Buenos Aires is a place where people linger over lunch, sometimes spending two to three hours on it.  It’s normal to also have wine with your afternoon meal, something that might seem a little verboten to North American business travelers.  Yet a glass of malbec seems to make sense with local steaks and other offerings.  My experience has also been sometimes Argentines head to these long lunches and never make it back to the office.


Sure, when in Rome, do as the Romans, but the truth is if you’re in Buenos Aires on business though, you likely don’t have the luxury of time.  Here we take a look at a few places that allow you to have an impressive lunch with locals, and still maybe see some different neighborhoods that are close to the main business district.  Convenient location is key, but so is being able to get in and out relatively quickly, to return to your business meetings.

This article is in two parts, Part 1 looking at a few restaurants in hotels and Part 2 in Puerto Madero and San Telmo.

Tomo Uno

Maybe no business lunch is as convenient as one inside of a hotel. Tomo Uno, in the PanAmericano Hotel has windows overlooking Nueve de Julio, the wide thoroughfare cutting through Buenos Aires. I find it to a formal and quiet, softly lit space with dark woods and burlap padding walls. You’ll find business people along with a ladies who lunch crowd.

One of the most important things here in the menu are fish dishes, and among my favorites is the pink rainbow trout with a lemon sauce and toasted almonds.

They also have an interesting selection of salads, along with something like 35 kinds of Argentine malbec listed on their bilingual menu.

The owner of the restaurant and head chef is Federico Fialayre, who ran it until a few years ago with his mother who passed on. Tomo Uno means Volume One, easy to remember if you think of our rarely used English word ‘tome’ for a long book.

Tomo Uno, inside of the South Tower Mezzanine of the PanAmericano Hotel, Avenida Carlos Pellegrini 521 (Along Nueve de Julio), Buenos Aires. +54/11-4326-6698. www.tomo1.com.ar

The Plaza Grill in the Plaza Hotel

Another favorite of business travelers for power lunches is the Plaza Grill, in the belle-epoque Plaza Hotel overlooking tree-strewn Plaza San Martin.  The hotel was part of the Marriott chain, and separated from them in late 2014, but many locals still call it by the name Marriott Plaza Hotel.  You’ll find a three course executive lunch menu which even has a big surprise for Buenos Aires - vegetarian option. Don’t worry though beef lovers as meat still takes center stage.  Make sure to watch them cooking it the restaurant’s more than 100 year old grill.

When you’re here, try everything, from a variety of meats including sweetbread delicacies, like mollejas, an Argentine favorite.  If you’re here in the winter time, one great hearty stomach warming option is the heavy stew puchero.  This special stew uses potatoes, pumpkins, spices and ossobuco. The dish takes over nine hours to prepare and cook.  That is quite a dish.  After your meal, if you’re not already in the hotel, you can easily stroll through the MicroCentro or downtown.  Calle Florida shopping is just paces away from the hotel lobby.  If you’re here in early Spring, Plaza San Martin is brilliant with purple flowered jacaranda trees.

The Plaza Grill in the Plaza Hotel, Calle Florida 1005 at Plaza San Martin in Buenos Aires; +54/11-4318-3074.  http://www.plazahotelba.com

Click here for Part 2 with a few choices in San Telmoand Puerto Madero.