Cafe Margot, Boedo
Last Updated on September 27, 2026 by Alan Seabright
Soak in the atmosphere of San Juan y Boedo Antiguo
[Photo credit: Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires Flickr account/ /CC BY 2.0]
The corner of San Juan and Boedo, made famous by the tango singer Homero Manzi in the opening lines of his song Sur (‘San Juan y Boedo antiguo, y todo el cielo‘ – ‘Old San Juan and Boedo, and all the sky’) is the site of the café (now the Esquina Homero Manzi tango show by night) that was a gathering place for local left-leaning writers and intellectuals in the 1920s. Close to the corner are a number of cafes and restaurants well worth the 20 minute trip from downtown or 30 minutes from Palermo, including Cafe Margot.
Boedo: Barrio on the rise
Boedo has a burgeoning arts scene, old school milongas (Tango dance halls) and is claimed by its residents be the bona fide birthplace of the Tango (the residents of San Telmo and La Boca make the same claim on behalf of their neighborhoods). And for now, at least, this traditional barrio has retained an authentic, residential feel.
[Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jglsongs/2227925169/ /CC BY 2.0]
Mingle with the locals at Café Margot
Café Margot was first opened in 1904 and recently completed renovation work has restored the café’s exterior to its former glory. Inside, Café Margot is enchanting, with whole hams hanging from the ceiling, exhibitions by local artists on the walls and waiters in waistcoats swerving around closely packed wooden tables, balancing trays of coffees and medialunas (croissants) or bottles of beer and baskets of monkey nuts.
But forget the inside. On a warm summer’s evening in the city there are few better places to be than sitting at a pavement table outside Margot drinking a cold beer and eating picadas (a shared plate of food to pick on such as olives, salami, ham and olives). Also recommended are the sandwiches de pavita (turkey, the house special) and, when they have them, the empanadas de parrilla (empanadas filled with slices of steak).
For more reviews of Cafe Margot, check out this blog post by Foodie in BsAs and Dan at Saltshaker’s turkey-tastic review.
Location of Café Margot in Boedo, Buenos Aires
Café Margot, Avenida Boedo 857 (corner with San Ignacio), Boedo
Telephone: 4957-0001
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Jonathan’s Buenos Aires Local Tours article
Originally published on 2013-09-07 by Jonathan as part of his Buenos Aires Cafés Notables collection. His article is preserved below as a historical record.
There’s something familiar about Boedo’s Cafe Margot. The brick-vaulted roof, the black and white tiled floor, the dark wooded tables and chairs. It all seems like I’ve seen it before. When the menu is given to me it all falls into place. The same beige pages tucked between two wooden sheets, the same way of selling a sandwich in 15 different ways, tweaking the filling slightly with each different option, we’re in the Notable Bar chain.
This is now the fourth bar I’ve been to which is clearly owned by the same people as El Federal, La Poesia and Bar Cao. You get the same bowl of unshelled peanuts with your beer, and the same placemat when you order food. There’s something little unsettling about the fact that these Notable Bars, listed for their originality and uniqueness have become somewhat homogenised.
That being said, there are a couple of individual quirks in the Margot. A sign on the wall proudly claims that the Sandwich de Pavita (Turkey Sandwich) was invented here in the 1940s. Because nobody, ever in the world, had thought to put a slice of turkey between 2 slices of bread before the 1940s. I did order a Sandwich de Pavita and it was pretty good, we’re clearly in the company of greatness here.
All things considered though, I liked Margot. It may seem familiar but whatever the owners are doing to their bars, they are trying to keep the original look and feel of the Notable bars alive. No tasteless modern remodelling, loud music or waiters in costumes here. The waitress seems to know most of the regulars and the place has a nice homey, buzzy feel. I could see it becoming a regular haunt if I lived nearby.
Cafe Margot: Av Boedo 857
Subte: Boedo, Line E
This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.
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This is our neighborhood, and Cafe Margot–along with El Mirasol down the street–are our favorite places to eat out (even though we rarely do). Cafe Margot is a “Bar Notable” and a sister-cafe to El Federal in San Telmo. Even though Margot claims to have invented the turkey sandwich (!), I’d pass that up for my favorite dish there, Brochette Mixta. Buen provecho!
[…] strip” and the street where you will find other notable bars like Cafe Osvaldo Pugliese and Café Margot. This corner is so infamous for representing the cultural center of Boedo that it was […]