My recommendations for (decent) restaurants in BA.

[CoutureGirlNYC]

Hi All-

My husband and I recently decided to "move" to Bs. As. for 2-3 months to learn Spanish, travel the country (Patagonia/Salta/Mendoza/Iguazu/Ski Chile etc.). Anyway, we are from NYC and SF (I grew up in So. Cal. and he in the Bay area) and have lived in Europe etc etc. One of things we are most disappointed by here is the food. To be honest, I was expecting a much higher standard of quality of product as well as an overall more sophisticated palate. The only thing that I have been truly impressed with food-wise in Bs. As. has been the ice cream-- absolutely INCREDIBLE! I was expecting much healthier options as well as more organic choices being that this country has such great quality soil as well as different topography.

A few places we have eaten and a short review:

Piegari- We have gone here 2x, good pasta, good fish and great carpaccio.

Sotto Voce- Good black pasta with langostinas

Amici Mie- I was craving a thin crust TRUE caprese pizza with REAL BUFALA mozarella (not that crap that they call cheese). I saw an entree with Mozarella di Bufala and immediately asked the waiter if they could make me a thin crust pizza with BUFALA, EXTRA tomato sauce and basic and my husband and I were assuming that it would come out like garbage (like the rest of the pizza here) and we were very happily wrong! I would in no way compare it to a pizza that I could get in NYC or Italy, but it was definitely edible and had "real" cheese. So, if you are craving a real pizza, try it here. Other than that, this restaurant is nothing special and would not be special anywhere with decent restaurants.

Las Cabanas- I have a hard time understanding why tourists don't understand that all the good cuts of meat from Ar. is exported to the US and abroad. That said, this place was still good and would be an "average" steak place in NYC/LA etc.

Tandoor- worst Indian food I have ever had and I have had a lot and love it (lived in London for 6 months ) You should not call a restaurant Tandoor and not even have a clay oven. Strange. Also, Indian food is meant to be spicy...

Astrid and Gaston- good cebiche. I love La Mar Cebicheria in SF and this is done by the same owner.
Doppio Zero- not memorable.

Oviedo- decent, but nothing too impressive.

Sarkis- Having grown up in Southern California where there is an abundance of excellent middle eastern and Armenian food, I have high standards. This place was good for what it is and very cheap.. I would recommend the chicken over the lamb. Great hummus.

Cabana Las Lilas- Surprisingly very good, excellent lomo, good service, and good prices for the quality.\

still wanting to try:

Sipan
Mott
Sucre
Tomo
Crizia
La Bourgogne

I am not even going to bother trying sushi here as there is no way it will even come close to comparing to Sushi Yasuda in NYC or hell, even Nobu. I've read these forums and read about how people bitch about food in the states is bad and I understand that California and NYC are outliers, however, I have a hard time believing that people really find the food here better. In NYC, I can have any type of food from anywhere in the world (whether it be from a street cart or a Michelin 3 Star restaurant.)

I don't understand why everyone here raves about what great food Argentines have. It's only great if you like everything slathered in sugar, cream, flour, butter etc. or plan on eating meat every meal.

I feel that even when we travel to remote places in Mexico/and Central America we have much fresher options (seafood/vegetables/fruit) as well as spicier food and less sugar/carbs/cholesterol.

I am going back to NYC for meetings this weekend and am literally salivating already thinking about eating decent quality food.

 

[cafeconleche]

Tandoor- worst Indian food I have ever had and I have had a lot and love it (lived in London for 6 months ) You should not call a restaurant Tandoor and not even have a clay oven. Strange. Also, Indian food is meant to be spicy...

Indian food here is not at all comparable to that in London but once you've been here long enough you really appreciate places like Tandoor. And you also learn that if you want spicy you need to specifically ask for it.

 

[ghost]

And after you ask for it and get it,,,,,,,it's still not very spicy.

 

[CoutureGirlNYC]

Ghost- I agree- I asked them to make it as spicy as possible... Epic fail...

 

[PhilipDT]

Food in BA sucks. It's true, I listed some exceptions though in another thread a while back http://baexpats.org/128480-post7.html

 

[MizzMarr]

What I'm confused about is where you've been reading that people like the food here! I've lived here for several years, and food complaining is THE number one favorite pasttime of expats. In general, the food really sucks. The sad truth. I wish the food were more like the food in Mexico, but that's a pipe dream. As Philip posted there are exceptions but those exceptions are usually quite expensive.

 

[Matt84]

Mexican food is notoriously expensive in this country

 

[El Duderino]

I liked the food for the first month I was here. And then I realized there is no variety and the consistency is atrocious.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'm always looking for new places to try and it really helps when it's an endorsement from a (I can only assume) cultured gringo!

 

[ellbee]

.....so expensive and come to think of it, they are really cheap ingredients....

i have decided that i will make my own tortillas (rapiditas are lame and i can't find corn tortillas to make tacos anywhere in BA).

I have given up on mexican food in BA so I will cook it myself. It safes me from complaining about how expensive and lame mexican restaurants are.

Mexican food is notoriously expensive in this country

 

[Matt84]

All "ethnic" food in B.A. is terrible, including Mexican - the reason being there are not so many Mexicans (and NO south asians, that explains the lack of spices) . I still don't understand why there isn't good sushi, there's a decent sized Japanese community in B.A.
The only exception might be Arabian food run by actual Syrians. this little take out shop in Charcas / Scalabrini Ortiz you all know is actually really good. BUt not halal/kosher at all, I saw blood dripping from the mincemeat bag as they were carrying into the same store that doesn't tolerate wine in or even close to their premises!

To compensate, I'd recommend a tiny little bristo in recoleta, "Florencio". Only 4 small tables but the food (and excellent pastry!!!) is prepared on the spot, with love and grace. From the neighborhood it's in to the dishes they serve, it's a good antidote to the city. They don't take CC and require reservation for dining, but it's very informal.
Good prices.