A foodie’s guide to the ten best vegetarian restaurants in Argentina’s capital.
It’s no secret that Buenos Aires is my ciudad preferido. As soon as the taxi from the airport made its way to my accommodation, it became instantly apparent to me that this city looks like Paris, if Paris was clean. Hot, clean, full of beautiful people, street art, fresh fruit and veg markets on every corner—Buenos Aires is ultimately an architectural dreamscape.
During my time there I visited a few neighbourhoods of this sprawling city, and they all offered something different. La Boca is a tourist hotspot famed for its football stadium, murals, and street markets. Saint Telmo is filled with antiques, bohemian travellers, and leather goods; which to me smells like a lovely old saddlery shop. Recoleta looks very Parisien, has posh little boutiques, heaps of up-market hair salons, and is home to an immense cemetery filled with the likes of Eva Perón1 – who rest in cavernous, yet intricate tombs.
However, my favourite neighbourhood is Palermo, which is where I spent about three months. It’s a rich-ish area, and it’s super safe. There are varied little shops that line the streets, selling everything anyone could ever need, and it’s very walkable, which to me is important because I’m funny about city buses. I find them claustrophobic and anxiety inducing. I’d simply rather walk.
For the majority of my time in BA I had a wonderful Air B and B, with my host Dani, and her two gatos. At this point I had been backpacking for a few months, working with horses, and I was grateful for some rest and civilization. Dani’s apartment was at the very top of an old building, complete with a marble staircase, and some stained glass windows. It also had a roof terrace, which was perfect for the scorching summer days. I even got to see a pent-up electric storm play out over the city, after numerous days of 40 degree heat. Magic.
Typically, I am not a city girl. I like being out in nature, away from the hoards, breathing in air that hasn’t been breathed by someone else. However Buenos Aires is the anomaly to this. It was an immediate infatuation. I’ll write another post more about the “why” I love this city, this one is about the food.
People think about Argentina, and they think: steak asado, bread, malbec. And yes, rural communities definitely do eat like this. When I was in Ushuaia I genuinely couldn’t face another medialuna (a bready type of croissant), for fear of turning into one. “¿Tienes algo vegetariano?” (do you have something vegetarian?), is not something wait staff are used to hearing. And that is no surprise in a country so famous for its beef.
However, that all changed in Buenos Aires, a city so vibrant, diverse, and progressive (in parts), that on almost every romantic street, or in every cafe/restaurant the vegan and vegetarian options are commonplace, modern, and ultimately delicious.
Something that I have not experienced very much elsewhere, aside from maybe Spain, is that dining in Buenos Aires is leisurely, often starting late, around 9 or 10 pm, and extending well into the night. If you want to go for drinks after dinner, most places are open until at least midnight. If you want to go clubbing, arriving BEFORE 2am is sort of unheard off. It is a very late night city, where sleep is for the weak, so practise a few late nights before you arrive!
I spent three months in this city, and I think about living there literally every day. I am aware that I am looking at it through rose-tinted glasses, and the realities are very different for the people who are stuck in constant economic, and social turmoil. But it cannot be denied that as a tourist, both short, and long term, this city is perfect.
So here are my top ten places to eat in Buenos Aires – especially if you are a vegetarian. I’ve chosen these based on the food offering itself, the drinks, the ambience, and the service. There’s no point including a ‘value’ section, as it’s all good value. I’d argue that Buenos Aires is the best place in the world to eat amazing food for cheap(ish). Read my blog on the Blue Dollar to understand why, and remember to always pay cash and tip heavily!
If I only had time for ten* restaurants, or if someone asked me for suggestions, this would be my chosen list of deliciousness. Having spent over ten years working in various high-quality hospitality, my standards are fairly high…
My list (I am hungry thinking about it):
Green Bamboo, is quite literally my favourite restaurant in the whole world. It is spectacular. I first went on a solo date after an evening walking the city. I liked the look of it, walked in, asked for for a table, and ordered a dish which has forever altered my perception of how good food can be. I have dined all over the world, have eaten a myriad of cuisines, and have been in great company (some people think food is best shared), but the cauliflower dish that I was served here haunts my dreams. I loved it so much I messaged them on Instagram and asked for the recipe. I returned on my second time to BA, and felt a little bit of heart-break when it was’t on the menu anymore. However, still fantastic food. The cocktails are impressive, and come with classy gimmicks, like some coconut on fire… The interior is luxurious, and has a Taiwanese spin as some of the seats are on the floor. Love, love, love.
https://greenbamboo.ar/
Taiwanese, Formal, Evening.
Food: 10/10
Drinks: 10/10
Ambiance: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Sacro. I first visited here with my new travel bestie Estelle for my 24th birthday. We had been out in the city all day and wanted somewhere plant-based to go for dinner. We did a classic Google search: “open now,” “vegan,” and Sacro came up. It was close, and so we bee-lined there. To start with we couldn’t find it. It has very subtle branding, and a door that blends perfectly into the wall. Upon entering, it’s like stepping into a rainforest. There are misting machines, bird song, giant ferns, and the room is quite dark. Little did we know prior, that Sacro is fine dining. It’s high-quality, innovative vegan cookery, and it is incredible. The ambiance is relaxing, yet formal, and we were lucky to get seated as it is very popular. It is the type of vegan food that doesn’t feel vegan. Exceptionally clever cooking, paired with seasonality, and big flavour. It is relatively expensive by BA standards, but my gosh is it worth it. Food artistry.
http://www.sacro.com.ar/
Vegan, Fine Dining, Trendy.
Food: 10/10
Drinks: 10/10
Ambiance: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Koi is a chain Japanese place. It feels a bit like stepping into a comic, because all of the wall art is designed to be like printed pages. It’s neon, manga-style, fun, vibrant, and modern. Ramen is my favourite meal, and so I wanted to go here for my less formal birthweek meal with some friends. There are various restaurants all over the city, and as with any chain the standard differs slightly restaurant to restaurant. The ramen is good, not the best, but definitely good, as are the bao and the dumplings. I went a few times because it is a cheap, delicious eat, and the vegetarian menu is pretty extensive. The interior is definitely what sets Koi apart, it feels like a holiday within a holiday.
https://koidumplings.com/
Casual, Japanese, Fun.
Food: 7.5/10
Drinks: 7/10
Ambiance: 10/10
Service: 8/10
Birkin. As someone funemployed, or online-teaching-at-leisure, Birkin was my favourite spot for a solo lazy brunch. It’s in a really nice, very walkable area, and so it makes a great location for a relaxed start. The coffee is always silky and made with care, and the brunch is sort of ‘normal’ western items like eggs, avo, hummus, and a range of breads. It’s simple, but it always hits the spot. It’s set near the eco-park (zoo), and so has a constant torrent of people streaming past, perfect for people watching. Birkin also adjoins a very posh apartment complex, and the rich elderly ladies with their fancy little dogs are a great source of entertainment. The staff are friendly, the menu is classic, the ambience is high-energy, and the cafe is beautiful: gold embossed lettering, and zigzag flooring. I usually got the poached eggs on avocado on sourdough, with a flat white. A white girl’s gonna do, what a white girl’s gonna do.
Brunch, Trendy, Coffee.
Menus
Food: 7.5/10
Drinks: 9/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Mishiguene, is named one of the World’s Fifty Best restaurants. If you are not familiar with that list, and you consider yourself a travelling foodie, get familiar – it is a great way to try critically acclaimed food in foreign countries. A Michelin restaurant in London is unattainably expensive for me, but in South America it’s achievable, and probably comes with a better ambiance (hehe). I went here with 2/3 of my All American Girl Band, the lovely Ali and Megan from California. Again, they’re foodies who like to research, and so this was fairly high on their list of places to go. Chef Tomás Kalika tells a very personal story at Mishiguene (which means ‘crazy’ in Yiddish) honouring his Jewish immigrant heritage and modernising his grandmother’s recipes. It is a truly wonderful atmosphere. The interior is classical, there is an large wine list, and the food is fresh and plentiful. The vegetarian menu isn’t that extensive compared to other restaurants on this post, but it is definitely worth visiting, especially on a Friday – if you can get a seat. We were there on a Friday evening for Shabbat, and the waitstaff played trumpets, and danced all around the restaurant. Highly, highly memorable.
http://www.mishiguene.com/
Jewish, Vibrant, Quality.
Food: 10/10
Drinks: 10/10
Ambiance: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Nicky Harrison is a little bit of a curve ball. It is a sushi restaurant, and of course sushi is usually fish. I went here with friends, and Ali chose this spot as it had rave reviews. It is fancy, chic, and I imagine best suited to those who don’t mind splurging a bit on a meal out. It is nestled into a fairly average street, but once inside the decor is retro, classy, and basked in a warm glo. There are some seriously talented chefs here, as the food is beautiful, refined, and seriously delicious. As a four we ordered an absolute mix. The fish looked amazing, but the vegetarian options, were also really special. For example, the ceviche was made with radish, that had the texture of white fish. Fabulous.
http://www.nicky-harrison.com/
Luxury, Sushi, Retro.
Food: 10/10
Drinks: 10/10
Ambiance: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Mudra. I wouldn’t have found Mudra by myself, but I was meeting a friend I had met on NYE in El Bolson, and she suggested that we go there for lunch. I ought to mention that she is a well known American retreat chef, and a foodie who does masses of research, so I was excited to go with her choice. Mudra is a plant based restaurant, that basically vegifies things that are not traditionally plant based. We had sushi, and it was thought provoking. Mango in place of tuna, carrot in place of salmon. All rich and umami, and pretty plating. The restaurant itself is up high in a fairly industrious part of the city. The interior is a blend of Scandinavian, and camp, with lots of raw wood, but also pink velvet chairs. Overall it feels sophisticated and modern, and is a great spot for an inventive lunch.
https://www.mudraplantbased.com.ar
Interior, Vegan, Innovative.
Food: 8/10
Drinks: 9/10
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Service: 9/10
Artemesia is a vegetarian restaurant on a trendy street. The interior is reminiscent of French Ornate, and it is ultimately cute, quaint, and a really great place for a wholesome lunch. Absolutely everything in this restaurant is home-made. The priority is organic, tasty, good-for-you food, that looks tasty too. It’s good in the sense that it doesn’t just rely on it’s niche of being solely vegetarian to sell itself, the food is good in its own right. It is more traditionally vegetarian than some of the other restaurants on this list, in the sense that there are leaves, and ingredients that haven’t been played with very much. Simple honest cooking done well. P.s. the bread is wildly good.
http://instagram.com/artemisiacocinanatural/
Lunch, Whole Foods, Quaint.
Food: 8/10
Drinks: 8.5/10
Ambiance: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Libros del Pasaje is a dream for a book-lover like me. I found it on accident and fell immediately in love. Set in a bookshop library, with double height ceilings, a checkerboard floor, and a glass ceiling over the cafe, Libros del Pasaje is an oasis in the middle of a bustling city. If you can read Spanish pick up a book and grab a coffee, it is like £1 therapy. The coffee is fine, the food is good, but the setting is wonderful. There is a large array of vegetarian options, and everything is very home-made, and not overly refined. Comprising of brunch items, soups, and sandwiches it is the least complex menu of the list, but it is simple, and honest done well. In Recoleta is the renowned El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a multistory bookshop on epic scale. It is special, and does have a cafe, but Libros del Pasaje has a much more authentic atmosphere, and isn’t so touristique.
www.librosdelpasaje.com.ar/
Library, Cafe, Wholesome.
Food: 6/10
Drinks: 7/10
Ambiance: 10/10
Service: 9/10
Chui is such a popular place that you literally have to queue to get in. Primarily plant-based it’s a really fashionable dinner location. Set in what feels like a greenhouse, the building is mostly glass, and it is absolutely jam-packed with plants. It’s a clever design because it feels like you’re eating food in the same location that it was grown. The service is wonderful here, all of the staff are friendly and very helpful. There is a seasonal menu that regularly changes, and has different influences from around the world. I went in a group of four, and we shared a heap of different dishes; some of which were adventurous, and some of which were more classical. The echoey, tall, glass venue paired with the menu makes this a real gem for a foodie who appreciates a space as much as a meal.
https://linktr.ee/chui.ba
Glass House, World Influence, Evening.
Food: 8/10
Drinks: 8/10
Ambiance: 10/10
Service: 10/10
*One for luck: Heladaria Cadore. This is a naughty extra because when in Rome, or rather Buenos Aires, you have to eat some gelato. Buenos Aires has a huge Italian heritage, as three and a half million Italians have settled there over the years. More than 60% of Argentina’s total population claim Italian descent – and so they take their gelato very seriously. Heladarias are open well into the night. I’m talking four or five am and they are still open. Argentinians do, stereotypically have a sweet tooth. Just thinking of ‘Dulce de Leche’ makes my teeth want to rot a bit. Desserts and sweet-treats are very normal, and very abundant. There are many wonderful Heladarias all over the city. Some are even self-service. My favourite however is Heladeria Cadore, it is rich, decadent, indulgent, and in their own words, “traditional.” It is not as fancy as some of the other gelato places, some of which are all gold and cream, and luxurious with masses of seating; but it is relaxed, well-made, family-owned, and just truly, truly delicious and authentic.
https://heladeriacadore.com.ar/
Gelato, Takeaway, Sweet.
Food: 10/10
Drinks: 6/10
Ambiance: 5/10
Service: 10/10
So there we have it, my ultimate guide to eating well in Buenos Aires. There are of course a plethora of under-the-radar places to check out, and I will do another post on those at some point, however these are the popular-for-a-reason restaurants that I personally love, and wouldn’t want anyone to miss.
As always, sending a hug,
Love, Rhianna ❤
- Eva Perón was the wife of Argentine President Juan Perón and a prominent First Lady known for her activism in championing the rights of the working class and women until her death in 1952. ↩︎
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