Although there are plenty of Italian restaurants and pizzerias, food culture in Buenos Aires centers on the parrilla — literally the “grill.” You’ll find parrillas on any given corner across all barrios. The ambience may vary from mobile stands and hole-in-the-wall diners to fine dining, but the dishes are all basically the same cuts of meat, the same preparations, and the same sides and sauces.
In some ways, the parrilla is just a restaurant version of an asado, which is the quintessential family and social experience in Argentina. If you’re lucky, you’ll get invited to one of these hours-long grill-outs, with the parrillero, the “grill master,” cooking huge slabs of meats, organs, sausages, chicken, cheese and vegetables, on the backyard parilla. They typically happen on Sundays, and you can guarantee plenty of Malbec and beer will be flowing.
In the meantime, you’ll get close to the same flavors in the parrillas listed below.
