10 Restaurants where you can eat locro and traditional foods in Buenos Aires

A classic in the Belgrano neighborhood. Since opening in 1991, it has delighted lovers of crispy, juicy empanadas. It’s almost sacrilege to eat them with a knife and fork.

Inspired by Bolivian cuisine – their style of empanadas is called ‘salteñas’ – La Paceña’s menu also offers a variety of stews, including locro made with beef, pork, bacon, sausage, sweet potato, cabbage, cracked corn, beans, and slightly spicy house salsa. For dessert: a ‘paceñito’ of sweet potato or quince.

Note: The owner, Don Víctor, named the restaurant in honor of his grandparents who lived in Bolivia for several years and passed down their recipes.

Where: Echeverría 2570.

Locro is always on the menu at this walk-in and take-away restaurant located on a corner of the San Telmo Market. El Hornero de San Telmo specializes in empanadas, regional and criollo dishes, and has views of Esteban de Luca’s house, one of the oldest residences in Buenos Aires.

The casserole proposed by executive chef Alan Del Águila includes cracked white corn, white butter beans, pork tripe, pancetta, criollo and red chorizo, pork ribs, white onion, and pumpkin… A hearty and substantial dish for cold winter days, and “solidary with friends,” as they say at El Hornero, because there’s always an extra portion.

Tip: The menu also includes stews, tripe, lentils, vedette empanadas, tamales, humita en chala, homemade flan, and rice pudding.

Where: Av. Carlos Calvo 455, shops 88 and 89 / Av. Córdoba 970.

Before becoming the ‘21st-century Argentine eco-socio-cultural pulpería,’ as described in their manifesto, Pulpería Quilapán was a colonial house that hosted eleven families, later became a tenement, and even served as a mechanic’s workshop. Today, the 1860 mansion is a multifaceted meeting place that celebrates tradition and offers all kinds of shows and activities, in addition to homemade wines, vermouths, and specialties like locro (red chorizo, pork foot, tripe, pork skin, beef, kabutia, corn, chickpeas, beans), homemade dough empanadas from Salta, and hunter’s stew with lentils, pine mushrooms, venison, and wild boar.

Tip: Although there is an entrance fee, the menu prices are very affordable, and among the charming ‘pulpero promotions,’ they offer free lemonade for those arriving by bike, gin for those with mustaches, 20% discounts on rainy days, and free dinners for those over 100 years old.

Where: Defensa 1344.

“So juicy that you need an umbrella to eat them” warn the folks at Molino Norteño, the gastronomic venture Gustavo Tapia brought to Buenos Aires in 2016 when he decided to introduce the authentic flavors of his hometown Molinos, in Salta Province. What began as a snack bar soon embraced its identity and added regional dishes: from real Salta-style empanadas chopped by hand and seasoned with paprika and cumin to humitas, tamales, and traditional desserts like quesillo with cayote and Salta nougat, always accompanied by typical regional drinks.

Tip: The empanadas (large and generously filled) are served with yasgua, a typical spicy tomato and chili sauce, mandatory for accompanying every bite of these Salta delicacies.

Where: Cnel. Apolinario Figueroa 101.

For almost two decades, La Querencia has specialized in Argentine cuisine, empanadas, grill, and snacks, but its menu—and its spirit—includes a whole section dedicated to native foods, where locro made with beef and pork, beans, corn, squash, and red chorizo stands out. Among their regional dishes, they also include carbonada, criollo tripe, humita, northern tamal, and northern shepherd’s pie with peppers, veal, and green olives. Traditional desserts are also present in this Recoleta corner: unmissable are the sweet potato or quince pasties, bread pudding, and rice pudding.

Tip: Besides the typical dishes, you must try the handmade empanadas, especially lamb, tripe, dairy (seven cheeses), and hand-cut beef.

Where: Junín 1314 / Palpa 2383.

This place, perfect for enjoying typical flavors of Argentine gastronomic culture, was born in the 2000s with the idea of creating a representative proposal of that very Argentine cuisine, inviting diners to “travel through time and across the country’s different geographies.”

The menu at 1810 Cocina Regional consists of native dishes from northern Argentina, such as Tucuman-style empanadas and typical stews: locro (with beef, beans, corn, squash, and red chorizo), carbonada (with peach, corn, and meat), tamales, and humita en chala, among other homemade delights.

Tip: Are you a fan of colaciones? You don’t have to go to Córdoba to treat yourself. At 1810 Cocina Regional, they specialize in making these addictive sweet bites filled with dulce de leche and covered in glaze.

Where: Mendoza 2312/20 / Julián Álvarez 1998 / Marcelo T. de Alvear 868.

With a typical bodega atmosphere, El Horno del Norte offers a super varied menu where, among its charcoal grill and elaborated dishes, the best regional foods—tamales, humitas, and casseroles—stand out, and above all, their Tucuman-style empanadas.

You can’t leave without trying the sweet cayote and walnut, the best northern dessert. There’s no need to wait for May 25 or any other national holiday: their pulsudo locro (hearty and full of ingredients) is available on the menu every day of the year.

Tip: If you’re far from Palermo and closer to the Argentine coast, they also have a branch in Villa Gesell with the same spirit and regional flavors.

Where: Guatemala 5999.

In the heart of downtown Buenos Aires, there’s a time machine. A bar, restaurant, and museum that invites you to travel to the past through its collection of toys and antiques displayed throughout the venue, and its artisanal-quality regional foods. La Morada’s menu complements the retro ambiance with typical flavors and dishes from Catamarca, such as empanadas and other classic Argentine dishes, like locro (with corn, beans, meat, squash, pancetta, and red chorizo) accompanied by freshly made homemade cookies and lentil stew that shines during autumn and winter months.

Tip: The first La Morada location opened in September 1999 on Larrea Street, corner of Juncal. A few years later, they expanded downtown, in the basement of an 1890 building that once housed an old bodega known as La Vieja Victoria.

Where: Larrea 1336 / Hipolito Yrigoyen 778.

In this rustic spot, opened in 2020, there’s no gas installation: everything is cooked in a clay oven and wood-fired, matching the ‘imperfect’ charm that gives the place its name. The north-inspired menu at El Imperfecto features traditional recipe empanadas with spices brought especially from Salta, such as paprika, ground chili, and cumin. Also, humita a la olla, charqui tamales, Tucuman-style milanesa sandwich, and locro, the first dish that came out of their kitchen. They say that at El Imperfecto, they make a certain number of empanadas per day, and when they’re gone... they’re gone.

Tip: Diego Rizzi and Emilia Saravia saved money for their wedding but had a better idea: to use their savings to open a restaurant where they could cook together.

Where: Gascón 1417.

Santa Evita prides itself on being a Peronist restaurant, captivating with its Argentine cuisine, beyond the politically charged décor and references.

There are no sides when it comes to enjoying a menu that offers a bit of everything: from Neapolitan milanesas, empanadas, and polenta with stew, to lentil stews and various versions of shepherd’s pie, accompanied by a pitcher of sangria. Essentially, a bodega where abundant Rioplatense dishes meet contemporary cuisine, like a portion of braised wild boar pie or spaghetti with smoked pancetta.

Tip: Reservations are needed, weekends feature different promotions, and they have their own souvenir shop with themed merchandise (t-shirts, aprons).

Where: Julián Álvarez 1479.