Buenos Aires Restaurants for the Entire Family

Where to Eat the Best ...

Meat

At the parilla (pronounced pa-REE-jah) restaurants, grilled meats are lovingly tended to by an asador. Parilla restaurants litter the streets here like confetti, so a good rule of thumb is to look for somewhere slightly run down, with long lines of people waiting. I strongly recommend skipping Cabaña Las Lilas, which irritatingly features in many of the world’s top restaurant lists with its overpriced menu, as the exact same quality of meat is on offer at El Desnivel.

Desnivel is a legendary restaurant in San Telmo—impossible to beat for its beef, some of the best gnocchi in town and low prices (main courses are around A$15-20 (US$5-7). If tender is your top priority, go for lomo cut; if it’s flavor, try mariposa (which means butterfly). Desnivel is on Defensa, where the famous Sunday antique fair in San Telmo is based, so you can combine the two. Expect crowds of laughing, chatting people, with waiters that banter and barter more than serve. They are especially good with children; we went two weeks in a row and were astonished as the waiter remembered our daughter and what she drank. Aim to be there around 12-12:30 p.m., and your seat is assured. Show up at 2 p.m., and you will be joining the hordes of people lining up, wistfully sniffing the air.

Fish and seafood

Fish and seafood aren’t really that popular in Argentina, for reasons unknown given its lengthy coast—its neighbor Chile goes crazy for the stuff. The best restaurants for fish are Spanish, and Casal de Cataluya is a personal favorite. It looks unprepossessing—the first time I went I thought I’d mistakenly walked into a senior citizen milonga (tango hall). Turns out it shares a foyer with the theater next door. The restaurant is vast, it’s too brightly lit, and it feels a bit stilted until the seats start filling up. But the food: Heaven. The squid is so tender it’s like butter. The fish falls off the bone. The saffron fish stew is divine. Enough said.

The trout in Café San Juan is also scrumptious. The term café is a bit misleading—it’s actually one of the best restaurants in the city, run by a local family and featuring the best of modern porteño cooking.

• A restaurant in one of Buenos Aires’ oldest neighborhoods, with unbeatable meat and gnocchi.
• Nano Taboada

Smorgasbord of ethnic cuisines

If you don’t know what you want to eat but feel like having a wander, Palermo Viejo is a safe bet. Here you will find sushi, French, Middle Eastern and modern European cuisine. (The Asian and Mexican food is pretty average.)

Our favorites for lunch in Palermo are Freud & Fahler, which has a very pretty indoor tree with glass leaves that Indigo always wants to sit by; Cluny, which has long sofas and pleasant outdoor seating that is not on the street; and Mott, which is spacious and light and has a ramp on the top floor that Indigo races along on the way to the bathrooms.

While the neighborhood of Las Cañitas is often described as a diner’s delight, my experiences have been pretty hit and miss.

• The typical Argentine grill requires time, patience, and very little moving of the beef. It’s all about moving the charcoal underneath.
• mteson

Vegetarian

Vegetarians, do not fear. This is plenty to eat here—well beyond the dreaded cheese omelet you must eat in Paris. When your family has had enough of a meat fest, head for the very good organic, vegetarian Bio in Palermo. It has friendly service, well-positioned outside seating and a fantastic ginger drink. The quinoa risotto, made with a traditional Incan grain, is mouthwatering.

Contact details:
Unless stated otherwise, reservations for dinner are advisable.

Bio (no credit cards): Humboldt 2199, Palermo Viejo, tel. 4774-3880
Cafe San Juan: Avenue San Juan 450, San Telmo, tel. 4300-1112
Casal de Catalunya: Chacabuco 863, San Telmo, tel. 4361-0191
Cluny: El Salvador 4618/22, Palermo Viejo, tel. 4831-7176
Desnivel (no credit cards): Defensa 855, San Telmo, tel. 4300-9081
El Mercado: Faena Hotel+Universe, Martha Salotti 445, Puerto Madero, tel. 4010-9000
Freud & Fahler: Gurruchaga 1750, Palermo Viejo, tel. 4833-2153
Mott: El Salvador 4685, Palermo Soho, tel. 4833-4306
Recurso Infantiles: J.L. Borges 1766, Palermo, tel. 4834-6177