the stars here. A second location is open nearby at Chile 474 focusing more on pastas.

Its façade leads into tiny vermouth bar but the back is a huge dining room, where tattooed celebrity chef Lele Cristobal prepares tasty dishes with Spanish and Italian flavors such as lamb meatballs with chickpea mash and ossobuco stew. Start an evening with a glass of the house aperitivo—vermouth comes on tap—with soda at the bar with just eight stools, then move onto the main event for a buzzy evening.