Spring might be porteños’ favourite season; warm days and longer evenings spurring on the residents of Buenos Aires to blossom.
An impulsive city known for its spontaneous energy, pop-up art fairs, four-handed dinners and sommeliers uncorking yummy Argentine vintages are simple pleasures that help residents ride out the turbulent economic situation that continues to plague Argentina – and their return is a clear signal that Buenos Aires is ready to bloom along with the jacaranda trees.
Sorrel Moseley-Williams is a freelance journalist and sommelier based in Argentina since 2006, specializing in food, travel and wine in Latin America. Her work can be found in the pages of Wine Enthusiast, Monocle, Condé Nast Traveller, Travel + Leisure, Decanter, and The Guardian, and other publications. Here with us, she shares her guide to the best restaurants in Buenos Aires this spring.
The port barrio (neighbourhood) of Retiro is certainly blooming. While the colonial-style Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano Isaac Fernández Blanco has long been a favourite for preHispanic art appreciators, Los Jardines de las Barquín has given it a new lease of life. This restaurant opening spruced up the museum’s Andalusian garden and, given that it’s open from breakfast onwards, is a perfect pit stop before or after browsing the art collection.
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Around the corner is legendary hidden basement bar Florería Atlántico, which has continuously ranked in the World’s 50 Best Bars for the past decade; pop in for a cocktail, such as a Papelón from Venezuela, inspired by communities migrating to Argentina since its return to democracy. Conveniently located opposite the bar is Casa Lucia, the Buenos Aires hotel opening of the year. Abandoned for several years, the facelift to the 1929-constructed Edificio Mihanovich has been so remarkable that the hotel was named one of Time magazine’s world’s greatest places 2024. Check out the fabulous lobby over coffee from Le Club Bacan or, of course, book an 18th-floor suite that overlooks the River Plata.
The beating social pulse of Argentina‘s capital, Palermo’s wining and dining scene is always buzzing. The launch of 2023’s Michelin guide to Buenos Aires put a slew of the barrio’s restaurants on the global map, such as contemporary bodegón Mengano, seasonal food-driven bistro Reliquia and modern meat temple La Carnicería, but also confirmed what many diners already knew: Parrilla Don Julio, Crizia and El Preferido de Palermo really are the bees’ knees, picking up red and green stars between them.
Openings to boost the Palermo scene include Musgo, whose dining concept brings together Scandinavian flavours with Patagonian ingredients in a stylish Nordic setting. At José El Carnicero, meanwhile, the traditional technique of roasting meat on a cross spit – usually only seen in rural scenes these days – returns to the city. Asadores practise their culinary art behind the front window, curious pedestrians stopping in their tracks to watch whole lamb slowly sizzle before trying to bag a space at the kitchen counter for dinner.
And while beef protein may dominate many a visitor’s dining schedule, a refreshing addition in Belgrano is seafood-driven restaurant and bar Ultramarinos Bivalves and Atlantic-caught fish comprise the raw and cured menu, which also includes flame-grilled options (of course), such as razor clams in XO sauce.
In a post-pandemic world, a slew of wine bars and vinotecas have opened up across the city, bringing Argentine labels closer to a thirsty audience falling back in love with Malbec. One of the sexiest spaces to open this year is the Cava at Casa Cavia. The elegant bar and restaurant in Palermo Chico converted the first floor into a haven for wine lovers, where owner Juan García shares gems from his private collection spanning Bordeaux, Burgundy and of course Mendoza. For a private tasting in English, book a session at La Cava de Lucía, a charming store in Las Cañitas where you can slip some souvenirs in your bag to share back home. But if your preferred tipple is spirit-based, check out August opening Costa 7070, a bar on the riverside Costanera Norte conceived by leading mixologist Inés de los Santos, whose vanguard design will make it this spring’s watering hole for the hippest porteños.
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