Whilst living and working in a vineyard restaurant in New Zealand, many of my fellow chefs were from Argentina and Chile, the kitchen often a rowdy babble of Spanish. Occasionally, at staff meal times, we were treated to recreated dishes from South America. Jars of the delicious dulce de leche (caramel milk) were available at the local market, and I’d purchase a large jar as well as a packet of Chocolionos to dip in. I left the job with a large list of places to go and foods to try when I finally made it to South America.
I’d been dreaming about eating all the food in Buenos Aires since we’d booked our flights to Argentina in spring 2018. A few of these places I had researched on blogs or Lonely Planet guides, and the rest we stumbled across by happy accident – a happy medium on any trip!
Let me know in the comments below if you can add to these collections of my Buenos Aires favourites!
Empanadas
The perfect little snack – a bit like a Cornish pasty in a lighter pastry, these little beauties were one of my fave things I ate in Buenos Aires. Flavours vary from place to place and usually included beef, chicken, cheese and ham and sometimes a veggie option such as spinach. Top with a spoon full of chimichurri for a kick. I stumbled across this place on our slow first day in Buenos Aires exploring San Telmo and opted for the chorizo and cheese (AR80 / £1.54 / £2).
Where to find it
Head to San Telmo Market to El Hornero where you can watch the empanadas being handmade and oven baked – be warned – the queues are long but it’s worth the wait!
Asado – Argentine BBQ
The king of Argentine cuisine, asado is the process of cooking over wood fires, resulting in tender, smoky cuts of meat. Beef is the traditional option and a variety of cuts are usually on offer from ribs to sirloin, accompanied by a simple salad and a dressing (often chimichurri – parsley, oregano, garlic, chilli and olive oil).
Where to find it
This depends on your budget and how much you are willing to spend. We found a little backstreet joint just off the Plaza de Mayo which cost (with drinks) 550 pesos (£11/$14) for 2 but if you are in the market for something a little fancier, I’ve heard great things about Don Julio which was recently voted in the Top 50 best restaurants in Latin America.
The cheesiest pizza
You wouldn’t immediately associate Argentina with Italian cuisine, but after a flurry of immigration in the 20th century, there is a definite influence on the country’s culinary scene.
After a morning exploring Buenos Aires, we were in need of a snack boast. I’d read about this gem on a food blog and wandered in to join the queues. Like any decent pizza places, they had minimal flavours and served enormous slices. And omg, the cheese. It was the thickest, gooiest cheesiest pizza I’d ever had. We stood and ate at the bar, but you can also sit-down to enjoy a bigger cheese fest.
Where to find it
Pizzeria Guerrin, Av Corrientes 1368, Buenos Aires
@pizzeriaguerrin
Choripan with a variety of flavours
Our first “meal” in Argentina, and boy, it did not disappoint. After a quick power nap at our hostel in Palermo, we walked straight here, feeling proud and smug to use our newly learnt Spanish to order two choripans – essentially a sausage in a bread roll – but these guys not only make their own sausages (chorizo) but add some serious flavours. We opted for the Cerdo Ahumado, a smoked pork sausage with mushrooms, lettuce, orange zest and garlic; which sounds like a weird combo but was actually insane.
The guys were also super welcoming, and you can also opt for cheeky beer or cocktail whilst having a groove to the hip hop beats.
Where to find it
Chori, Thames 1653 Palmero, Buenos Aires @xchorix
Bondiola
We stumbled across an array of outdoor grill vans on our way to Puerto Madre area of the city. Up to this point, we’d had a lot of choripan, so instead opted for bondiola, a tender cut of pork shoulder cooked on the grill. An array of salads and dressings were lined up outside the van to add a touch of piquancy, and we loved it so much, we ordered two as they were only AR100 (£1.90/$2.50)!
Where to find it
Various stands line the waterfront that lines Av Tristan Achaval Rodriquez near Puerto Madre
Small Plates at Proper
Me being an absolute foodie requested that we tried Proper on our final night in Buenos Aires, having noted its quality and value in this piece in The Guardian.
From the outside, it’s easy to miss the restaurant and we almost walked past it mistaking it for workshop space or a garage. Inside was already busy at 8.15pm, we managed to get a seat on the communal table, right in the thick of the action as we watched the cool, calm chefs put together small plates and chargrill meats on the fire.
Picking from the diverse menu was hard, but we opted for a duo of dips – haricot beans with almond and pumpkin seed mole and smoky aubergine plus plates of tender squid and broccoli with fermented bean aioli followed by an enormous pork chop which we shared. Sadly, we had no space left for the famous dulce de leche flan. Our bill for two came to a decent AR1365 (£28.42 / $34.50).
Sitting on a communal table, we also struck up a conversation with a Candian guy dining on his own who had lived in Buenos Aires for 15 years and seen a variety of changes, plus a group of American guys who worked for Bloomberg and rated Proper as one of the city’s best restaurants.
Great food, interesting company – this was one of my most memorable meals in my ten weeks in South America.
Where to find it
Proper
@properrestaurant
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
Squeezed into a small space in the heart of the Buenos Aires theatreland, we popped here after devouring the cheesy pizza from Guerin as it’s only across the road and a couple of blocks down. On the wall is a dizzying array of flavours from fruit to chocolate, but I opted for a small cone of the classic Argentine dulce de leche (AR110 / £2.12 /$2.77), which is made on site by boiling the milk for hours on end.
We perched on stools and flicked through the local sports pages, a welcome relief from the city heat and chaos.
Where to find it
Cadore, Av. Corrientes 1695, Buenos Aires
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