Three bars in Buenos Aires have been voted among the best 50 in the world for 2023.
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The World’s 50 best bars ranks Sips in Barcelona as the finest on the globe, while there are five from London, including two in the top ten, the sumptuous Connaught bar and sleek Tayer & Elementary.
There are also new entries into the top 50 for bars in cities including Stockholm, Melbourne, Seoul, Dubai, Berlin, New Orleans, Rome and Singapore.
But for those of you contemplating a trip to Argentina, of more importance is the fact that a trio of nightspots in the capital have been commended.
Tres Monos in Palermo, ranked at number 11, was also awarded the Art of Hospitality award.
The judges acclaimed the bar’s vibe of “low-fi fun… accompanied by a banging ’90s soundtrack” (Tres Monos means “Three Monkeys”) and its work with poorer parts of the city through a bar-tending school, two of whose graduates are now working there.
CoChinChinaBar, also in Palermo nr Plaza Serrano, is at number 26: it opened in 2021 to post-Covid drinkers desperate to escape the lockdown.
The world’s 50 best bars reports that “the bar and restaurant steers you to Southeast Asia, with beverages served at the horseshoe-shaped bar under eye-catching street food signage. The vibe is upbeat, DJs playing live every night of the week.”
Ranked at number 30, Floreria Atlantico, which opened in Retiro more than a decade ago is acclaimed as “one of Argentina’s legendary bars… a mythical world, where hand-painted sea creatures decorate the walls and an elegant crew keep glasses full and the basement bar ship-shape”.
I don’t spend much time in Buenos Aires, preferring the wide open spaces outside the city (I am currently on holiday in Patagonia), but this has definitely perked my interest to try one of the award-winning bars next time I’m there.
The Top 50 Bars list is from the same outfit that brings you the 50 best restaurants, among which is one of our recommended gourmet eating places in Salta, El Baqueano.
I’ll be lobbying for another of our favourite restaurants, Flor del Pago, in Jujuy, to rank for 2024, as it’s been much appreciated by guests on our tailor-made tours over the last year (it only opened in July 2022).
Among other Argentina restaurants among the top 50 in Latin America is the classic barbecue spot Don Julio at no2, acclaimed for going beyond the grill to its “commitment to regenerative Argentine cattle farming, a 60,000-strong cellar that embraces Argentina’s wine story and an unmatched dedication to organic agriculture”
Their associated, more rough and ready bodegon style restaurant El Preferido is at No 22.
Away from the classic Argentine steakhouse, other top eating places include Mishiguene, which celebrates Argentina’s Jewish immigrant heritage by “reinventing Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Israeli and Middle Eastern cooking with Latin American twists”.
Arambaru is celebrated for its “spectacular 18-course tasting menu… accompanied by wines selected from the extensive cellar.” For pescatarians, it’s got a decided seafood bent, with “notable dishes including sea snail and yam, crab and scallop cannoli and Patagonian langoustine”.
Also distinctly eclectic, Gran Dabbang celebrates Asian and Latin America street food, featuring sweet, sour and spicy chaat dishes, “as well as the likes of Swiss chard pakora with carrot chutney, artichoke with pumpkin seed sauce or tapioca and mandioca bread with goat’s cheese and tomato chutney”.
And in the less touristy district of Villa Crespo, Julia offers an eclectic range of dishes including: “fillet tartare with ‘nduja sausage and almonds; chicken liver pâté with Jerusalem artichoke chips; and squid with avocado and white pesto”.
All I can say is Yum… coming soon!
