Restaurants Buenos Aires – Overview
My Grandmother Does Not Know (I stole all her recipes)
Like any other bustling modern city in the world, Buenos Aires has a lot to choose from in terms of the variety of cuisines and the price and quality of the food. While I can honestly say that I never had a bad glass or bottle of wine while I was there, it is indeed possible to run into establishments that offer either poor service or poor quality food. This is rare. But the guide books and reviewers push you to certain establishments that need not be visited under any circumstances. You will have to find out the hard way sometimes. Reader beware!
I was personally astounded by the varieties of cuisines available. While in Mexico City you would be hard pressed to find good Asian food, in Buenos Aires most people would ask you what kind of Asian food you would like, in order to send you in the right direction. The same would be true about French, Italian, German and most other cuisines in the city. There is so much to choose from.
If your Spanish is pretty good, I would recommend you take a peak at Guia Oleo. It is a restaurant review site based on what the local people are saying about all of the restaurants. It also accurately classifies restaurants by the types of cuisine. For your information a “Parrilla” is a place that grills most of its food and will tend to the meaty end of the food spectrum. In Buenos Aires lamb is just as popular as beef at the “Parrilla.” If the restaurant is classified as “Porteňo,” it may also have some things from the “parrilla” but it will also feature many items from the cuisines of the immigrant populations, especially Italian and Spanish cuisine. I believe all the other classifications on the site are self-explanatory. Even if your Spanish is horrible there are ratings, on a scale of 1 to 30, about the food, service, and ambiance of each restaurant. I am guessing the people of Buenos Aires are a tough bunch because no restaurant ever earns a score higher than 22.
Unless you dine at the hotels you would be hard pressed to spend more than $70 US dollars for salads, entrees, desserts, and a bottle of wine for two people at a very nice restaurant. (The Dallas equivalent for the same quality of food would be $200). You can get a meal for much less at many very good restaurants.
Dinner at most establishments will not even be served until 8 PM. Most places serve dinner as late as 1 AM. I encourage you to eat like a Porteňo and hold off until at least 10 PM. If you do not wait, you may miss out on some of the very best sightseeing in the city.
I also encourage you to talk to bartenders, waiters, and any other locals in a restaurant. Everyone I met graciously answered all of my questions. We had some really nice dining experiences because of it. I am happy to say we also made some new friends along the way.