Shoeless Joe’s El Alamo Bar
Uruguay 1175 (between Santa Fe & Arenales), Recoleta
Ok, so this place doesn’t exactly scream ‘Buenos Aires‘. In fact, it screams ‘American Expat Bar’. So maybe it isn’t a good choice for my first Buenos Aires bars review! But then, BA is becoming more and more full of American expats, attracted down here by the nice exchange rate and the porteno lifestyle, so maybe it is indeed somewhat symbolic of today’s Buenos Aires.
To cut a long story short, there is really only one major attraction with this bar, which can be easily represented in pictorial form…
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…
And in case you didn’t get the message yet:
Sexist Beer Policy?
So, to recap, that’s unlimited free beer for all with lunch (which is fairly cheap anyway, more in a second), and before 10pm, in a strikingly sexist move, all beer and ‘tragos nacionales’ (cocktails made with non-import spirits/liquor) free for ladies. BA is famous for things like this - ladies get the cheap option in bars and clubs, because the owners want enough women around to attract the men in their hoardes - sorry to be so cynical! Even after 10pm, the fairer sex still only pay 2 pesos for a glass of beer, and the men pay 5 pesos, or alternatively 30 pesos for a 4 litre pitcher.
The Bar Itself
As for the bar, well it is nothing special, just a typical, unimaginative bar that could be found in any major city, but then I am sure the people come for the cheap/free drinks, and don’t really remember much of the surroundings.
There are two levels, downstairs for food and quiet music, conducive to chatting, or sports TV (they claim to show all major American and international sports events), and upstairs (see right), which is accessed by a separate outside entrance to the left, which has louder music, and is actually a little more pleasing to the eye, decor wise, with nice antique-ish tables and chandeliers.
It basically seems to be an expats downstairs, argentines upstairs affair, which is stereotypically telling in many ways - suggesting that us expats like to get drunk sitting down, eat, chat and watch sports, while the portenos seem more content being drowned out by loud music in prettier surroundings, probably because they can either happily stare at the prettier (human) surroundings, or grab one of them and spend all night smooching in a corner.
Pub Grub
Finally, the food was decent, solid, boring, reasonably priced, american bar food, which may serve as a nice respite to those missing home. I had a pretty excellent ‘Club House’ sandwich (12 pesos), of nicely grilled chicken breast, bacon (a novelty in Buenos Aires!), tomato and lettuce, with fries, that were unfortunately wilting in their greasyness. But I enjoyed the sandwich because it is eactly the kind of borderline junk food that I miss in Buenos Aires.
My friends had a margarita pizza (10 pesos for each individual one), which was nice enough, and we shared some nachos with guacamole (both even more of a novelty in Buenos Aires, though they seem to be gaining in popularity recently). However, the guacamole was tasteless. Fortunately, the cheap pitcher of beer to wash it all down made that but a distant thought.
I am an English Drunk…hic…
And yes, I was sitting downstairs, with the less-beautiful expats, getting drunk. If that sounds like your kind of thing, then Shoeless Joe’s El Alamo is the expat bar for you in Buenos Aires. And if you want something more pleasing to the eye, pop upstairs. Obviously I am talking about the chandeliers!
Verdict
- Bar Rating:
:) (3/5) A solid bar. - BA Authenticity: (1/5) Mainly for expats.
- Value: :) :) (5/5) Free/cheap beer!
Buenos Aires Travel Guide Special Tip
Go on a Friday night, when apparently the El Alamo bar has the best atmosphere. Later, you could walk on to the nightclub strip, also in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, which is situated next to the famous cemetery!
November 14th, 2006 at 10:06 pm
Alan
My wife heard that the beer in BA is 3.2%. Is that correct or is it fairly good?
Ken
November 14th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Hi Ken,
Thanks for the comment!
Most of the beer in Argentina, such as Quilmes or Brahma, is around 5%.
To be honest, I am not a big fan of the beer here in general. It tastes too chemical to me, and even the foreign brands like Budweiser and Heineken are I believe brewed in Argentina, and are not up to the standard they would be in the US or Europe.
For me, there are very few places to get good beer in BA, but there are a few. A bar called Van Koning in the Las Canitas area of Palermo has a good beer selection from all over Europe (including Germany and Belgium, great beer countries), and many of the beers they sell can also be bought in the Jumbo supermarket (right near the Hipodromo in Palermo), which is the onloy supermarket that I would say stocks decent (impoorted) beer - BUT, it is very expensive in comparison with the Argentine options. Also there are the two ‘British’ pubs in BA that serve some decent draft beers from a brewery in Pilar, Argentina - these are Gibraltar in San Telmo and Bangalore in Palermo (which also does a GREAT indian curry).
I will be writing some blog posts about all of these places and beer in Buenos Aires fairly soon, so keep checking back!
If anyone can suggest other good places for beer in BA, please post here
PS - I have heard recently that Shoeless Joe’s have revised their pricing structure and started charging for entry more regularly in the evenings too, so I will have to check that out sometime and update this post to reflect the changes. So if anyone goes to the bar and finds out it was not exactly what I described in terms of value, please don’t blame me for wrong information. It’s all correct at the time I go to (the blogging) press!
January 6th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
There is one outstanding beer produced locally, called Schneider’s “Fuerte” (strong). It is 6%, and is more of a reddish beer. Really tasty and full bodied, and while it is not available in man bars, it is available in almost all supermarkets.
Regarding Bangalore: the beers are excellent, but the curry is mediocre at best, particularly by British/American standards. If you are hungry for some authentic “ethnic” food while in BA, your only real option is to check out Korea-town in Bajo Flores, not to be confused with the weak Chinatown in Belgrano.
Salduos, BZ.
January 6th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
sorry - that was supposed to be “in many bars”, not “in man bars”
January 10th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Hello BZ!
Its not often I disagree with people on here, being a non confrontational kind of guy, but we are going to have to agree to disagree here
And remember, these are all only my opinions….
For me, the curries at Bangalore are great, maybe not quite up to Brick Lane standards, but certainly the best of that type of food I know of on offer in BA…Korean food is a different kettle of fish entirely. And for the record, there are some decent places to eat in Chinatown in Belgrano…and I couldn’t really care less about authenticity…just taste!
I would actually put the curry above the beers at Bangalore..I would say the beer is farther behind English beer standards than the curry is behind English curry standards. But the beer is still good by BA standards, yes.
Oh, and I don’t like any of the Schneider beers unfortunately…. the guys at ratebeer.com are with me on that one…and they are not usually too far off on these matters
Sorry to disagree with everything, but thanks a lot for reading my blog and contributing!
Cheers,
Alan
June 18th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
how bout some contact information…that would be helpful, yeah?
June 18th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Hi Anonymous,
I don’t really like anonymous comments, especially from people who don’t supply an email.
I’m sure people can Google Shoeless Joe’s to find out the contact details. Or, if you want to be helpful, feel free to post the contact info in the comments here.
Although, to be honest, it’s a bar, and I generally very rarely see the need to contact bars ahead of a visit, which is why, as a rule, I don’t add contact details to my bar reviews.
Cheers,
Alan
August 29th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Does this bar show college football games on saturdays as well?
October 18th, 2007 at 9:32 am
Just left Buenos Aires. Let me add a few words of advice/warning about Shoeless Joe´s El Alamo Bar.
It is very popular and very busy. El Alamo is the only place in Argentina that carries all American and European sporting events. That is where the good news ends.
My experience. Went to see Georgia play. There was a large group of Georgia fans as well as groups watching USC, Texas, Ohio State etc.
Unfortuneately, along with the sporting fans there are many young students who are attracted by the ¨free drinks for girls policy¨¨ These girls have absolutely no interest in college football
To make a long story short, if you enjoy watching your team and at the same time being pestered by groups of students who want to engage you in meaningless conversation, exchange e-mail addresses etc - this is the place for you.
However, if you are a serious sports fan this Bar will disappoint.
My advice is, don´t go to El Alamo when there are important sporting event. You will regret it.
Go the Alamo other times. The girls will still be there but they won´t be such a distraction. You may even enjoy improving your Spanish talking to them.
In summary, El Alamo is open 24 hours every day and is always crowded. There are lots better times to visit El Alamo than for sporting events
October 19th, 2007 at 2:06 am
This by far the noisest restaurant/bar/pub I have ever been to. In my opinion, it gives the Americans a bad name. Buenos Aires is a class act city with much culture and this place doesn’t add to it at all. I left since one can even carry a normal conversation without shouting. If you want that college type surrounds with kids yelling then do as you wish. There are many other places which represent the great city of Buenos Aires.
October 22nd, 2007 at 6:35 am
I am studying in BA for 3 months with 3 girlfriends. We have befriended a number of Argentinean students so that when we can become familiar with the places Argentineans prefer and their point of view.
I agree completely with Michael’s review. Places like El Alamo are not why I came to Buenos Aires. El Alamo is definitely not Argentinean. It is very active and different. I prefer a typical Argentinean bar which is quiet and sedate,
However, I am forced to go to El Alamo frequently because our Argentinean friends love the place. They say their country is full of corruption and they have been betrayed by the people they put their trust in. They want nothing to do with anything Argentinean. They might not admire some of the things the United States has done but they do admire that Americans are by nature much more honest than their countrymen.
My friends frequent El Alamo basically because they trust the place. They are not going to be cheated by high prices or dishonest policies which are the standard for anything Argentinean.
However, I think another reason they like El Alamo is because it is always busy and they meet people there. Being busy helps explain the noise level. I prefer a place like Milion which is quiet and sometimes you can have the whole place to yourself - it is never very crowded - but to each their own.
In summary, I agree that El Alamo may give Amricans a bad name in one way. If it were up to me I would not go to El Alamo very much. On the other hand, I can understand why my Argetinean friends prefer El Alamo over quiet and refined Argentinean bars. In El Alamo they can spend their time in a place they don’t have to be concerned about being cheated in one way or another - unlike their government or other Argetinean establlishments which seem bound and determined to mislead and cheat as much as they can.
October 22nd, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I’m gonna try there tonight, to see if I can watch the Monday Night football game between indy and jax…
October 31st, 2007 at 2:53 am
I personally am a huge fan of El Alamo. Yes I came to Buenos Aires to experience the culture and everything of the like, but it is a nice reach back to life back in the states.
That said, you can easily go to the bar and find the same Argentines you would find at the other bars around the city and speak Spanish to your hearts content. It does really hearken back to American sports bars when they show NFL football games as there is a large contingency of Americans in BsAs looking for their football fix, there are plenty of people who show up at the bar decked out in their favorite teams’ jerseys.
The beer is incredibly cheap, although it has risen in price since our friend Alan last visited, 35 pesos for a 4 liter pitcher, still a spectacular price for a bar-bought beer. The food is precisely what you would expect from a bar in the states, probably a little better, they use fresher ingredients. The cheapest meal you can find now is 15 pesos, aside from the American breakfast which is 5 pesos every weekday from about 5-6am until around 9pm.
They have also begun to charge cover nightly, 20 pesos for gents and 10 for ladies, this gets you ticket which you can exchange for beer, the ticket is worth the same amount you paid for it, so two of the gents tickets will get you a 4 liter pitcher. This usually begins from about 8pm on, but there are nights where it starts later, the bouncers tend to live on “Argentime.”
I would recommend this bar to anyone who wants a little bit of a back home feel with a little Argentine twist who doesn’t mind the bar getting a little loud. As well as anyone who wants to find some of the cheapest bar drinks in BsAs.
For people who want more cultural/Argentine bars, Plaza Serrano en Palermo Viejo is a wonderful place with about 10-15 bars all within a 4 block radius . Its actually incredibly easy to reach, colectivo 55 heads directly through the plaza and all the taxi drivers seem to know the plaza. Las Canitas also has its share of chill bars, as well as a few that have an American feel, Drink Gallery specifically which hosts beer pong tournaments every Tuesday.
I hope this helps everyone!