7 Best Restaurants in Buenos Aires, Argentina

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.

Tucked away down a cobbled alley is one of the most beautiful and romantic restaurants in the city. Night after night chef Gonzalo Aramburu turns out an exquisite 18-course tasting menu of seasonal dishes, each reinterpreted through the lens of what is here called cocina vanguardia, or cutting-edge cooking. It's worth the splurge. 

Stepping into the wood-paneled dining room, with tables draped in white linens and a ceiling tented with a colorful carpet, you may feel like you've entered a British officers' club from the late 1800s. During the day the clientele seem to be mostly embassy employees and foreign-service workers, which just adds to that atmosphere. At night it changes over to a mix of neighbors and tourists enjoying the offbeat menu that's half Italian and half Indian. For those in the mood for spice, a half-dozen reasonably hot curries are on offer (the fish and prawn curries are the stars). For something milder, pasta is the thing, and the excellent lasagnas are the house specialty. The waitstaff is trained to sell and can sometimes seem a little pushy.

While puertas cerradas, or closed-door restaurants, have been a part of the Buenos Aires dining scene for decades, they were historically a place you discovered by word-of-mouth. In 2006, that all changed when Dan Perlman and Henry Tapia, the norteamericano and peruano couple behind this 10-seat communal-table home-dining spot, hit the scene. These days scoring a spot to dig in to their Mediterranean-meets-Andean cuisine, five-course menu with paired wines can be hard to do, so book early. You'll meet new friends, swap stories, and enjoy creative home cooking. The exact address is provided with reservation, made via the website only.

An intimate and artsy setting are the backdrop for a short but creative menu, which includes house specialties like phyllo-wrapped Morbier cheese salad as a starter and the perfectly cooked ojo de bife (rib-eye steak). Relax, enjoy a glass of wine, read the paper, and eat well.

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.

When you step behind the red velvet curtains you'll feel like you've wandered into a carnival, because that's kind of where you are. Part restaurant, part cabaret, part sideshow, this exotic place is designed to distract your attention and separate you and your cash—although it's all in good taste and good fun. Bizarre names for dishes meant to invoke sexual situations are just a smokescreen for creative and interesting-sounding ideas—they don't always live up to the billing. The cabaret shows, a mix of sleight of hand, a teasing level of stripping, and sometimes even puppetry, are fun, but expect a modest charge on your bill.