Food · Buenos Aires · Argentina
What to eat in Buenos Aires
The dishes, drinks and food experiences that define Buenos Aires, and where locals actually eat them.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
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Quick answer
Start with Asado and bife de chorizo, Empanadas and Choripán. Order cuts by name, add a provoleta and a salad to share and a bottle of Malbec, and expect generous portions. Porteños dine late: restaurants fill from about 9:30pm, and arriving at 8pm usually means an empty room.
Key facts
- Signature dish
- Asado and bife de chorizo
- Vegetarian-friendly picks
- 7
- Tipping
- Leave about 10% in restaurants and cafés, ideally in cash, as card machines often cannot…
- Food experiences
- 4
11 foods to try
Dish
1.Asado and bife de chorizo
Argentine barbecue cooks beef slowly over wood or charcoal embers on a parrilla grill. Bife de chorizo (sirloin strip), ojo de bife (ribeye), vacío (flank) and entraña (skirt) are the classic cuts, seasoned with little more than salt and served with chimichurri.
Where: Parrillas in every barrio, from neighbourhood grills to celebrated Palermo restaurants such as Don Julio; families grill their own asado on Sundays.
Street food
2.Empanadas
Baked or fried pastry turnovers filled with hand-cut beef (carne cortada a cuchillo), ham and cheese, humita (sweetcorn) or chicken. Each Argentine province has its own style, such as the juicy salteñas from Salta.
Where: Empanada shops and pizzerias everywhere, sold by the unit or the dozen for takeaway.
Street food
3.Choripán
A grilled chorizo sausage split into a crusty roll and spooned with chimichurri or salsa criolla; the classic snack at football matches and before an asado.
Where: Street carts along the Costanera Sur promenade near Puerto Madero, and as a starter at any parrilla.
Dish · Vegetarian
4.Provoleta
A thick disc of provolone cheese grilled until crusty outside and molten inside, sprinkled with oregano and chilli flakes; the usual vegetarian-friendly starter at a parrilla.
Where: Parrillas across the city, ordered to share before the meat.
Dish
5.Milanesa a la napolitana
A thin breaded beef cutlet topped with ham, tomato sauce and melted cheese, usually served with fries. Plain milanesas are a staple of home cooking and bodegón menus.
Where: Traditional bodegones and corner restaurants; portions are often big enough for two.
Dish · Vegetarian
6.Pizza porteña and fainá
Buenos Aires pizza, born of Italian immigration, has a thick, airy base and a heavy layer of mozzarella. Fugazzeta is stuffed with cheese and topped with onions, and a slice of fainá (chickpea flatbread) on top is a local habit.
Where: Old pizzerias along Avenida Corrientes near the Obelisco, such as Güerrín, where locals eat standing at the counter.
Breakfast · Vegetarian
7.Medialunas
Small, sticky crescent pastries glazed with syrup; medialunas de manteca are sweet and buttery, while medialunas de grasa are flatter and less sweet. Two or three with a café con leche is the standard breakfast or merienda.
Where: Every café and bakery (panadería); classic cafés such as Las Violetas in Almagro serve them on silver trays.
Dessert · Vegetarian
8.Dulce de leche and alfajores
Dulce de leche, milk slowly cooked with sugar into a thick caramel, fills alfajores: two soft biscuits sandwiched together and often coated in chocolate or rolled in coconut.
Where: Bakeries, kiosks and specialist shops across the city; Havanna, from Mar del Plata, is the best-known brand.
Dessert · Vegetarian
9.Helado
Italian-style ice cream sold by weight in quarter, half and full kilos, with dulce de leche granizado (with chocolate flakes) as the signature flavour. Parlours stay open late, and a cone after dinner is a porteño ritual.
Where: Heladerías in every barrio, including long-established names on Avenida Corrientes.
Drink · Vegetarian
10.Mate
Dried yerba mate leaves steeped in hot (not boiling) water in a gourd and sipped through a metal straw (bombilla). It is shared in a circle, refilled by one person, the cebador, and passed around.
Where: Rarely sold in cafés; you will see it in parks and offices, and can buy gourds, bombillas and yerba at markets and supermarkets.
Drink · Vegetarian
11.Malbec and fernet con coca
Mendoza Malbec is the default red with steak, while fernet, a bitter Italian herbal liqueur, is mixed with cola to make the country's favourite bar drink.
Where: Wine bars and vinotecas in Palermo for Malbec tastings; fernet con coca is poured in almost every bar.
Food experiences
Parrilla dinner
Order cuts by name, add a provoleta and a salad to share and a bottle of Malbec, and expect generous portions. Book popular parrillas ahead and arrive after 9pm to eat with the locals.
Merienda in a café notable
The late-afternoon merienda of coffee with medialunas or cake fills the gap before a late dinner. The city's historic 'bares notables', such as Café Tortoni and Las Violetas, are the setting for it.
Pizza on Avenida Corrientes
The old pizzerias around the Obelisco serve thick, cheese-heavy slices with fainá at standing counters before and after theatre shows.
Malbec and wine bars
Wine bars in Palermo pour Malbec, Bonarda and Torrontés by the glass from Mendoza, Salta and Patagonia, a good introduction before visiting the wine regions.
Quick bites and street food
- Empanadas — Empanada shops and pizzerias everywhere, sold by the unit or the dozen for takeaway.
- Choripán — Street carts along the Costanera Sur promenade near Puerto Madero, and as a starter at any parrilla.
- Medialunas — Every café and bakery (panadería); classic cafés such as Las Violetas in Almagro serve them on silver trays.
Vegetarian options
Of the 11 foods in this guide, 7 are usually vegetarian: Provoleta, Pizza porteña and fainá, Medialunas, Dulce de leche and alfajores, Helado, Mate and Malbec and fernet con coca. Check preparation with staff, as stocks and fats vary.
Eating out: tips and etiquette
- Porteños dine late: restaurants fill from about 9:30pm, and arriving at 8pm usually means an empty room.
- A cubierto (a per-person cover charge for bread and service) is often added to the bill; it is not the tip.
- Steaks come a punto (medium) unless you ask for jugoso (medium-rare) or vuelta y vuelta (rare).
- Some restaurants and shops give a discount for paying in cash; ask before you pay.
- Weekday lunch menus (menú ejecutivo) in the centre include a main, a drink and often dessert at a set price.
Tipping
Leave about 10% in restaurants and cafés, ideally in cash, as card machines often cannot add a tip; the cubierto on the bill is not a tip. Round up taxi fares.
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hola, ¿cómo andás? | Hi, how are you? |
| La cuenta, por favor | The bill, please |
| ¿Me cobrás? | Can I pay? (to a waiter) |
| Un cortado, por favor | An espresso with a dash of milk, please |
| Dale | OK / sure / go ahead |
| Che | Hey (informal way to address someone) |
Questions travellers ask
+What food is Buenos Aires famous for?
Asado and bife de chorizo, Empanadas, Choripán and Provoleta. Argentine barbecue cooks beef slowly over wood or charcoal embers on a parrilla grill.
+Is Buenos Aires good for vegetarians?
Several local staples are meat-free, including Provoleta, Pizza porteña and fainá and Medialunas.
+Do you tip in restaurants in Buenos Aires?
Leave about 10% in restaurants and cafés, ideally in cash, as card machines often cannot add a tip; the cubierto on the bill is not a tip. Round up taxi fares.