Eating our way around Argentina
- Luke Griffiths
- 5 days ago
- 10 min read
Food is always a massive part of choosing a holiday destination and we really made the most of eating our way around Argentina. We both expected (and enjoyed) lots of steak and red wine; but the overall quality, huge portion sizes, and the value for money of the food was very appreciated!
Our trip started in Buenos Aries, so our Argentine food journey had to start with a trip to the current 10th best restaurant in the world - Don Julio.
Don Julio, Buenos Aires
I have wanted to eat at Don Julio for years and it's not a surprise why - they are consistently voted as one of the top 20 restaurants in the world, and also as the best steakhouse in the world.
Getting a reservation here was a major part of the planning for the already complicated trip to Argentina - another trip planned to include a restaurant on Luke's list! We arrived on time for our booking and the restaurant was surrounded by a crowd - some with a table booked, others there on the (unlikely) search for a walk in, and yet more there just to take pictures of the restaurant...it is really that popular!
We had a ridiculously tasty shredded beef empanada washed down with a couple of glasses of champagne whilst stood outside waiting for our table to be ready, which helped to build the anticipation... then we were shown into the restaurant and up some stairs to a lovely secluded additional dining area.
While deciding on what to eat we were presented with a tomato snack, and some delicious bread with olive oil from Mendoza (more on that area to follow). Our waitress was really helpful in advising what to choose, and seemed very pleased that we'd chosen her favourite accompaniment/side. Everyone who attended our table was very impressed with Gill's Spanish - even though they spoke more than enough English to hold conversations with us.
For starter I ordered steer sweetbreads and Gill went for a spinach empanada - this meal was very unusual as we shared starters... I don't usually like to give away food, but the empanada was surprisingly tasty and a good swap. The sweetbreads were each the size of a fist, I've never seen them so big. They were incredible, and perfectly cooked. When we were ordering, our waitress advised/offered the option to have a half portion of the sweetbreads and this was great advice - because of their size, one each (with me eating a bit of Gill's 'to help out') was plenty between us.
We shared the main too - a massive slab of perfectly cooked tenderloin steak, slices of the biggest mushrooms that neither of us had ever seen before, incredibly tasty buttery mash, and our waitress's favourite - black tomato and fig tartare. Every element of the main was full of flavour. So much so, that we barely touched the chimichurri or salsa sauces that were provided. (Having tried them towards the end, I can confirm that they were amazing, but the food stood up so well on its own).
As with a lot of restaurants there is a real focus on locally sourced, sustainable produce - Don Julio source many of their ingredients from their own farm, and use as much of each item as possible (which shows in the large 'offal' section of the menu).
Dessert was washed down with a negroni which was made by our waitress - the first one she had ever made... she's definitely welcome to make more! I had an egg flan with a generous accompaniment of dulce de leche and Gill had a 'homemade' raspberry and peach sorbet.
We continued eating our way around Argentina at our next location, El Calafate - a 3.5 hour flight south from Buenos Aires.
Mako Fuegos y Vinos, El Calafate
We've quite the collection of Lonely Planet books and the one about Argentina suggested Mako as one of the top places to eat in El Calafate. I wasn't sure what to expect with being so far south, and there being so few people in the area, but Mako (and El Calafate in general) was a foodie oasis within a sparsely populated region.
We booked online as soon as we knew what our plans were for the evening but I think we could have turned up and waited for a table. Entering the restaurant is a feast for your senses - it's beautifully laid out with exposed timber & glass, a part open kitchen and sheep being smoked.
Mako means 'fresh' in Tehuelche, the language of the native Patagonian people. The process of cooking with fires and hot stones came from these natives too - the restaurant is an homage to Patagonian food, with a contemporary twist.
Mako do offer a tasting menu but we ate from the a la carte, enjoying a negroni while choosing our food. Gill chose an Argentine sparkling wine for us and it worked perfectly with the meal... even though my lamb should have been accompanied by a red wine (I'm not big on following the rules!)
Throughout the meal the service was really friendly. We had a different waiter/waitress for each interaction for a while and we joked that they were drawing straws to be unfortunate enough to deal with the English guests, but I think it was just that they all liked us! At one point the restaurant owner came over to explain that Gill's dish was his grandma's recipe, and that mine had elements from his family orchard.
The food itself was great, and the portions were huge (as seemed to be the theme for Argentina). In true fine dining style we were served a snack - a tuna tartlet complete with a roe topping, and then in true Argentine style, we were served delicious bread, this time with a mushroom pate to dip into.
Gill had corn soup to start. This was served with a very cool looking parmesan foam and was a really tasty dish. I had sweetbreads (of course), which were served with creamed sweet potato.
For her main, Gill had a beautiful looking agnolotti pasta dish. The pasta was stuffed with spinach, peas and fava beans... the latter two items coming from the family orchard. This dish was also served with parmesan foam - Mako worked really hard to elevate every item that came to the table and this was no exception, perfectly presented and full of flavour.
I ordered traditional lamb which arrived at the table sizzling on a hot stone, accompanied with the obligatory salsa and chimichurri. The lamb was incredible - deliciously full of flavour, succulent, and perfectly seared (I'm personally taking the credit for that... my hot stone, my cooking!). Alongside the lamb I had potatoes with bacon and mushroom - these were served covered in a meaty gravy and were so good. There was plenty too; I reckon it could have easily been a 'side' for 4 people.
We were both rather full after eating so much of the delicious mains that we didn't have a pudding... which is very unusual for me!
Rústico Asador y Parrilla, El Calafate
Rústico was recommended by some fellow Brits we met on an excursion. Maybe we spent too long talking about food, maybe that's what everyone does when chatting about their travels while on a coach journey to an excursion. Whatever lead to it, the family we were chatting to on the way to the Perito Moreno glacier really recommended eating at Rústico, and it was well worth the recommendation.
The restaurant was on the other side of town (El Calafate sprawls along the shore of Lago Argentino) so we organised a taxi to take us there through our hotel, as there's no Uber in town. I'd requested a table with a view when booking and they obliged. We were sat by the window, with uninterrupted views of the lake. Because we visited in the height of summer the days were really long - sunrise was around 06:00 and sunset around 21:30. Our seat in the window gave us a prime viewing spot to make the most of the late evening light, and (on another night) would have been perfect for the colours of sunset across the lake.
After enjoying a negroni in a different place we cracked on with food, and sharing was the theme for the evening. First up after the appetiser of bread and garlic beans were sweetbreads (I know, but I love them and we just don't get them often enough at home) which arrived sizzling on a skillet. The sweetbreads were both cow and sheep, and the flavour and texture was quite different between the two - both were full of flavour and perfectly cooked.
We shared a mixed grill for our main - this also arrived on a skillet. The meat on the mixed grill was cooked to perfection and the flavours were amazing. We managed to eat all of the meat which goes to show that sharing works (but only in Argentina, I don't want Gill to get used to eating my food!)
I had a tiramisu for dessert which was great - I ended up sharing this with Gill too though as it was massive. We rounded the meal off with an 'El Calafate' cocktail made with a berry that is only found in Patagonia.
Our next destination on our Argentine adventure was Ushuaia where we enjoyed seafood and steak, then we headed north to Mendoza - wine country.
Azafrán, Mendoza
Azafrán was really special. We weren't the only ones to think so... despite visiting on a Monday evening it was fully booked, with some guests even arriving for the second sitting once the first had cleared.
We had the full 9 course 'Paseo Federal' which was a 3.5 hour gastronomic tour through Argentine territory (plus a bit of South America, and the chef's roots too). I assume that the people who arrived at around 22:15 were eating from one of the shorter menus, but the Argentinians do seem to like to eat late so who knows!
We chose to have the wine pairing to accompany the food - this started with the snacks and went all the way through to dessert. All of the wines were perfectly paired, even when it surprised us... red wine with the trout (cured in black garlic with an XO, coriander and almond milk sauce) for example - very different but it worked so well. The quality of the Argentine wine was remarkable. Me and Gill agreed that a lot of it was situational, but there were a couple that have been ordered now we are home. There were generous servings of wine too; topping up glasses even after we'd finished the food a couple of times.
The food was beautifully presented as well as being full of flavour. The selection of snacks looked as incredible as they tasted, and it was great to sample bite size snippets of various regions through the beef, lamb, rabbit and tomato that they contained.
There were a variety of different influences in the dishes. The soup consisted of two types of tomato water combined with chilli water and served over a dark bread. The bread was amazingly different. So full of flavour and had an amazing texture... it almost could have fooled you that it was meat. The recipe for this was inspired by the chefs abuela (grandma) from Spain.
Another dish that had a notable influence was the Cachapa. This delicious 'fritter' from Venezuela had a cake/bread like texture and was spiced with chilli water and served with sweetcorn that 'popped' perfectly. It was topped with sweetcorn foam just to complete the variety of textures.
The main course was ribeye steak (of course), severed with Malbec (of course). What made this dish extra special was the accompanying bread and butters. The bread had the texture of a croissant, it was wonderfully flaky and tasted sweet. The butters were very different. One was flavoured with lavender (we had seen lavender growing pretty much everywhere we visited in Argentina) and the other was elderflower and mushroom praline butter - both incredible with the bread.
As you'd expect in Argentina, the steak was cooked to perfection. An amazing sear on the outside, but succulent and moist inside. Because of the type of restaurant we were in it was perfectly trimmed too. Any fat was delicious, and we left totally empty plates (surprise).
Azafrán was so good - up there with some of the best restaurants that we've sampled. What continued to surprise us about Argentina was the value for money (comparatively) of the food and drink. Here again we were served the best ingredients, accompanied by fabulous wines in a great setting in central Mendoza, at a cost that was less than we'd pay for just the food at a comparable quality restaurant in England.
Eating our way around Argentina - final thoughts
Overall, the food in Argentina was such high quality, and we were thoroughly spoilt at every meal.
We arrived in Buenos Aries on a Sunday night and just ate at the first (decent looking, busy with locals) place we found - this happened to be an Italian restaurant. Even at an Italian restaurant in Argentina the food was good - this really set the scene for the rest of our fortnight of exploring down, and up Argentina.
We expected, and 100% got, amazing food at the Michelin starred restaurants that we ate at in Buenos Aires and Mendoza. But it was the quality of the food elsewhere that was the biggest surprise.
El Calafate is like a frontier town - it's the gateway to Patagonia, but it is in the middle of nowhere. The food, presentation and service at Mako was (in my opinion as a person who quite likes food) at a Michelin star level, and Rústico ticked almost every box to be a strong Michelin guide restaurant... all while offering great value for money. To be at this standard while being so cut off seems massively impressive.
This is a silly story but it does really highlight the overall quality of the food. Whilst in Ushuaia we had a day exploring the Tierra Del Fuego National Park as part of an organised tour. After spending the morning rafting, we stopped for lunch before going on a hike... at home you'd be happy with a sandwich - but that's not the Argentine way! After the obligatory couple of glasses of Malbec to catch our breath from the rafting, we had Carbonada Criolla (a traditional Patagonian stew) and then for pudding we had a cake with a calafate berry compote. The food was incredible - even in the middle of nowhere, as an included lunch on an excursion... it was so tasty that I even took pics of it!
If you are into food I would definitely recommend visiting Argentina. It was the ideal foodie break, but there was so much more to the country than just that - outstanding scenery, amazing nature and warm friendly people... there is something for everyone.
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