Cycling, Tango and Steak in Buenos Aires

Written on Thursday, June 27, 2019 by Emma Whiting Travel

This was not my first visit to Buenos Aires, but this time we decided to stay in the local area of Palermo outside the main city area.  Such a great location for restaurants, bars and shopping and still easy to access all areas of the city.

A highlight of our time in Buenos Aires was a guided cycling tour which took us along the river, around the local areas, the gardens and the restaurant precinct.  We had the pleasure of two local young men who filled us in on the areas we cycled through and stories from their own family history and life in Argentina.  It is always the best way to get the real feel of a city and its people when you spend time with somebody born and bred there.

Another highlight was a visit to a local milonga (traditional Argentinian tango party).  The tango parties don’t really get going until at least 1am which is such a crazy concept for us Aussies.  We headed out on a Monday night at 11pm and, on advice from our hotel concierge, went to a local venue, where surprisingly there would have been 200 people dancing.  The Argentinians take their tango dancing very seriously and it is literally a national pastime. When we left at 1am the big band was just setting up and they would have continued dancing into the wee hours of the morning.

Argentina is famous for its steak and parillas (traditional Argentinian grills).  We had a wonderful night at Don Julios Restaurant, one of Buenos Aires most noted restaurants.  It is very difficult to get a reservation as it is so popular, so the only way is to queue and put your name at the door.  I was assured that we would get a table for our group of 10 at 9pm, which is early by Argentinian standards!  At 9pm the front of house staff welcomed us in with cava (sparkling wine) and made us very comfortable in a lounge area.  We enjoyed pre dinner drinks and canapes until our table was ready at around 10.30pm.  It was worth the wait! We were ushered  to the private cellar where we enjoyed magnificent cuts of steak and sides accompanied by local Malbec  and were looked after very well.  A restaurant experience is a must do when visiting Buenos Aires and it really is a unique style of dining.  Such a memorable night and fantastic way to celebrate what a great country Argentina is.

 

Read more of our South America blogs here