La Cabrera - Buenos Aires

It was inevitable that my search for the best steakhouse in Buenos Aires would eventually lead me to the herd of humans standing around at the corner of José Antonio Cabrera and Thames in Palermo Soho, trying to avoid becoming road-kill at the hands of a renegade taxi driver trying to put “gringos I’ve run down” notches on the steering wheel.

Why the crowd in the middle of the street? Well, this mass of humanity is waiting for a table at none other than La Cabrera. La Cabrera may not be BA’s most noted steakhouse or its oldest, but its name will most assuredly come up in any conversation about the Best Steakhouses in Buenos Aires.

I found myself milling around with this group of people, waiting for an available table in what is the most popular, if not the most noted, steakhouse in the city. As I recall I was offered a little glass of cheap champagne during the wait to soothe the nerves as I dodged the taxis driving by. About 30 minutes later I was offered a table, not in the back of the restaurant, but down the street. HUH? That’s right. This place is so busy they opened a second location about 75 meters (yards if you’re a Steelers fan) from the door of the original restaurant (where I was standing). No worry. The alternate location is a ringer for the original. You won’t be getting the short straw if they send you down the street.

I soon found myself sitting in what has to be the emblematic Argentine parilla. A disorderly array of plates, chalk boards full so scribbling, life-size charts showing the cuts of meat on a bull, frying pans, portraits of war heroes and the like, adorning the walls. Crisp white cotton table cloths. White dish rags that have been converted to napkins embroidered with the words La Cabrera. This, my friends, is La Cabrera Parilla.

I was soon approached by a waiter just as emblematic as the restaurant. And a little army of steakhouse runners bringing a basket of breadstuffs and a trilogy of creamy butter, a pickled pepper salsa, and a creamy little cheese dip. Most steakhouses in the city wouldn’t bring the butter at all and if they did it would be little squares wrapped in aluminum foil. Tacky, right? Not at La Cabrera. You get a nice soft scoop of creamy butter along with some other little delights.

I ordered the ojo de bife (rib-eye), medium rare, a Spanish tortilla (a potato frittata) and a side of broccoli in a cheese sauce. The tortilla was huge, easily enough for three people, and was served up with another array of sauces and relishes. I’ll let you take a look at the photo and try to ascertain what they all are.

Then the steak arrived with yet another trilogy of condiments including a ramekin full of garbanzo beans. Somewhere, outside the photo of the steak, was the mandated ramekin of chimichurri salsa (and a great rendition of the sauce, I might add). The steak was cooked perfectly with a deep pink center and this was a tender and flavorful steak. Definitively one of the top two or three I’ve tasted in my steakhouse visits in BA.

The service was good throughout the meal. The waiter was friendly and informative. So that explains it. This is why so many tourists and locals wait around in the street, putting their lives in danger, for a table at La Cabrera. Because it truly is one of the best options for steaks in BA.

I note that if you’re in the mood to splurge, you can get dry-aged steaks at La Cabrera. In fact, you can see a few racks of beef hanging in the curing bags in the “hot-box” (odd name for a refrigerator, huh?) in a photo in the slider.

If you’re not familiar with dry-aged beef you can read all about it in an upcoming article here on the website. The cost of ordering one of these steaks will run you a few bills more than the standard butcher to table variety. But since the steaks at La Cabrera are very reasonably priced for the quality you receive it might be one of the best investments you’ve ever made.

Sterling service, a superior steak, all the fixins in a bustling and pleasant atmosphere make La Cabrera one of your best, if not the best, option for a steak in Buenos Aires.