About a year and a half ago we enjoyed a fabulous trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, with our friends Mark and Tammi.
We wanted to learn more about the San Telmo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, and we love to eat great food with a local guide, so we booked a San Telmo Food Tour.
On this trip we stayed in the architecturally-trendy Puerto Madero Waterfront area of Buenos Aires, so exploring San Telmo was a nice change of pace.
The oldest barrio (or neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, San Telmo is characterized by its colonial buildings, cafes, antique shops and cobblestone streets. Artists and tango dancers are often present in area’s public parks and cafes.
Once we met Jorge, our guide, our four-person tour began in San Telmo Market. The meat counter was useful for learning about the center point of the typical Argentine diet.
After getting an overview of the market, Jorge led us on a walking tour through the neighborhood.
Jorge pointed out significant sites as we passed them, like the Nuestra Seí±ora de Belén Church pictured above.
On the same street as this church, we headed into our first dining establishment.
Sagardi is a tapas restaurant based on the traditional Basque taverns.
Inside we found a modern tapas bar filled with plate after plate of “pintxos” or small bites of meat, seafood, vegetables and other toppings on slices of bread.
Each pintxos was delicious, especially when paired with the perfect wine choice under Jorge’s direction.
Soon there were only the toothpicks left to count.
Happy, we headed back out to the street and continued our walk around the San Telmo neighborhood.
Our next stop was at Restaurant Don Ernesto.
Jorge ordered up a platter of beef and all of the accompaniments. When the beef came, he expertly served bits of each different cut to each of us.
Of course, we were enjoying a delicious Malbec wine during this feast of beef.
After the main event, we enjoyed a dessert plate with cheese and sweet fruit paste. They went well together.
By now, our group was having quite a good time. The wait staff brought us an after-lunch lemon drink, much like a sweet shot.
The walls and ceilings of Restaurant Don Ernesto are covered with guests’ graffiti. It’s a good thing Mr. Jones is so tall; he was able to find a tiny spot of wall space near the ceiling to leave our signatures on Don Ernesto’s wall.
We are fat and happy at this point, but Jorge takes us back to walking through more of the neighborhood. We visit the parks, and some shops.
Tammi and I made sure that we made a shopping stop in Tacones Lejanos, side-by-side stores packed with colorful leather goods and shoes. Everything is made from local leather, a by-product of all of that beef. You pick your favorite style, and then pick your color.
Narrowing our selections was the toughest chore of this tour. This shopping frenzy gave us a chance to digest our two-restaurant lunch.
Next Jorge took us to Plaza Dorrego at the intersection of Humberto Primero and Defensa streets. The surrounding cafes, bars and pubs have outdoor tables here for enjoying the musicians and tango dancers perform. This is also the primary location of the San Telmo Fair held every Sunday, to the delight of antique-lovers.
Rather than sitting outside, we enjoyed coffee in the historic Plaza Dorrego Bar looking out at the square.
There might be a Starbuck’s across the street, but it does not have these fun sugar packets.
Jorge is a delightful host, and we highly recommend touring and feasting your way through the San Telmo neighborhood with him via Buenos Aires Food Tours.
What’s your favorite food stop in Buenos Aires? Please share in comments below.
Check out these other food tours that we’ve enjoyed while exploring the world:
- Eating and Drinking Our Way Through San Juan, Puerto Rico with Spoon Food Tours – Part 1
- Experiencing the Best Food of Penang, Malaysia with Heritage on a Plate
- Eating Italy’s Best During Our Milan Food Tour
- Eating Our Way Through Chinatown with Food Tour Singapore
- Walking and Eating With Chicago Food Planet Tours
- Eating Our Way Through Budapest With Taste Hungary
- In Search of Milwaukee’s Best Pizza on Milwaukee’s Pizza Bus Tour
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