Parrilla barbecue restaurants will always have a significant standing in Buenos Aires (there are several high end versions such as Don Julio, which features regularly on lists of the best restaurants in the world) but the city’s vibrant cultural scene has plenty more to offer; the restaurants in Buenos Aires serve a range of contrasting dining concepts and cuisines that will delight foodies everywhere.
Contemporary cuisine in the city is being driven by a new generation of talented chefs who have traveled the world learning about different flavors and techniques, keeping up with the latest trends while producing dishes that are very much their own.
The underlying context is just as exciting: local craft producers are growing ever more professional and bringing an expanding range of regional flavors to the chef’s pantry.
Here we share a list of four unmissable restaurants in Buenos Aires: it’s important to reserve well in advance, so we’re also sharing the links to help you make sure of your table when you come.
Restaurants in Buenos Aires you need to know
Anchoíta
In 2022 this restaurant came in at number 73 of the 100 best in Latin America, according to #LatAm50Best and it is without a doubt one of the most distinctive restaurants in the city. Its owner, the food loving gastronomic empresario Enrique Piñeyro, is also a licensed pilot, director and actor in film and theater.
It opened in 2018 with an important mission: to build a menu that offers an authentic reflection of the gastronomic riches that Argentina has to offer. It features river fish, craft charcuterie from bellota-fed Duroc pigs, the largest selection of cheeses in the country, a bakery, ice cream parlor and boutique chocolates. All the vegetables come from the restaurant’s garden and organic producers, while all the meat comes from grass-fed animals.
Anchoíta’s cellar has a selection of 800 different labels (many of which come from overseas, alongside a number of Argentine rarities) chosen by the restaurant’s head sommelier Valeria Mortara.
The team has also opened two other establishments that can be included on the list of the best restaurants in Buenos Aires: the bakery @panaderiadeanchoita (Aguirre 1562, which offers artisanal bread, ice cream and bean to bar chocolate) and @anchoitacava (Juan Ramírez de Velasco 1456, a walk-up version that doesn’t require prior reservations), both of which are also well worth a visit.
Anchoíta. Juan Ramírez de Velasco 1520. Tel: 011 4854-9334. Reservations: anchoíta.meitre.com IG: @anchoitabuenosaires
Julia
Julia owner Chef Julio Báez is one of the most renowned gastronomy professionals on the national scene. Undoubtedly among the best restaurants in Buenos Aires and ranked #50 among the best in Latin America 2022, Julia describes itself as an “indie” establishment offering unique sensory experiences in which seasonal products are cooked in innovative ways.
The menu itself is a riot of intriguing concepts: how does trout tartare, raspberry vinaigrette, tagine and alga nori sound? Or cucumber, kiwi, miso vinaigrette and fried corn? And when they arrive at the table, they’re a visual delight as well. In fact, every sense is paid due attention: the palette of perfumes and textures offers acidity, bitterness, spice, sweetness, salt and, above all, freshness.
The owner will soon be opening another restaurant: @francarestaurante a few blocks away in the same neighborhood of Villa Crespo. It promises to be a real gastronomic event.
Julia. Loyola 807. Tel.: 011 7519-0514. Reservations and menu: linktr.ee/juliarestaurante IG: @juliar.estaurante
Cochinchina
Run by the queen of professional mixology in Argentina, Inés de los Santos, this bar and restaurant in the middle of Palermo has won numerous awards since it opened, including coming in at No. 42 in @50bestbars and featuring on the list of @50bestbarsdiscovery.
And there are plenty of reasons for their success, including the quality and originality of the drinks, the French/Vietnamese style cuisine, the range of incredible spaces and the distinctive, South-East Asian inspired décor.
You have a choice between sitting at the enormous bar in the main hall, where you get a privileged view of the bartenders at work, an intimate box for a quieter dinner, or even a private room for special occasions, while a new 60 seat area recently opened up on the terrace.
The latter is known as CoChinChina Arriba and offers a five-course tasting menu (which can be paired with cocktails or high-end wines). It’s an intimate, open-air space with a wood-fired oven and another tempting cocktail bar.
The tasting menu offers vegetarian and non-alcoholic options, but whatever the diner’s choice, a feast for the senses is guaranteed.
Cochinchina. Armenia 1540. Tuesday to Sunday from 7PM to 3AM Reservations and menu
Mishiguene
In Yiddish, the word “mishiguene” means something like “charming lunatic”. When the award-winning chef Tomás Kalika opened his restaurant in 2014, it was the first time someone had tried to take traditional Jewish cuisine to the next level in Buenos Aires.
Kalika engaged profoundly with his roots and the flavors he encountered on his trips to Israel, expanding upon traditional recipes to offer an original twist on cuisines from a community that has settled widely across Argentina. He recently opened branches in New York and Mexico while his Buenos Aires restaurant came in at number 88 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2021 and #15 among the best 50 restaurants in Latin America 2022.
At least once in your life you need to try his pastrami (which is so tender, it slips off the bone at the merest glance), his many different takes on humous, his potato and fried onion knishes, his babaganoush; his farfalej fried with onion, his potato latke, his chicken liver pâté and his mackerel with cream, among many more contemporary Israeli dishes.
The Chef’s Table experience comes highly recommended as it sits at the heart of his kitchen with a joyful klezmer soundtrack.
Mishiguene, Lafinur 3368. @mishiguenecocina @KalikaTomas https://mishiguene.meitre.com/
