Best Buenos Aires Steakhouse: La Cabrera, Palermo Soho

As I was doing research to find a place to eat in Buenos Aires, I came across many recommendations that pointed towards La Cabrera. A restaurant that is located in Palermo Soho which has great dining and shopping options. La Cabrera is known to be the place of excellence when it comes to a good parrilla. Named Best Steakhouse twice in a row definitely speaks a lot about the quality of service and food that this restaurant provides. You can find this parrilla open during the traditional argentine operating hours of 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Before 10 p.m. English is the primary language overheard as tourist fill up all the available seating. Regardless of its popularity and constant mention in travel books, the servers remain friendly and diligent. The only downside of La Cabrera is the fact that their prices are high compared to other Buenos Aires parrillas.  So if you are restricting yourself to only eating at one steakhouse while visiting Buenos Aires, or if you happen to find yourself on a budget like myself and have the need to splurge one day, I recommend La Cabrera.

    This place is considered to have some of the cities best food! The steaks are served to you on wooden boards, in huge portions, along with some condiments like olives, sun dried tomatoes and goats cheese. This particular Buenos Aires steakhouse is not only popular for its food but also for its attentive service. Sizzled with the standard slow-cooked care it sure brings out the flavor of the famed Argentine Beef. As many come to find out Argentina is a country that holds back on spices. The great surprise is that La Cabrera does not refrain from using seasoning like thyme, concasse pepper and vegetable marinade that adds flavor to the beef. What a relief! Many of the entrees are also available in half portions, but they have a trademark variety of side dishes that come add no extra charge with each entree. A couple examples of these side dishes include; a quail-egg potato salad, pureed squash, and tomato-marinated pinto beans.

Their wine list consist of only large wineries but nothing too interesting, you can definitely find a classic Argentine Malbec. I arrived at La Cabrera at 8:30 and people were already lined up outside the door! I recommend making a reservation with them through their website in order to assure a faster service. If you do not get to make a reservation no worries, they do give you sparkling white wine while you wait. Overall it was a good experience and a fantastic meal which I do plan on doing again.

 

Best Buenos Aires Steakhouses: Don Julio, Palermo Soho

Located in the heart of Palermo Soho in Buenos Aires, Don Julio is an Argentine steakhouse that has managed to maintain itself in the category of  high quality but pricey restaurants. It has an old school porteno atmosphere: with wooden tables, exposed brick and cow skin placemats.

Personally, I prefer my steak medium rare as opposed to the traditional Argentine method of medium-well or even well done and at Don Julio, although the quality of the meat is high, it has a tendency to be over cooked.What Don Julio does provide you with is the atmosphere that you expect from a traditional parrilla in Buenos Aires. You get a mixed crowd of locals and tourists who pack the place during lunch and dinner, so its great for those who like a more noisy and social atmosphere, but for those looking for some quiet alone time I would go elsewhere. Its location is perfect for those looking for a nice dinner followed by some great shopping, because the Palermo Soho location is surrounded by many boutique design stores featuring Buenos Aires local clothing designers. Don Julio offers empanadas and homemade pastas in addition to steaks on the grill . Its clear to see in the quality of their food that this parrilla takes their cooking seriously and strives to meet expectations, proven by their great reviews and satisfied customers. I recommend trying the ojo de bife ( rib eye), cuadril (rump steak), their chorizo sausages and their pastas.

     Argentina is not just known for their great steaks but also for their wines. Wine is not just part of Don Julio’s decor, their wine list is in my opinion one of the cities most curated, offering great selections. The interesting thing is that you can make your wine selection on an iPad which you can search through according to the type of wine and price range, providing a picture and description of each makes the search that much easier and enjoyable.

The waiters were friendly and knowledgeable, and to my surprise they were patient with tourists as many struggled to order in Spanish and English. What I enjoyed the most had to be the great dessert selection, it  definitely left me with the urge to go back as soon as possible, they have excellent white chocolate brownies, figs with ice cream and many more options. Don Julio left a lasting impression, so for those who are interested in enjoying a great quality meal for an expensive price I definitely recommend it.

¡Buen Provecho!

Ubicado en el corazón de Palermo Soho en Buenos Aires, Don Julio es un asador argentino que ha sabido mantenerse en la categoría de alta calidad, pero también entre uno de los más costosos. Cuenta con un ambiente antiguo porteño: con mesas de madera, ladrillo visto y manteles individuales de piel de vaca.

En mi opinión, yo prefiero el bistec jugoso en comparación con el método tradicional argentino de medio cosido o incluso al punto en el Don Julio, aunque la calidad de la carne es alta, tiene una tendencia a ser más sobre cocido. En Don Julio se ofrece una atmósfera de lo que usted esperaría de una parrilla tradicional de Buenos Aires. Hay una clientela diversa entre lugareños y turistas que llenan el lugar durante el almuerzo y la cena. Este lugar es genial para aquellos que no le moleste un ambiente ruidoso y sociable, pero para aquellos que buscan un poco mas de tranquilidad a solas les recomiendo que vayan a otro lugar. Su ubicación es perfecta para aquellos que buscan una buena cena y continuar con un día de compras. El sitio está en Palermo Soho que está rodeado de muchas tiendas y boutique de diseñadores argentinos. Don Julio ofrece empanadas y pastas caseras, además de carnes a la parrilla. Se toman en serio y se esfuerzan por cumplir con las expectativas, demostrado por sus buenas críticas y clientes satisfechos. Yo recomiendo probar el ojo de bife, cuadril, los chorizos y las pastas.

Argentina no es sólo conocida por sus excelentes carnes, sino también por sus vinos. El vino no es sólo una parte de la decoración de Don Julio, la lista de vinos es en mi opinión una de las ciudades más curada, que ofrece grandes selecciones. Lo interesante es que usted puede hacer su selección de vinos en un iPad que se puede buscar a través de acuerdo con el tipo de gama de vinos y el precio, que proporciona una imagen y descripción de cada uno hace que la búsqueda sea más fácil y agradable.

Los camareros son amables y eficientes, y para mi sorpresa, son muy pacientes con los turistas ya que muchos se encargan de entender en Español e Inglés. Lo que más disfruté había de ser la gran selección de postres, que sin duda me dejó con las ganas de volver de nuevo. Tienen excelentes bizcochos de chocolate blanco, higos con helado y muchísimas más opciones. Para mí, Don Julio me dejo una muy buena impresión, así que para aquellos que están interesados en disfrutar de una gran comida de calidad a un precio caro definitivamente se los recomiendo.