J.A. Cabrera 5099 (corner of Thames), Palermo Viejo

[also has a second restaurant, La Cabrera Norte, down a block at J.A. Cabrera 5127]

La Cabrera: Buenos Aires steak at its finest

This review is going to be something of a first for me: a review pretty low on words, and high on pictures. Thing is, when it comes to talking about La Cabrera, words just can’t describe the ecstasy of enjoying one of their huge steaks or many other specialties. In this case, pictures seem to be the way forward, and so I’ll do my best to curb my verbose tendencies for today…

Happy drooling!

Image credit: aprillynn77 at Flickr, because none of my pictures quite do La Cabrera justice like this one does [note: the rest of the pictures in this post are all mine, as are 99% of the rest found on this blog]

La Cabrera - Steak is the word

As you can see from the two nicely sized cuts of bife de chorizo (sirloin strip steak) shown directly above, La Cabrera is extremely generous with the size of their steaks. Yet it is not only the meat which arrives in large quantities here - every main course order is accompanied with their trademark array of many small, varied side dishes (at no extra cost), as can also be viewed in the photo above and another photo further down this post. These side dishes range from complimentary sauces (depending on what you have ordered), to couscous, mashed potato with mustard, tomatoes in sauce, calabaza (squash) puree, sweet pickled garlic, sundried tomatoes, guacamole, and so on, and on, and on…

In fact, the experience of a meal at La Cabrera can be almost paralyzing (and I’m not talking about being weighed down after eating too much here, although that could well apply too). There is so much choice, so many different flavors and options to go for, that it stops you in your tracks for a minute, stunned by the freedom of choice placed in front of you (how existential)! My advice if this happens to you… concentrate on the steak first. Speaking of steak…

This was a pretty fine specimen. In fact, this Ojo de Bife Napolitano (rib eye steak with plenty of ham, cheese and sundried tomatoes on top) would be way more than enough for one person, forgetting the side dishes. So just try a few of the flavors on offer from those cute little sideshows whenever this occurs to you, but don’t let that detract from the main event, which is always going to be the huge steak.

As I hinted at already, it is hard to describe just how good the steak is without resorting to pictures. Let me just say that it is delicious, succulent, perfectly cooked (if you ask for a punto - medium - you really do get it medium and not overcooked, etc) and very, very juicy. And all this seems to be true whatever steak you order there, be it bife de chorizo, ojo de bife or bife de lomo - the three cuts I have tried and loved at La Cabrera. Incidentally, the lomo steak I had there (a chunk of which is pictured in the top right photo at the start of this post) was ‘perfumed with rosemary’, which was a very interesting and tasty take on what for me is the king of Argentine steaks.

Even though I just ate lunch, I’m already hungry thinking about the steaks at La Cabrera.

La Cabrera - A House of Gluttony

And yet, despite the steak alone being more than enough to fill you up before you even think about the variety of side dishes, sometime you have to go even further into the dark realms of over-eating. La Cabrera will probably tempt you to do so [especially when someone else is footing the bill and encouraging you to do so! Thanks Gunter, and Peri :)]

Last time I was there, we shared two starters between three people. The first was the following chorizo sausage:

Very nice indeed, thank you very much.

The second starter was even better, a goat’s cheese provolone (a type of cheese grilled on the Argentine parrilla) with sundried tomatoes. This was the best provolone I have tasted in Buenos Aires, and I have had quite a few. Plus, I’m not usually a fan of goat’s cheese, but it worked really well in this format (see top left picture at the head of this post).

Then we shared two main courses between the three of us (Ojo de Bife Napolitano and Bife de Lomo). This is about right - if you are having starters, then a main course each would be waaaaay too much at La Cabrera. In fact, if you are just eating the main course and nothing else, two dishes between three people should probably fill you all to satisfaction. And if you are a couple, one main course between two will probably do, although being a glutton myself I’d probably order a side of their fantastic wedge fries to go with that

Finally, we finished off the meal with a fantastic Sorbeto de Limon con Champagne (lemon sorbet with champagne). At this stage of the over-eating proceedings, having a dessert that you can drink through a straw is a very sensible idea. This dessert is also pictured in the group of pictures at the top of the post. Sluuurrrp…

By the way, this is what a house of gluttony looks like…

Stay well away from this place if you are on a diet.

And while you’re at it, slimmers would do well to avoid looking at more delicious steak photos from La Cabrera that were posted/linked by Matt Bites and Asado Argentina. Nice work, fellow gluttons and meat eaters!

La Cabrera, Palermo Viejo: The Verdict

• Service: (4/5) The service varies according to other reports, but for me it has generally been very good. Last time I was there without a reservation we happily waited in the nice outdoor seating area for almost an hour and were given three complimentary glasses of champagne during that time. Now that’s what I call good service!
• Food: (5/5) Up to now, my favorite place to eat steak in Buenos Aires. Massive cuts of meat, an amazing array of free side dishes, and everything tastes heavenly. Even if you don’t go for steak, dishes like their costillitas de cerdo (pork rib chops) are simply delicious too. They seem to do extremely well at all things carne.
• Atmosphere: (5/5) Again, I know some people complain about tables being too close together etc at La Cabrera, but I always find that kind of arrangement to add to a restaurant’s atmosphere. The outside tables are my favorite location to eat there - eating outside in nice surroundings (read a leafy, quaint, old Palermo Viejo street) really puts you in the holiday mood, which is good for me, because I can’t afford any holidays right now!
• Value: (4/5) Most of the main courses seem to be around 35 Argentine pesos, more or less. This seemed like a lot to me at first glance, but when you consider that the size of the steak means that one main course can be shared by two people, and all the side dishes that come along automatically, it suddenly becomes good value. A meal like this in Western Europe or the US would probably cost at least 5 times the amount as at La Cabrera.

Buenos Aires Argentina Guide Special Tip

Simply put, go to La Cabrera. That’s my tip. As you can see from my high ratings above, La Cabrera is my current favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires, and in fact, I can say with a certain amount of confidence that…

If you eat meat, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be in heaven at La Cabrera.