When in Buenos Aires, what are you going to eat? Steak – and an excellent one at that. A rundown on the finest grill houses in town. Vegetarians need not apply.
Cabaña Las Lilas
Located in one of Puerto Madero’s old red-brick grain warehouses, Las Lilas literally brings Aberdeen Angus and Hereford beef from its own farms straight to the table. With a waterside view, let seven waiters attend to your every meaty whim. Don’t be defeated by the gigantic Flintstone-esque T-bone, a house specialty – a less robust appetite should slice into a succulent, buttery rib eye. Las Lilas’ encyclopaedic wine menu has won awards from Wine Spectator for the past three years so make the most of your sommelier’s recommendations. Recent diners include Bill Clinton and Lionel Messi.
Cabaña Las Lilas
Alicia Moreau de Justo 516, Puerto Madero
Tel: 4313-1336
laslilas.com.ar
El Pobre Luis
Set on the northern edge of Chinatown, football fanatic owner Luis Acuña has been grilling steaks and suckling pig Uruguayan-style for 26 years. With a space-age parrilla burning quebracho wood and coal as the centrepiece, keep an eye on sizzling classics such as the Pamplona de lomo, a slab of tenderloin painstakingly wrapped in heartburn-inducing cheese, bacon, red bell pepper and ham, while munching on the sweetest of sweetbreads in town.
El Pobre Luis
Arribeños 2393, Belgrano
Tel: 4780-5847
La Brigada
La Brigada’s meat is of such a superior quality, some cuts such as the rib-eye top are simply sliced with a spoon. Surrounded by caricatures of Argentine celebrities adorning the walls in this traditional establishment where the food talks volumes, the famished should dive straight into a kilo of sumptuous baby beef while the usually squeamish or gastronomically hardy should make a bid the finest array of offal in the city: kid sweetbreads and lamb chitterlings rounded off with animelles, more commonly known as a lamb testicle.
La Brigada
Estados Unidos 465, San Telmo
Tel: 4361-5557
labrigada.com
No bookings after 9pm.
Don Julio
This welcoming family-run enterprise located on a cobbled street is a Palermo classic, where staff treat you like royalty. Let your knife slip easily through a melting rump steak, or for alterative cuts try some tender entraña skirt or tasty, chunky ribs, favourites with the regulars. Although owner and manager Pablo Rivero is a sommelier, he sends all his waiters to wine school, so be sure to sign your empty bottle on your way out to add to Don Julio’s vast collection of empties decking the walls.
Don Julio
Guatemala 4691, Palermo Soho
Tel: 4831-9564
La Cabrera
If its medium-rare rib eye steaks are good enough for Francis Ford Coppola, then booking a table at the most popular steak house in town is a must. This former general store serves up enormous mouth-watering portions which are definitely fit for sharing. Accompanied by a dozen dips, such as Dijon mustard mash, parmesan-laced spinach and Malbec-reduced miniature onions, every mouthful turns into a brand new tasting experience at this Palermo favourite.
La Cabrera
Cabrera 5099, Palermo Soho
Tel: 4831-7002
parrillalacabrera.com.ar
No bookings after 9pm.
Aires Criollos
This contemporary, year-old steak house is a breath of fresh air – an unexpected find in a local neighbourhood where both plate and cutlery are religiously changed after every course. Heart sweetbreads drizzled in lemon are a house recommendation followed by flavoursome entraña skirt and a melting rib eye to share. Aires Criollos also serves up a sizzling-hot parrillada mixta tray, a tasting menu with sausage, kidney, chicken and a beef cut, a classic among Argentines.
Aires Criollos
Santa Fe 1773, Barrio Norte
Tel: 4811-3766
www.airescriollos.com.ar
Gran Parrilla del Plata
Remenisce about the days when this steak house used to be a local butcher – look upward for meat hooks for a touch of the authentic. Comfy cowhide seating and attentive service make the Gran Parrilla (see photo) a jewel in San Telmo – bustling and cherished by chattering locals and expatriates, it’s an Argentine experience itself and is becoming increasingly celebrated. Try a variation on the regular sirloin and have it grilled medium-rare butterfly-style for a quicker, juicier, culinary experience.
Gran Parrilla del Plata
Chile 564, San Telmo
Tel: 4300-8858
Published in SHOP Buenos Aires, March 2011.