It’s worth the trek to the San Isidro suburb to taste the dishes emerging from Alejandro Féraud’s open kitchen. This modern bistro, which opens for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, quickly became a hit for its unique way of transforming familiar Argentine flavors. [$$$$]

Narda Lepes is a household name in Argentina. She stars in cooking and travel shows, writes cookbooks, hosts a radio show, and sells her own line of supermarket products and kitchen appliances. Narda Comedor, her restaurant in Bajo Belgrano, takes after a mess hall, but the kitchen puts vegetables on the main stage. Many items are inspired by Lepes’s travels across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, and a talented crew of cooks serves dishes for breakfast, lunch, merienda (tea time), and dinner. [$$$]

Even though Uruguayan chef (and Francis Mallmann disciple) Santiago Garat constantly changes the menu, you can expect him to serve top-quality sirloin, skirt steak, rib-eye, pork loin, and all of the homemade chorizos. Don’t miss the spicy lamb merguez starter or seasonal vegetable side dishes. And make sure to hop next door to Corte Carniceria, one of the best butcher shops in the city, to shop for sausages, pork, and dry-aged beef. [$$$]

While Argentina might be famous for its beef, the unsung hero of the food scene is the helado. The Italian-style gelato is a big deal in BA, especially at this family-owned Belgrano ice cream shop that has been making the artisanal sweet treat for over 43 years. If it’s too hard to choose from the 50 flavors, go with their most popular trifecta: dulce de leche, sambayón, and chocolate. Hot tip: If you order half a kilo or more, they will top your ice cream with their homemade caramelized almonds. [$]

After hosting wildly popular pop-ups, chefs Mica Najmanovich and Nicolas Arcucci opened Anafe, where the vibe is laid-back but the dishes are anything but relaxed. The chefs reinterpret Eastern European, Italian, and Middle Eastern cuisines in small plates that emphasize texture, freshness, and flavor. Vegetarians won’t leave hungry either, since more than half of the menu is meat-free. The wine list features an excellent selection of boutique wines. Save room for dessert. [$$$]

This isn’t your bubbe’s shabbat dinner. The upscale Jewish eatery by chef Tomás Kalika recreates Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Israeli, and Middle Eastern dishes using fresh ingredients and modern techniques in a way that both intrigues and evokes nostalgia. The bone-in pastrami will leave you utterly verklempt. [$$$$]

Casa Cavia looks like it was taken directly from a Vogue photoshoot. The beautiful old house shares a space with a cultural center, publisher, bar, florist shop, cafe, and restaurant. Sit outside in the garden for a boozy weekday lunch, afternoon merienda (teatime), or relaxed pre-dinner drinks. Chef Julieta Caruso (an alum of Mugaritz) designed the restaurant menu, which tends to take inspiration from seasonal ingredients, while the bar serves some of the best cocktails in the neighborhood. [$$$$]

Catalino first began as a puerta cerrada (closed-door restaurant), a popular Buenos Aires restaurant model trending over the last decade. Now, their doors are open to the general public for “cocina sincera,” sincere food carefully sourced with agroecological ingredients. Relax in the beautiful patio oasis and try dishes like a choripan (sausage sandwich) with chimichurri and criolla sauce, wild boar ribs, and flan with homemade dulce de leche for dessert. [$$$]

For decades, beer drinkers in Buenos Aires almost exclusively consumed Quilmes, the national brand. In recent years, however, the city has seen an artisanal beer boom of epic proportions. There may be dozens of cervecerias in every barrio, but few are quite as welcoming as this buzzing microbrewery and taproom. Strange gets busy, so get there early or expect to perch on the curb. [$]

After centuries of the same traditional Argentine mixed grill, one restaurant has dared to modernize the sacred parrilla. La Carnicería, which means “butcher shop,” puts a twist on classic steakhouse fare with dishes that excite every sense. The early seating tends to be tourist-heavy, while the locals pour in starting around 10:30 p.m. Sit at the bar, sip on a lemon verbena gin and tonic, and enter a whole new carnivorous world of smoked chorizos, caramelized sweetbreads, beef tiraditos, and bigger-than-your-head steaks. The cabbage steak is a shining veggie star on the meat-heavy menu. [$$$]

There are only 10 seats at the bar at Tres Monos (three monkeys), the tiny, unpretentious cocktail spot on Thames Street in trendy Palermo Soho. Sebastián Atienza used to tend bar at popular Florería Atlántico before he opened his own place to focus on thoughtful cocktails with distinct Argentine personality. Try drinks like the Dame un Tiki with rum, pineapple, celery, fernet, and Hesperidina (a classic, orange peel-based Argentine aperitif invented in 1864). Tres Monos ranked No. 33 in the World’s 50 Best Bars 2021. [$$]

On a breezy corner on the border of Chacarita and Villa Crespo, La Fuerza keeps Argentina’s aperitivo history alive with a contemporary take on vermouth bars of the past. The vermouth is available on tap in white and red, made with grapes from Sebastián Zuccardi’s Mendoza winery and a selection of native herbs, spices, and flowers from the foothills of the Andes Mountains. The food doesn’t disappoint either, especially for those in search of Porteño nostalgia on a plate. Try the fainazzeta rellena, a mashup of fainá (chickpea cake) and fugazzeta (sauceless onion and cheese pizza). Or go for the milanesa con fritas a caballo (schnitzel with fries and fried eggs). The crew behind La Fuerza also reopened and refurbished Roma Bar, a historical cafe that specializes in pizza and empanadas. [$$]

While most Argentine palates aren’t accustomed to spicy food, in recent years the food scene has witnessed a growing interest in Korean flavors. The majority of the traditional Korean restaurants are still located in Koreatown, but spots like Na Num are opening up outside the tight-knit community. The place is run by Marina Lis Ra, the daughter of Korean immigrants, who mixes her roots with her Argentine heritage with dishes like tortilla (turnip and potato Spanish omelet), humita (tamale with kimchi), gochujang ribs, and the house favorite, kimchi fried rice. [$$$]

Argentina has long had a reputation for steak, but recent studies have shown a significant portion of the population consider themselves vegan or vegetarian. These diners will find lots of love in Chacarita, where chef and owner Manuela Donnet transformed this bodegón-style restaurant (Argentine cantina) into a vegan and agroecological haven. Mushrooms star in dishes like hongos donnet, sauteed portobellos with fermented cashew cream, and grilled oyster mushrooms with lemon. Don’t miss the fainá chickpea cake with tomatoes and pesto. [$$$]

Despite his past lives as a pilot, actor, doctor, director, and activist, serial entrepreneur Enrique Piñeyro claims his most challenging role yet is his newest vocation: restaurateur. His industrial-style restaurant, which specializes in grilled meats, river fishes, and pastas, closed temporarily during the pandemic (and will open back up in February 2022). But the closure gave the team time to focus on opening a bakery around the block serving dreamy croissants, breads, and churros with hot chocolate. [$$$]

It was once unheard of to have a woman behind the parrilla, but that doesn’t matter much to chef and grillmaster Patricia Ramos, who tends to the fire and huge slabs of beef at Nuestro Secreto. The Four Seasons’ luxe steakhouse is tucked in a greenhouse overlooking the hotel pool. The hotel also houses the award-winning Elena restaurant and Pony Line Bar. [$$$$]

Gran Dabbang delivers much-needed spice and flair to the city’s traditional meat-and-empanadas palate. The restaurant uses fresh, local produce to blur the borders between Latin American and Asian cuisines, and chef and owner Mariano Ramón, who spent time in the U.K. and India, is a master at layering flavors and textures. It’s open Monday nights, making it a favorite haunt of the local gastro community. [$$$]

Hidden in the opulent Pasaje del Correo passageway in Recoleta, chef and owner Gonzalo Aramburu’s namesake restaurant serves one of the last remaining tasting menus in the city. Request a table overlooking the kitchen and watch as the chefs prepare an 18-course menu featuring local seasonal ingredients, complete with foams, clouds of liquid nitrogen, and carefully selected wine pairings. [$$$$]

There are about 135,000 people of Armenian descent in Argentina, a huge community that’s vibrantly visible each weekend on the corner of Cabrera and Malabia in Palermo Soho. On Fridays and Saturdays, aka shawarma days, a lunch line spills out onto the street at this Armenian bakery, which has been serving loyal customers since 1972. Among the Middle Eastern and Armenian specialties, go for Belén salad (eggplant and roasted red pepper salad), lahmacun, and manté. [$]

It would be impossible to know from the beautifully presented dishes hitting the table that there are only a few young cooks in the kitchen at Julio Baéz’s 22-seat restaurant named after his daughter. The menu changes seasonally but highlights include calamari topped with avocado, watermelon tartare, rib-eye with black and white garlic puree, and Jerusalem artichoke flan. Baéz, who didn’t have the backing of any big investors, opened the unpretentious restaurant on his own to focus on the important stuff: seasonality, flavor, technique, and ingredients. [$$$]

This quaint spot just outside of Palermo’s trendy epicenter is the type of neighborhood restaurant everyone wishes to have in their barrio. Head chef and owner Julieta Oriolo channels her Italian roots to create simple and tasty home-cooked dishes. Be sure to try handmade fresh pastas like cavatelli, tortellaci, and tía Carmelia’s lasagna bolognese. Most of La Alacena’s pastas, sauces, freshly baked bread, and pastries are available for takeaway at the bakery next door. [$$$]

One of the few remaining traditional bodegónes (neighborhood taverns for Porteño comfort food) in BA, Parrilla Peña blasts diners to the past with unpretentious food and service. Every meal starts with a complimentary fried empanada, and then pros order dishes like provoleta cheese, bife de chorizo (sirloin), provenzal fries, and flan mixto (with dulce de leche and whipped cream) for dessert. If you want to really fit in, order the house table wine and lighten it with ice and a splash of soda water. [$$]

Off the tourist track in residential Almagro, this local dive is the king of the milanesa. Deep-fried flattened cutlets of chicken or veal are topped with a universe of cheesy and porky adornments. Portions are huge and prices are cheap. This is Argentine comfort food at its finest. [$$]

In a strip of touristy and disappointing restaurants overlooking the Puerto Madero docks, Chila is one of the only spots in Puerto Madero that’s actually worth a visit. Chef Pedro Bargero takes diners on a cross-country quest with carefully sourced ingredients in a seasonal tasting menu of modernized and emblematic Argentine dishes. The plates are as beautiful as they are delicious, especially the desserts by pastry chef Ana Irie. [$$$$]

This long-standing San Telmo favorite, led by celebrity chef and owner Leandro “Lele” Cristóbal and his right-hand chef Mercedes Solís, is known for its Spanish and Italian-influenced Porteño dishes like pastas, milanesas, and porchettas. If you’re looking for a quick bite, stop off at La Vermutería in the front of the restaurant, Café San Juan’s small vermouth and tapas bar. Above the kitchen, you’ll also find a workshop and production space, where the restaurant regularly conducts cooking classes and special events. During the pandemic, Café San Juan offered affordable daily meals for the barrio, and regularly provided food to hospital workers and community centers. [$$$]

Chef and owner Javier Urondo regularly ventures to the giant Mercado Central and Mercado de Liniers (Bolivian market) to source the freshest ingredients and spices for his unique twist on the classic bodegón (Argentine cantina). Since Urondo is located near BA’s Koreatown, and many of the clients are Korean, the kitchen incorporates Korean flavors on the very Porteño menu, which features blood sausage, sweetbreads, kimchi, and a lot of meat. [$$$]

Whole slabs of beef sizzle on the grills outside of El Ferroviario, a giant meat palace located on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in an abandoned railway station behind a parking garage. Serving more than 1,000 covers per night, this place is always a scene, and it boasts all the qualities of a great parrilla: Portions are large, prices are cheap, and groups are welcome. Waiters move between the outdoor grill and mess hall balancing plates overflowing with every part of the cow. To avoid long wait times, reservations are a must. [$$$]

There are more than a hundred Korean restaurants in the city, most tucked into private homes in the Flores and Floresta neighborhoods. For years opera singer Chung An Ra, owner of Una Canción Coreana, has welcomed Argentine and Korean communities to her local Koreatown favorite, where she serves home-cooked dishes like kimchi jjigae, japchae con carne, and bo ssam. The restaurant got a PR boost when Chung appeared in the documentary, Una Canción Coreana. [$$$]