La Dolfina Polo Bar and Café

Those of you familiar with the history of café culture in Paris, will be pleasantly surprised to learn that during the heyday of Argentina’s rise to cultural success at the turn of the 20th century, the city rivaled Paris with some of the world’s most prestigious cafés. To see the absolute best example of this tradition, especially in an architectural sense, a visit to Buenos Aires must include a short visit to café Las Violetas, in Almagro. Out of this love for European café culture, the café London City was opened in 1956 as a homage to the grand cafés of that prior era.

The café is located less than a block from Plaza de Mayo, a stone’s throw from the city’s central banking district, and has been a popular hangout for literary celebrities and politicians since it’s inception. Although a recent remodeling gives a clean, contemporary feel, it still has much of the personality of the original restaurant, including checkered black and white tile floors. But the counter-height bars behind which the waiters would attend to customers sipping their morning or afternoon espressos in the mid-20th century are now more decorative than functional.

The menu is diverse offering about every dish that Buenos Aires cooks have ever conjured up. Of course, the café offers a full array of your typical breads and “facturas”, including croissants and the smaller ubiquitous Argentine medialunas, pastries, fruit breads (“budines”) which are a staple at every Argentina corner café. But for the more adventurous the restaurant offers eggs prepared in about every manner imaginable, from poached to fried and fried to scrambled.

London City café opens its doors at 6 a.m., 7 days in every week, a rarity in a city where most cafés don’t open up for the late-rising porteños until around 9 a.m. Perfect for tourists wanting on early start on seeing the sites of Buenos Aires.

But London City isn’t just a morning café. It’s has one of the most varied lunch and dinner menus in the city. From salads and sandwiches, to steaks and seafood, the menu has about everything anyone could want, including cocktails, wine and cervezas.

The waiters and waitresses are clad in black vests and bow ties, reminiscent of a more glorious era when service was the hallmark of Argentine restaurants, something woefully missing in the modern era.

Service is good, although a bit matter of fact rather than amiable. All in all, about as good a spot as you find for breakfast, and certainly acceptable for quick bite at any other time of the day.

All this is good enough to earn London City a spot on our coveted list of the top cafés in Buenos Aires.