:: Buenos Aires Weekly ::

Bars in the city are part of the rich Argentinian culture. Very much European style, bars are the perfect place to read, talk with friends, navigate the Internet, etc. A book has been dedicated to the bars in Buenos Aires, written by Horacio Spinetto, architect. He wroste a book called “Cafés in Buenos Aires”, in which he pays a tribute to these temples of friendship. Among the oldest bars, you may find Tortoni and 36 Billares in Avenida de Mayo; La Giralda and La Paz in Avenida Corrientes; the Británico bar in Parque Lezama; Las Violetas in the corner of Medrano and Rivadavia; La Biela in Recoleta neighborhood and La Academia in the corner of Callao and Corrientes. Some bars were officially declared as part of the cultural heritage of the City. Outstanding sites are those bars, billiards rooms and confiterías related to meaningful cultural events or activities, and also those that have a particular value due to their age, architectural design or local relevance.

–Top ten: 10 must-see bars according to the city’s portal:

Bar Britanico:

Location: Brasil y Defensa

This traditional café is found exactly opposite the Parque Lezama, in San Temo.
It is said that in the 20’s, a pulperia called “La Cosechera” was located in this place. The “Britanico” was a refuge for artists; in one of its reserved places, Ernesto Sábato created its story “Sobre héroes y tumbas”. During the war of Malvinas between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982, this bar was renamed “Tanico”. It was closed for a time, but it has been reopened recently; the three Galician owners are not the present ones but the spirit is kept.

Cafe Tortoni:

Location: Av. de Mayo 825

This is the oldest café in the city. It was founded in 1858 and changed its location in 1880. It is famous for its literary and artistic gatherings, and of course, for its meringue milk. Federico García Lorca, Jorge Luis Borges, Benito Quinquela Martín, Alfonsina Storni, Raúl González Tuñón and Carlos Gardel, among many others, visited this place. Nowadays, the National Academy of Tango is found on the first floor, and concerts and poetry meetings are given in the wine cellar.

El Banderín:

Location: Guardia Vieja 3601

In the heart of the Abasto neighbourhood, three blocks away from the old fruit market where today there is a shopping mall, this small café with male spirit is a temple of devotion to football. The decoration consists of more than 400 small flags and photos belonging to football teams from any part of the world fixed on the wall. This bar offers simple dishes: coffee, excellent sandwiches and “picadas”, vermouth, beer and the best environment to see a match of River Plate, the club which the owner of “El Banderin” loves.

El Federal:

Location: Perú y Carlos Calvo

The building was constructed in 1864 in the heart of San Telmo. Firstly, it was a “pulperia”. Then, it became a grocer’s and shop of beverages; its centenarian wooden bar can still be appreciated. Today, the best “picadas” in the neighbourhood are served. This bar keeps its Italian style with vitraux and curved woods and its old cash register. At weekends, there are musical shows.

El Gato Negro:

Location: Corrientes 1669

During many years, El Gato Negro was the best house of spices in the city. It was founded in 1926, under the name of “La Martinica”, in an adjoining shop. In 1927, the bar was moved to the present place and was renamed in honour to the menu of a dining car of the Orient Express. More than 400 spices can be found in this store. At the end of the XX century, the café and the dining room were opened on the first floor. Tea and coffee from every part of the world are the speciality of the house.

La Biela:

Location: Quintana 600

This is the largest and biggest café in Recoleta, the most distinguished neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. This bar is found in front of the cemetery’s entrance. Its history goes back to a century and half. However, its present name was given by a group of automobiles’ fans who broke the connecting rod of their cars exactly at this corner in the beginning of the XX century. The writers Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares loved this place. Nowadays, its hundred tables are always full, especially those in the sidewalk with the shadows of an old ombu.

La Giralda:

Location: Corrientes 1453

This place, more than a café, is a milk house. Its speciality is the famous drinking chocolate with “churros” but also it has a bohemian and intellectual environment. Its decoration has been simple and untouched since 1970. The narrow marble tables make the dialogue easier but also they have been the setting of great discussions. Its sandwiches covered with glass bell jars, its large windows in front of Corrientes avenue and the noticeable antipathy of the waiters are the remarkable characteristics of this place.

Las Violetas:

Location: Avenida Rivadavia 3899

This magnificent 123-year-old French-style café closed briefly in the late 1990s while its interior, including its gorgeous stained glass was restored. The white-jacketed waiters serve the classic breakfast of café con leche with three croissants but the shocker of the menu is the María Cala tea service, an eye-popping pile of cakes, scones, finger sandwiches and pan dulce pastries.

Los 36 Billares:

Location: Av. de Mayo 1265

As its name indicates, this place has been a traditional bar of billiards since 1894. It is huge: it goes through all the block from Avenida de Mayo up to Tacuari and, besides, it has an under floor hall which sportsmen visit. Nowadays, there are 19 billiard tables but also pool and snooker ones. On the ground floor, there are musical shows and tango lessons.

Bar 12 de Octubre:

Location: Bulnes 331

This is a simple bar where people can enjoy drinking gin. It was founded by an Asturian and nowadays his son, Roberto Pérez is in charge of the bar. The furniture, shelves and cash register are antique. The small space of the “12 de Octubre” is crowded at Thursdays’, Fridays’ and Saturdays’ midnight when singers and guitar players visit this place to perform a repertoire of tangos among the tables. Prices are popular.

– Other bars not listed in the top 10, but which are worth a visit:

Bar Plaza Dorrego:

Location: Defensa 1098

Woodwork carved with messages and signatures from prior generations is testament to the history of this old café, where impeccable career servers in suits and bow ties and the local San Telmo bohemia complete the atmosphere of what has been, for over a century, a classic porteño hub. On cold or rainy days, sit inside for an ideal morning coffee. Outdoor seating in the charming Plaza Dorrego makes it perfect for cold bottles of beer on warm afternoons.

Esquina Homero Manzi:

Location: Avenida San Juan 3594

A typical tango house, where people can have dinner while watching a show. Homero manzi (1907-1951) visited the bar – that was located at this corner and opened in 1927. For that reason, since the late 20th century, this place has taken his name. Manzi wrote, among others, tango lyrics such as “Sur”, “Malena” and “Che, bandoneón”.

La Confiteria Ideal:

Location: Suipacha 384

A sense of nostalgia pervades this aging but elegant club where the tango brings locals and tourists together. Afternoon lessons are a prelude to evening dance parties.

Cafe Los Angelitos:

Location: Rivadavia y Rincón

The café Los Angelitos in the corner of Rivadavia and Rincón was a meeting point for poets and musicians. It features a relief of angels in its façade, which is one of the landmarks of the barrio. The Café started to function in 1890, as “Bar Rivadavia”. It was a single story building consisting of an earth floor, the refuge for the those who in that era already listened to the “payadas” (folk songs) of Gabino Ezeiza and José Betinotti. Only in 1920 it changed its name to “Café de los Angelitos”, after the Spaniard Angel Salgueiro bought the place, had it fixed up and as a decoration used angels made of plaster. It opened back in June, after being closed for 15 years.

– Little animation that belongs to the city’s portal once more and showing different views of bars in the city.

–Here’s the interview done by the city’s portal to Horacio Spinetto, author of the book “Cafés in Buenos Aires”:

Why do many people spend time in cafés in Buenos Aires?
The café is a “porteño” institution par excellence. This is the place where people can feel free at their ease, the perfect spot to dream with friends and find magical solutions to the country’s problems. It is here, better than another scenario, where people think that utopias are possible. Bars are very warm; How many love relationships have started there? How many people have had their first kiss?
On the other hand, some goodbyes and separations have taken place in these houses. The cafes are as life is, the light and the shadow, happiness and sadness, but always with the presence of a friend. Jorge Luis Borges said: “I think that one of the most important functions of the city is to bring the dialogue”, and cafes are the best solution to that. We could say that the Café is the friendship temple and thus, for that reason, its continuance.

Why are the cafés considered cultural patrimony?
Cafes are usually real references to the neighbourhoods. They are part of the usages and customs of the porteño society and its everyday history. Cafes are part of the town landscape, poetry and literature. Going to a café is very necessary for many writers in the process of their work. The bars, with their continuance, provide the fondest situations. There, the tangible and intangible cultural patrimony is always and daily present.

Why are the cafés in Buenos Aires different from those in other cities of the world?
Generally, in other cities, people go the café in order to drink something, have a work meeting or a quick date.
The porteño café is heir of those from Madrid and Paris. People can go to drink a coffee or aperitif, but also, they can read the newspapers or a book in no hurry. Besides, they can study or enjoy a concert, and of course, in many cafés they can play billiards.

Which characteristics were taken into consideration in the process of selection of notable bars?
According to the Act 35 of 1998, the “Comisión de Protección y Promoción de los Cafés, Bares, Billares y Confiterías Notables de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires” (Association for the promotion and protection of notable bars in Buenos Aires) was created. Pursuant to such rule, the following requirements to consider a bar as notable were established: antiquity and continuance; an outstanding architecture; situations of cultural value taken place in such bar; attendance of important characters and, of course, such bar must be a reference to the neighbourhood or zone
Thus, at first, 39 notable bars were chosen. Nowadays, 20 bars have been added to the list.
The selection is very extensive because people can find classic and prestigious cafes at international level as the Tortoni but also some typical bars of neighbourhoods such as the “12 de Octubre”, near plaza Almagro, or “El Progreso”, at Montes de Oca and California in the district of Barracas.

Which is the oldest café in the city?
Porteño Cafes started to appear at colonial times. Most of them were located in the surroundings of Plaza Mayor, today Plaza de Mayo. Among others, we can enumerate “Café de la Comedia”, “De los Catalanes” and “De Marco”, meeting point of Mariano Moreno, Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and Bernardo de Monteagudo the nights before the “Revolución de Mayo” in 1810.
The oldest café in full swing is the “Tortoni”, founded in 1858, at the corner of Esmeralda and Rivadavia. In 1880 it was moved to Rivadavia 1826. In 1898 the entrance on Avenida de Mayo (the other side of the block) was opened with the number 825/29.

Has the function of the City’s cafés changed?
The city is a cell that changes constantly. It is necessary to have a balanced view of civic and intellectual readiness to rescue those cultural properties (such as buildings, green spaces, pieces of art, etc.) that play an important role in our collective memory and patrimony. Approximately 25 years ago, all the cafés got modernized, unified their styles and put a lot of plants, absurdly in some cases. Thus, they lost their personal styles that had made them different (except from La Giralda and El Gato Negro). Nowadays, a greater authenticity is being searched in order to rescue the original situations.
The essential function of the cafes has been kept, with the noticeable changes because of the present fashion and technology. Anyway, “know-all and suicide people” (as the tango says) still frequent these places but obviously they do not wear broad-brimmed hat and “lengue” (a kind of handkerchief).

Nowadays, do porteños spend more or less time in the café than before?
It depends on the kind of café, its location and the age of regular clients. Those coffee houses with billiard tables keep their style(36 Billares, Richmond, etc.). The neighbourhood cafés (such as Café de García, Margot, El Banderín, etc.) have their regular customers. Many of those located at downtown are always full of people (London City, La Giralda, Tortoni, etc.). However, nowadays, the literary meetings have decreased, even though some cafes (such as Bar de Cao, Margot, Tuñón, etc.) are the exceptions which prove the rule.

Which is your favourite café?
It would be unfair to mention only one. I like to have breakfast early in the morning at the Tortoni, with all its paintings and history. I like to: drink a coffee at Le Caravelle on Lavalle almost Maipú at the afternoon, meet with my wife at El Gato Negro while feeling the smell of the recently ground cinnamon, eat a sandwich at El Progreso and we will feel lucky if its owner, Mrs. Licinia, sings an Asturian song. At Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, I like to share a great “picada” with amigos at the Café de García, and at any moment I like to visit “La Buena Medida” at Suárez and Caboto, in front of “Plaza Solías” where the glorious Boca Juniors team was founded; eat a sandwich of marinated pavita at the Margot while we chat with the poet Rubén Derlis or the artist Juan Manuel Sánchez. Finally, I would enjoy drinking a cup of white coffee with croissants at Carlitos, along Carlos Calvo at Saavedra corner.

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