Loreto Garden Bar - Buenos Aires

We’re always looking for a great burger in Buenos Aires. Today the quest took us to Colegiales on the edge of Belgrano at Virrey Loreto and Conesa ... to Loreto Garden Bar. This is a cozy little restaurant hidden in a residential section of Colegiales. You know the barrio. The one with all the cool street art that isn’t Caughlin.

Sure enough. They had three burgers on the menu so I ordered up the Mexican. It arrived in short time and included a little romaine lettuce salad and some rustic potatoes. Not fries but an admirable substitute.

Odd to find three burgers on the same menu with a bevy of salads, sandwiches on ultra-whole-wheat bread and other hippy-type menu items. I suppose that’s an advantage just in case someone you are out with for dinner or lunch is a vegetarian.

The first bite scared me a little. I could tell the grind of the beef wasn’t course enough and that there just wasn’t enough fat in this puppy. It wasn’t dripping on the plate as any good burger should. At least it had a plate. That’s more than we can say for the burger at the Burger Joint. But as I took another bite this little burger began to grow on me. It was cooked just as ordered, slightly pink in the very center. And seasoned rather strongly although I can’t really say what with. The lettuce and other condiments, including avocado slices, were fresh and there was a spicy jalapeño mayonnaise served in a ramekin on the side so you could schmear as much of that spicy creamy goodness on the bun as your heart desired.

Each bite was as good or better than the last. Pretty soon it was all gone. So were the potatoes.

Was it as good as the ½ pound burger at Adair’s in Dallas, Texas? Heck no. But it was a darn site better than the last four we sampled in Buenos Aires.

The place has a “hippy so style and fashion don’t matter” kind of personality and décor. Pleasant enough. Nice waitresses. Most have tattoos so they blend in well with the décor.

Prices are reasonable. Better than most similar restaurants in nearby Palermo Hollywood.

They have lots of good things on that menu other than burgers. In fact, the salads and sandwiches are just as tasty and interesting as the burgers, maybe more so. We had the chicken breast sandwich stuffed fully of moist chicken and all kinds of other good things. Salads have fresh and interesting ingredients.

There are limited choices in Colegiales for dining out. This is one of the best, if not the best option.