Category: Buenos Aires

When you walk into a bar and there is large reproduction of Valezquez’ painting The Drunkards on the wall you know you’re somewhere special.

El Tokio (named after the street it is on, rather than any link to the Japanese capital) is quite way off the beaten track tucked away in Villa Santa Rita which is not a barrio most tourists or even expats have heard of, let alone visited.

So when we arrived on a quiet, sunny, Saturday afternoon we weren’t sure what to expect and at first glance it didn’t feel like we were still in the same city. The streets felt empty and dusty, with a couple of old boys sitting outside the bar watching us, their pickup trucks next to the kerb, like a slightly less-menacing Argentine version of Deliverance.

The bar is lined with pictures (the aforementioned Velazquez copy being the star), football shirts and jockey colours and the menu is classic Argentine bar fare – we were impressed by the deal on rabas and Stella Artois – pleasingly specific and a great mix to boot.

El Tokio is not the sort of place you just drop into, but if you’re ever out that way, it’s well worth a detour. Let me know how the rabas are.

El Tokio: Av Alvarez Jonte 3550
Colectivos: 24, 109, 124

This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.

Most of the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires are concentrated in fairly central parts of the city and visiting them doesn’t often take you off the beaten track, so one of things that attracted me to the idea of checking them all off the list was the fact that I would get to visit some of the more far-flung (from my point of view) parts of town.

La Nueva Andaluz

Which is how Mark, Laura and myself found ourselves in La Paternal at 4pm on a hot and sticky December afternoon, knocking back a cold beer in La Nueva Andaluza.

On walking in, I immediately liked the place. Firstly it was open, which is not always the case. Secondly the air-conditioning was working, which given the temperature outside was 35C was a blessing.

Lastly, I just liked the feel of the place. A few scattered tables with some old boys reading their Saturday news, the clack of billiards from the back room and not much else. The waiter wasn’t sure when it had opened, but he’d been working there 42 years.

One of personal measures of how much I like a Bar Notable is whether or not I could imagine myself using it as a local – popping by in the morning for a coffee and then dropping in on the way home for a chinwag and a beer with the boys and La Nueva Andaluza would certainly fit the bill. Almost worth moving to La Paternal for the privilege.

La Nueva Andaluza: Camarones 1412
Colectivos: 109, 110

This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.

UPDATE: The first time I tried to visit Don Juan it was shut so I needed to return and I’m very glad I did as Don Juan is an absolute classic Buenos Aires bar.

The highlight is by far the owner, the 83 year-old son-in-law of an Italian who bought the bar in the 1930s. He and his wife, who were both sitting at a table when I went in, have been running the place for the last 54 years, which as he pointed out is probably longer than I have been alive.

He regaled me, at some length, about the films which have been made in the bar including Assassination Tango and in fact Robert Duvall would often sit in the exact same seat that I was occupying!

Don Juan is certainly off the beaten track out in Villa General Mitre, but if you want to see what a real Buenos Aires bar looks like, then you need to make the trip.

FIRST VISIT: Visiting the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires is not an exact science. Opening hours are notoriously difficult to obtain in advance so things can be a bit hit and miss. Having struck out on a Sunday in Flores, I thought Saturday would be a more of a sure bet. Turns out there is no such thing as a sure bet.

Don Juan, closed on Saturday afternoons it would appear.

Don Juan, I shall return!

Café Don Juan: Camarones 2702
Colectivos: 109, 110

This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.

Here’s a tip: if you travel across most of Buenos Aires to visit a Notable Bar in Flores on a Sunday afternoon – check if it’s open first.

I’ll be back.

La Farmacia: Av Directorio 2400
Colectivo: 180

This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.

Looks like I got here 3 years late for this one as it closed in 2010. Given the pictures you can see here, Buenos Aires has lost a true classic.

El Aragón: Av Juan Bautista Alberdi 4899
Colectivo: 180

This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.

As a visitor to Buenos Aires, you are unlikely to stumble across Bar Oviedo, given its location in Mataderos which on a good day is an hour-long bus ride from the tourist strongholds of Palermo and Recoleta.

This doesn’t mean that you have no reason to visit, as Bar Oviedo sits at the heart of the one of the more off-beat tourist attractions, the Feria de Mataderos which takes place every Sunday outside of the summer months.

Selling itself as a gaucho fair, the Feria de Mataderos features a dizzying array of stalls, folklore music and sizzling barbecue which on their own make it worth a visit. It that weren’t enough, smack in the middle of the action is the 113 year-old Oviedo which provides all the refreshment and character you could require on a hot sticky Sunday in November.

Bar Oviedo: Lisandero del Torre 2407
Colectivos: 55, 126, 180

This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.

The imaginatively named Bar Plaza Dorrego can be found sitting on the the edge of, you guessed it, Plaza Dorrego in the heart of San Telmo. It ticks all the Notable Bar boxes, with its dark wood tables, well-worn bar stocked with a wide selection of bottles that don’t look like they’ve been touched for years and the black and white tiled floor.

For all that however, there is something that just isn’t very welcoming about the Plaza Dorrego. I’ve been in there twice. The first time on a quiet April weekday afternoon and the waiters, despite the lack of other customers, were spectacularly surly, even by Buenos Aires standards. No interesting tidbits to be gained there.

The second time it was a rainy Sunday and the place was packed with tourists who had come for the market and were taking shelter. Again the service was perfunctory and cold and we were in and out in 10 minutes. It might look the part, but it’s in a touristy place and the atmosphere struggles to rise above tourist-trap status.

Bar Plaza Dorrego: Defensa 1096
Bus: 29

This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.

Pat Gillespie’s account of San Antonio de Areco, a historic pulpería and Estancia El Ombú, with a link to enquire about a current day trip.

Unsure what to pack for your upcoming trip to Buenos Aires? Here we’ve compiled a list of what to bring in your suitcase, and what to leave at home. Don’t leave home unprepared for your urban adventure!

I had lunch in La Coruña once without realising it was a Notable Bar. It was certainly notable for its wooden refrigerators, clearly original furniture that had not had a proper clean in decades and the piles of greasy, carbohydrate-laden goodness that it served up. The place was run by one lady who served as waitress, bar staff and cashier and who called all of us “Mi Amor”.

I returned to La Coruña last week and my heart sank as I saw the shuttered windows. Bars generally don’t just close at 3:30 in the afternoon, there was probably a more serious reason. And it turns out there is. Owner Manuela Lopéz (who served us our milanesas with fork and spoon) has had enough after decades of service and has called time at the bar.

Photo © Suzi’n’Giro on Flickr

La Coruña: Bolivar 892
Bus: 29, 126, 115

This page is part of a series examining the Notable Bars of Buenos Aires.