[Travel Advice] Buenos Aires for Foodies

Buenos Aires for foodies

Clemens

Dec 05, 2025

Random Observation/Comment #910: My stomach was a rotating meat graveyard.

//Asado all day (but maybe not every day)

Prepping for Argentina

Bring around $30 USD per person per day for tips. Some places take cards, but the best snacks somehow happen exactly where your credit card doesn’t. Smaller stores love cash or debit cards.
Tip in cash at restaurants. I think it’s around 10%. They don’t have a “add tip” button when they ring you up. Don’t be the embarrassing foreigner who forgets.
Try paying with crypto via Peanut and a QR code. What a progressively accepted place.
Tune your ear: “ll” and “y” sound like “ch.” You’ll hear “chama” instead of “llama” and briefly think your Spanish is broken.
Salads are rough. You’re not here for lettuce. They honestly don’t know how to make a salad because there’s more than just leaves and tomatoes.
Spicy food isn’t spicy enough. Bring your own hot sauce if you need this. I especially think this is true for the empanadas.

Things Argentina Does Really Well

Jacaranda season - Purple flowers exploding across the streets. Love these.

Empanadas - Incredible… I think I ate one of these daily, but I did expect a little bit more spice. They’re just really well filled with a great dough.

Lesser known old cars - There are so many models that I didn’t know about across Fiat and Peugeot. As someone that can spot make and models of cars on the road, this was really interesting.

Architecture - It swings between European grandness and modern surprises. I just liked walking around.

Tango happening in random corners
Messi merch… everywhere. You can absolutely buy a jersey even if you don’t watch soccer.
Mate culture - The mate gourds make great souvenirs. Your mate cup tells a lot about you.

Street art that feels like a city-wide open gallery. I did appreciate the additions.

Asado - Bife de chorizo & entraña - These are elite-level steak experiences. I ate every part of the cow.
Heart of palm was awesome and it’s so fresh that it ruins canned versions forever.

Gelato / Ice cream is so delicious. I don’t even like sweets and I loved this. Based on the Dulce de Leche I had, I think it’s on par with gelato in Italy.

Some Wandering Highlights

Food Stops I Loved

Parrilla Peña - I literally ate here 5 times this trip and ate red meat every time. My stomach is not happy with me. Chorizo, blood sausage, empanadas, bife de chorizo, entrana, and so many more great pieces. By the end I questioned my life choices and my cholesterol.

La Causa Nikkei - Ceviche, sushi, and drinks. I’m just not a fan of sushi with cream cheese inside, but I guess the locals like it.

Abuela Pan - This was a surprising lunch stop in San Telmo for a vegetarian meal. Huge calzone filled with veggies.

Acido - One of the strongest meals of the trip as an afterparty. That filet beef with octopus skewer was so delicious. The dessert was also out of this world.

Revire Brasas Bravas - Post workshop steakhouse. Pretty good in the touristy area. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought and it had good vibes. Slower service.

Malas Hermanas - This was a Russian lunch spot near our workshops. It’s surprisingly good break from the parrilla overload.

Guerrin - Okay. How does this place have over 180,000 reviews on Google Maps? I didn’t get a chance to go inside, but I did hear good things from my coworkers.

Walks & Wanders

Morning city walks in Recoleta - Buenos Aires rewards wandering. Beautiful markets.

Centro Cultural Recoleta - A pretty 2 hour break to just see some random modern arts.

Botanical Garden (Jardin Botanico) by La Rural - Very pretty statues and luscious green everywhere. Super well maintained.

Recoleta Cemetery - City of the dead, 300k above ground, stories everywhere, rich families trying to one-up each other in marble.

San Telmo Market - Antiques, food, chaos, and charm. I really just wandered the area.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid - The famous theater-turned-bookstore. Worth the stop.

Palacio Barolo - I wanted to go up here because each floor is supposed to represent a different circle of Hell from Dante’s Inferno. Reservations needed way ahead of time. Add it to your list!

Nightlife & Drinks

Million - Cocktails in a mansion, feels like you’re at a diplomat’s afterparty. Of course things don’t get busy until 9PM. It was worth a visit.

Bestial Fly Bar - I came here for lunch because it was close to the venue. What in the world… Look at the flooring, leopard print, and giant head drinks. Rooftop bar with a nice view. So corny, but also so cool.

Multiple Devconnect events - When you’ve been to as many conferences as I have, this is probably the majority of your networking and late night activities. From Builder Night to post-conference happy hours and dinners, there’s no shortage of interesting conversations and good food. Mix of steak, swag, and tech people trying to explain why their Agent platform is going to see more users.