38 Best Restaurants in Palermo, Buenos Aires

This bright yellow corner storefront has given the humble sausage sandwich called choripán a radical and much-needed makeover, turning it from basic street food to a sleek fast-food meal. All the chorizos that are the base of the sandwich—from lamb to mushroom and even fish—are produced in house, and there are side dishes such as sweet potato fries as well as beer, wine, and cocktails.

One of the finest steak houses in the planet that ranks in the World's 50 Best Restaurants, Don Julio features cowhide tablecloths, wagon-wheel lighting fixtures, a vast indoor grill, and rows of empty wine bottles signed by satisfied customers. A mix of locals and expats packs the place at lunch and dinner to feast on the fantastic ojo de bife (rib eye) and entraña (skirt steak). The wine cellar is one of Argentina's finest; ask to participate in the sensorial tasting before dining. Book well ahead, or line up around the corner.

A small and deconstructed spot on busy Scalabrini Ortiz, the focus is firmly on raw ingredients in the kitchen, where chef Mariano Ramón brings together Asian and Latin American flavors using locally sourced products. The result is a taste explosion that has caught the attention of many die-hard Dabbang followers keen for spice and spices who return for lamb curry, oven-roasted carrots with garbanzo miso, and squash seed mole, and don’t mind the fast table turnaround. Also opens for Saturday lunch.

An intimate space for just 22 diners led by talented young chef Julio Martín, enjoy a plant-led (but not exclusive) menu at this adorable bistro named after his daughter. Low lighting makes for an intimate ambience, ideal for a date, while you can also take a table on the sidewalk. Sample the tasting menu or go a la carte; the small culinary team enjoys playing around fermentations. Start with the apple, kiwi, and shiso salad before moving on to the wagyu aged in barley koju. 

The first purveyor of contemporary Jewish cuisine in the city, Mishiguene brings classic Middle Eastern, Polish, and Russian dishes such as baba ghanoush, varenikes, pastrami, and borscht up-to-date. Vibrant Klezmer music, efficient service, and a party atmosphere add to the reason why these are some of the hottest tables around. Book the chef’s table for an exclusive tasting menu in full view of the open kitchen.

For a sublime eight-course tasting experience, head to Tegui, helmed by chef Germán Martitegui, who regularly ranks in the top 10 of Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list. Martitiegui has a deft hand with fish, in particular, and is fond of using fruit in his savory dishes. Opt to pair wines under the direction of sommelier Mariano Camaño and you'll have an especially memorable experience.

Realizing that not every visitor to Buenos Aires has friends or family to invite them to an asado, the traditional backyard barbecue, Colorado native Kelly Brenner and Argentino Gabriel Aguallo decided to take the plunge. They threw open the doors to their charming home, where guests join them on the patio around a massive grill and then adjourn to the farmhouse-style dining area for a family-style steak or seafood fest. Plenty of grilled vegetable dishes, creative salads, and glasses of local wine accompany the meat. More wines are available from the short but well-selected wine list. The exact address is provided when you make a reservation.

In a city known for its steak and potatoes, vegetarians generally have to make do with salads, pastas, and pizzas to get by. That’s slowly changing thanks to gems like Artemisia, which serves up what is arguably the city's best and most creative meat-free fare, spiced up with Peruvian flavors. It also offers what may be the city's best veggie burger, packed with flavorful lentils. If you're traveling with omnivores, there's always one fish dish on the menu. The service tends to be a bit slow, but it fits the relaxed vibe. There's a sister spot at Cabrera 3877, also in Palermo.

The city’s finest purveyor of southeast Asian food started out as a closed-door restaurant in the chef's home but these days it has a prime Palermo Hollywood location. Adobo pao (steamed pork buns) from her beloved Philippines and delicious Thai yellow curry are two musts, best accompanied by a lemongrass and vodka cocktail. Book a table under the banana trees at the back for a romantic dinner.

One of the first Italian restaurants in Palermo Botánico, Bella Italia is the cornerstone of what has become the city's quasi-official Little Italy. The Lena family runs its flagship restaurant and a neighboring café (along with branches in Palermo and Belgrano) with grace, warmth, and elegance. The star of the menu is one of the city's few veal chops, a whopping cut of perfectly cooked meat encrusted with salt and rosemary and served over beautifully roasted potatoes. This dish is easily enough for two, especially if you start with one of the kitchen's stellar pastas. The restaurant also features a well-thought-out and fairly priced wine list.

In the middle of the chaos of Palermo, Casa Coupage is an oasis of tranquility. Located in a converted home, the beige-on-beige dining area takes up most of the main floor. Decor is simple, mostly wine related, plus the odd choice of postage stamps glued in a swath around the rooms at eye level. Your best bet is the frequently changing tasting menu that lets you sample the full range of chef Pablo Bolzan's creative take on traditional Argentine cooking. A limited selection of à la carte dishes is always available. Sommelier Santiago Mymicopulo knows his stuff, and his great wine-pairing options are usually a much better value than ordering from the somewhat overpriced wine list.

Known for its no-frills decor, this Palermo Soho stalwart is where generations of locals have been coming to dine. It's located inside a soccer club of the same name and draws its clientele from club members, neighborhood residents, and pretty much anyone who wants honest cooking that doesn't put a dent in their budget. While the menu features three different pastas and a dozen items off the parrilla (grill), your waiter will tell you what's actually available for the day.

This specialty coffee shop, which roasts its own beans, located on a buzzy Hollywood corner is the ideal spot for a flat white or iced coffee, and a little people watching.

Though it was recently overhauled by the Parrilla Don Julio team, much care has been taken to retain El Preferido de Palermo's authentic and traditional character. Order a plate of cold cuts–the charcuterie cellar is on display—and savor them at the kitchen counter. 

This eatery's design aesthetic—a bare, unadorned space illuminated with industrial lighting—doesn't translate to the dishes, which, while not fancy, include hearty portions of grilled and fried Argentine dishes and a smattering of Spanish specialties. At lunch it's packed with Palermo office workers, and at dinner there's a mix of locals and tourists, all tucking into the well-seasoned and properly cooked steaks and chops. Don't miss the boquerones (marinated anchovies) as an appetizer. The entraña, or hanger steak, particularly when accompanied by the excellent papas a la crema (creamed potatoes), are a don't-miss main course perfect for sharing. While the menu might look pricey at first glance, most of the steaks easily serve more than one person. There are also inexpensive prix-fixe lunch options.

Covered with more knick-knacks than the space comfortably allows, the bar at the city's only Vietnamese restaurant looks like someone bought out a souvenir shop. The barstools are irrelevant, because there's no place to set your drink anyway. But that's fine, because you can just grab a table or relax on a sofa in the dining area and enjoy one of the signature cocktails while you peruse the menu of Vietnamese classics. Perennial favorites include the crispy smoked eggplant dumplings, prawns with rice pasta, chicken curry, and five-spice spareribs. Bowing to local custom, there's little heat in any of the dishes, even if you ask for extra chilies, but ask for a bowl of Sriracha hot sauce to be brought to your table.

These charming and handsome Colombian brothers ran a successful restaurant in Patagonia before moving to Buenos Aires, opening a new place, and receiving enthusiastic reviews. In an intimate space, Santiago Macias turns out some of the most creative, interesting Colombian-influenced food in the city. The prix-fixe tasting menu changes regularly. Flawless service is provided in the dining room under the direction of Santiago's brother Camilo. For something just a little bit different and off the beaten path, this is a don't-miss experience. Wine pairings are extra (230 pesos).

Located alongside the Hipódromo, the city's hottest horse-racing track, this eatery has great views. Boisterous definitely defines the ambience as diners tuck into barbecued ribs, chops, steaks, pastas, and salads, all washed down with copious amounts of beer and iced tea. There are plenty of options for children on the menu. This is the top of the heap for diners searching for a U.S.-style chain, and it attracts local business executives during the day and families at night. Reservations recommended, especially for dinner, and there's almost always a wait for a table.

Sophisticated, elegant, and cozy all at the same time, this cozy corner spot in Palermo Soho offers a combination of classic dishes and modern creations. A favorite of Italophile locals, it's the perfect location for a romantic night out, perhaps with a reenactment of the famous scene from Lady and the Tramp. Housemade pastas are the stars here, topped with sauces so vibrant you know they were made the same day. The kitchen sometimes has a heavy hand with salt, so if it's an issue let your server know when you order. Service is friendly and efficient. The wine list, while an excellent selection, is a tad on the pricey side, but you're paying for the atmosphere as well.

Huge slabs of Hereford and Aberdeen Angus steaks for sharing are cooked to perfection at this classic parrilla, and they're always accompanied by a variety of small side dishes, so there's little need to order anything other than french fries, though provoletas (gooey, slightly crispy grilled cheese slabs) are a must to start. The same menu is served down the block at La Cabrera Norte, at 5127 Cabrera, which handles the overflow.

The chalkboard-covered walls (las pizarras) at this appealing spot list the market-driven menu of a dozen or so creative dishes. The wine list is equally intriguing. Pricing is civil and portions are huge, though service can be a bit slow.

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" seems to be playing in the background as you enter this boldly colored space. Five rooms—four of them decked out in yellow, red, blue, or green, the fifth in an odd combination of cantaloupe and purple—make up the salas of this converted home. Every surface, right down to painted speaker covers, screams each room's hue. In the yellow salon you'll find the open kitchen, where a variety of breads is baked daily for the great sandwiches, bruschettas, and other dishes. The theme is "Ring Around the Mediterranean," with dishes reflecting the flavors of coastal Spain, France, Italy, and Greece, as well as the Middle East and North Africa. Delicious pastas are favorites, as are the spicy seafood dishes (if you like heat, don't miss the papillote del mar, a fiery shellfish stew in a phyllo pastry nest).

The porteño aversion to anything spicy means there's just not a lot of demand for authentic Mexican fare. But María Félix probably comes the closest, serving an array of Mexican dishes with a touch of Tex-Mex. The food is fresh and vibrant and the flavors are remarkably varied, if lacking in that hit of heat. Asking for hot sauce doesn't result in anything much stronger on the table. Still, it makes a nice change from the usual local fare, and when you wash it down with a reasonably good margarita you won't leave with any complaints. Thursday through Saturday evenings there's a wandering mariachi band.

When you hear the term deli, you may think double-decker sandwiches laden with smoked and cured meats, but this place is more California than New York. Look for huge salads with an array of fresh ingredients, inventive sandwiches on excellent housemade breads, delicious pastries, and just-brewed coffee. Sit on the patio outside and you may as well be in a scene from The O.C., right down to the slow service and snooty attitude. Still, this is a great choice for a casual lunch or brunch. The kitchen stays open until early evening, so if you're looking for a quick, casual bite in Palermo Soho, it's a decent choice.

The checkered floors and glossy black tables of Museo Evita Restaurante are as stylish as the great lady herself. Sticky and flaky, the medialunas here are some of the best in town.

One of the city's best known and beloved pulperías, Ña Serapia (local slang that means the "Martyred Lady") is tiny, with only a dozen seats wedged into a space big enough for half as many. Grab some cheap eats, including great empanadas, local stews like locro or lentil, or even small pizzas.

When you're searching for creative Argentine tapas, look no further than the eclectic selection of dishes off the rambling menu at this longtime favorite. Don't miss the perfectly poached eggs with bacon and grilled cheese, served up in a cocktail glass for dipping, nor the perfectly smoked fresh fish. Formerly Freud & Fahler (the NC stands for Nueva Casa), they took over the space vacated by the much-lamented loss of La Cupertina, everyone's favorite empanada shop. By turns coffee and pastry shop and evening tapas bar, with a few solid main courses thrown in, as well as a selection of prix-fixe and tasting menu options, this is not the place you'll remember if you visited the old location. Best bet, a bottle of wine and a selection of tapas from the ever-changing menu.

New Orleans is where chef Liza Puglia grew up, and she brings her passion for the flavors of her early years to the table at this puertas cerradas, one of the city's famous "closed door" eateries. It's the only place in town to find Cajun and Creole cooking. Puglia doesn't stint on the spice, and also likes to add some flavors from Mexico. Using locally sourced ingredients to stand in for those she can't get from home, she turns out delightful, rustic dishes, including a superb gumbo. The dining room and its communal table are attended to by partner in life and work, Francisco "Ticol" Terren, who pairs some of his favorite local wines with the four-course menus.

A bamboo facade gives way to a slick setting with plenty of black lacquer, creating a sleek ambience for Buenos Aires' leading Japanese-Peruvian (known as Nikkei cuisine) restaurant. The sushi is excellent, though pricey, and the service is spot-on, particularly at the gleaming counter. In the evening the bar scene heats up. There's a second location in Puerto Madero in the Faena Arts Center.

In a beautiful tri-level space overlooking Plaza Armenia, chef Daniel López Martitegui serves up the most creative food in the area—do your best to get a table beside one of the tall windows. In general, the fare tends toward lighter, healthier options, with a good number of vegetarian dishes. The food is delightfully spiced with blends from China, India, and wherever the chef's mind wanders. Cocktails and teas are tasty, but tend to be made on the sweet side unless you ask for them otherwise. The vegetable carpaccio salad and various wraps are the best dishes on the menu.