LAGuide
The Best Argentinian Restaurants In LA
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
While Argentina’s food might not be as well known as the country’s love of tango or Lionel Messi’s left foot, this South American cuisine is way more varied than steak and wine. Much like what’s eaten in neighboring Peru and Brazil, Argentine food takes influence from Spanish, Italian, African, and Indigenous cultures. In LA, you can find plenty of places for homemade empanadas and dulce de leche, along with, yes, great parrillada with zippy chimichurri and excellent wines. Here are eight fantastic Argentinian spots to get you started.
THE SPOTS
Carlitos Gardel in Beverly Grove is where you go for romance, what with its beautiful back patio, tango music, and dim lighting that makes everyone look good. It's also one of the best places to get a slab of cooked meat, like the juicy ojo de bife and the charred entraña that soaks up the kitchen's garlicky chimichurri. Finish off your date night with some dulce de leche.
This upscale South American spot lives inside Level 8, the huge nightlife amusement park in DTLA where you can watch a lucha libre fight at a bar that looks like a church and eat beef cigars in a speakeasy while acrobats twirl above you. But this spot is by far the least ridiculous of the Level 8 bunch. Qué Bárbaro serves a menu that’s a little Peruvian, a little Brazilian, but mostly built on delicious Argentinian BBQ. Bring a group and split bone-in short rib and fat-capped picanhas with rosy-pink centers as an open-flame grill shoots embers into the air. All of it will help tune out the pulsing psychedelic music at the poolside bar next door.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Everything about this grocer-dining hall hybrid in Van Nuys screams Argentinian. There's soccer memorabilia galore, shelves lined with mate brands, and murals of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi gracing the walls. Patriotism aside, Mercado Buenos Aires also has a long menu of classic comfort foods, like juicy choripanes coated in a sharp chimichurri, fried empanadas, and a sizzling parrilla Buenos Aires (for two) that comes with housemade chorizo and short ribs that are so tender the meat peels off the bone.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Rincon Argentino is a mini-mart in Glendale with so much wine that the crates stack around the butcher counter. And besides having enough malbec and beef to feed a family of hibernating bears in the winter, Rincon Argentino makes fluffy, egg-washed empanadas full of ground chicken, olives, and a stew with onions and raisins that add a smooch of sweetness. There's a fugazzeta that's pleasantly aggressive with the onions. Each one has a blanket of cooked onion canvassing sliced ham and melted cheese that dangles over the thin crust.
photo credit: Kim Fox
When it comes to empanadas, the more options, the merrier. Or at least that's what this Culver City spot taught us. Empanada's Place has over 20 hand pies to choose from, each of which comes fried until bubbly, golden brown. These crispy empanadas are overstuffed with things like spicy ground beef, soft potatoes, or ricotta mixed with fresh basil and mushrooms. If the sheer number of options overwhelms you, just go with the Arabe–a triangle-shaped turnover with spicy, tomato-y ground beef and lots of lemon juice.
POWERED BY
No one should come to Malbec Market for a quick meal. This sandwich counter and hot food bar in Eagle Rock is more of a wine-with-lunch type of place, somewhere you want to linger for a bit with your Slack notifications on mute. On sit-down visits, we always get the pulpo con chorizo. This grilled octopus is charred on all sides and coated in a spicy, smoky chorizo ragu with lots of paprika. But if you're really in a hurry, the choripan on baguette with sharp provolone and vinegary chimichurri is our favorite grab-and-go option.
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Guido's in Rancho Cucamonga was originally an Italian deli until the business switched to Argentinian ownership, and then the fugazettas showed up on the menu. These pillowy, thick-crust pies get covered in muzza, mozzarella's saltier South American cousin that bubbles beautifully in a hot pizza oven. We're fans of the house special topped with green olives for pops of salt, roasted bell peppers, and sweet grilled onions that turn burnt and smoky around the edges. And like all great Italian delis, there are subs to go, including a milanesa sandwich with breaded steak, sliced provolone, and a kick from yellow mustard.
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With another location in DTLA, this order-at-the-counter spot in Koreatown formats Argentinian asado into a fast-casual operation. Apart from one very boring side salad, everything on the Aca Plate makes us very happy. The sides of black beans and rice are warm and rich, the pork belly has a crispy coat around its fatty bits, the beef rib glistens with juices, and the smoky chorizo makes an audible snap when you chomp into it. If you're looking for something else to round out your meal, get Aca's beef empanadas stuffed with a spicy sofrito that will inevitably dribble down your chin.
