
Quick bite
Pizza counter
Fast, standing
- WhereCorrientes
- OrderMuzzarella, fainá
- TimeDay or night
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Palermo food walk in Buenos Aires
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The quick version
Cheap food in Buenos Aires means pizza by the slice at Corrientes counters, big bodegón plates, the San Telmo market, Sunday fairs such as Mataderos and Chinatown's street stalls.
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Since 1932, 70 kinds of pizza; open until 01 h, 02 h at weekends.
Google MapsPizza al molde with golden mozzarella since 1932.
Google MapsSince 1956; pizzas arrive in their old pans.
Google MapsSince 1934; eat standing at the counter or at a table.
Google MapsSandwiches eaten at the bar, a chef's cheap pick.
Google MapsPizza al molde or a la piedra and three kinds of fainá.
Google MapsFood stalls among antiques, open daily 9 to 20 h.
Google MapsHeart of the Sunday San Telmo fair, more than 230 stalls.
Google MapsStand-up pizza counter: fugazza, fugazzetta and fainá, no tables.
Google MapsAlmagro pizzeria from 1927, known for fried meat empanadas.
Google Maps350 hectares of green by the river, good for a picnic.
Google MapsSunday fair, March to December: empanadas, locro and tamales.
Google MapsA vegetarian shiitake ramen a chef recommends for under 10 dollars.
Google Maps
The oldest café in the city, founded in 1858; book ahead through its website.
Google MapsFounded in 1860 by a Spanish immigrant: puchero, paella and a sign banning political arguments.
Google MapsA bodegón on this corner since 1986, with roots in a canteen from 1927.
Google MapsSan Telmo café-bar with a low bar for picadas, tortillas and home-made ravioli.
Google MapsA La Boca corner bar open since 1915, cooking fish and seafood bodegón plates.
Google MapsRecoleta's classic café at Junín and Quintana, near the Pilar church and the cemetery.
Google MapsThe heart of Palermo Soho; an artists' fair from 11 h on Fridays, weekends and holidays.
Google MapsA restaurant strip that formed in the early 1990s beside the polo grounds.
Google MapsAlmagro's grand café from 1884, famous for its merienda; open daily 6 to 00 h.
Google MapsVilla Crespo pizza since 1955, with chimichurri in the tomato sauce.
Google MapsGalician fish and seafood in Caballito since 1960; expect a queue on the pavement.
Google MapsA dining room on the old docks of Puerto Madero, now a residential and dining district.
Google MapsChinatown in Belgrano: Asian restaurants and sidewalk eating on pasaje Echeverría.
Google Maps
The only 2-star MICHELIN restaurant in the city, ranked 35 on Latin America's 50 Best 2025.
Google MapsRanked 21 on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025.
Google MapsThe restaurant chef Germán Martitegui called spectacular.
Google MapsA Recoleta classic that chef Narda Lepes recommends.
Google MapsFounded in 1896; hen puchero is the flagship dish.
Google MapsAn Italian cantina from 1926 that still sells hand-made pasta by weight.
Google MapsRecommended for drinks by Martitegui and Lepes; you can eat at the bar.
Google MapsA former general store on Borges's childhood block, ranked 24 on the 2025 list.
Google Maps
The premium option of the Palermo food walk sold on this site starts on Nicaragua street; the standard one meets on Thames street.
Google MapsRoman-style pizza from a wood oven, open since 2016.
Google MapsChef Gonzalo Aramburu's breakfast pick.
Google MapsNeapolitan pizza with San Marzano tomatoes.
Google MapsPizza and famous fried empanadas.
Google MapsA rooftop for creative cocktails, open Tuesday to Saturday evenings.
Google MapsAn afternoon coffee in the garden, a chef's tip.
Google MapsArab food that Martitegui calls good, nice and cheap.
Google MapsMapping data © OpenStreetMap contributors
You can eat extremely well in Buenos Aires without a restaurant bill: pizza by the slice at a marble counter, a milanesa in a bodegón, empanadas at a Sunday fair. Here are the places, the habits and the street food walks.
Editorial team, buenosairesfoodtour.click · Updated November 11, 2026 · Quick read: 7 min
Cheap food in Buenos Aires is not a compromise: some of the city's most loved places are its least formal. Many traditional pizzerias have a stand-up bar for a fast slice after the office and a dining room for those who want to sit.1 Bodegones, the old neighbourhood canteens, serve plentiful home-made classics at affordable prices.2 Add empanadas, choripán and a café breakfast, and a day of very good eating costs far less than a single dinner in a famous room.
Even the country's top chefs eat this way. Gonzalo Aramburu, whose restaurant holds 2 MICHELIN Stars, sends people to Güerrín on Avenida Corrientes for a meal under 10 dollars.5,6 Germán Martitegui recommends the vegetarian shiitake ramen at Orei in the same price range, and Sarkis, an Arab restaurant, as good, nice and cheap.7,8 Narda Lepes points to the sandwiches at Café Paulín, eaten sitting at the bar.9
The best cheap eats in Buenos Aires share a few habits: you eat at a counter, you share, and you order the house speciality rather than reading the whole menu. Time lunch well, since restaurants serve it and then usually close until dinner.10 Menus change, so check the prices before you sit, and carry some cash for kiosks and stand-up counters.
Where to go
| Place | What | How you eat |
|---|---|---|
| Güerrín | Pizza al molde | Standing or seated |
| El Cuartito | Fugazzeta, pizza | Counter or table |
| Pirilo | Fugazza, fainá | Standing only |
| Mercado San Telmo | Market stalls | Counters |
| Feria de Mataderos | Empanadas, locro | Sunday fair |
| Chinatown | Asian street food | Sidewalk |
| Spiagge di Napoli | Pasta by weight | Take away |
| Café Paulín | Sandwiches | At the bar |
Each place as described by the city's tourism board or by the chefs Visit Argentina interviewed.16,24,28,29,4,30,31,9
Avenida Corrientes is the spine of cheap eating downtown. Güerrín, opened in 1932 by Genoese partners, has 70 pizzas on its menu, and the dough is still worked by hand in a large trough.16,17 It opens from 11 h until 01 h, and until 02 h on Friday and Saturday, so it suits a late slice after the theatre.15 Order at the counter, stand, eat, leave: that is pizza al paso.
Las Cuartetas opened in 1932 too and serves pizza al molde under a layer of golden mozzarella.18 Legend says its name comes from the verses a famous lyricist wrote on its paper napkins.19 El Palacio de la Pizza, from 1956, brings the pizzas to the table in pans worn by years of use.20,21 Los Inmortales, opposite Güerrín, has been there since 1952.22
A few blocks north, El Cuartito on Talcahuano has been open since 1934 and is run by the third generation of its family.23 You can eat standing at the counter, at a small bar by the door or at a table, and people queue for it any day.24 El Mazacote on Chile street offers three versions of fainá next to its pizzas.25 In Almagro, Pin Pun, founded in 1927 by the same immigrants who opened Güerrín, is known for fried meat empanadas.26
For a sit-down meal on a budget, the bodegón is the answer. The city tourism board describes the menu as pasta, minutas and some seafood, the minutas being quick dishes such as milanesas, chicken supremas and fries.32,33 Visit Argentina adds fritters, omelettes, fried calamari and stews, with flan and dulce de leche for dessert.2,34 Portions are built for sharing, so order less than you think.
Some have been cooking for generations. Spiagge di Napoli, a family cantina in Almagro dating from 1926, will weigh out fresh hand-made pasta for a cheap picnic or hostel dinner.35,31 Lo de Mary, also in Almagro, serves vermouth with soda and a run of small plates before noon on Sundays, and takes cash only.36 Bar Portuario in La Boca, open since 1915, cooks simple, abundant bodegón food with fish and seafood as the speciality.37
The city also promotes a Semana de los Bodegones, when more than 80 of these canteens offer special menus at promotional prices.38 If your visit coincides, it is the cheapest way to try several. The rest of the year, go at lunchtime, sit where the waiter puts you and ask for the dish of the day; career waiters who know the menu by heart are part of the deal.39
Eat well for less
Pick your situation and the cheapest good option follows.
If I only have a few minutes and want pizza
Pizza al paso
Stand at the bar for a quick portion.1
If I want a full, cheap lunch
A bodegón
Plentiful home-made classics at affordable prices.2
If It is Sunday
Feria de Mataderos
Empanadas, locro and tamales with folk music.4
If I want variety under one roof
Mercado San Telmo
Shawarma, empanadas, raclette and choripán.29
If I want something non-Argentine
Chinatown
Stalls and sidewalk eating in Belgrano.30
If I'd like a local to pick the stops
A street food tour
San Telmo with street food and drinks, 3.5 hours.
Cheap formats compared

Quick bite
Fast, standing

Full lunch
Big plates, sit down

Sunday treat
Outdoor, weekends
Mercado San Telmo, opened in February 1897, is the easiest cheap lunch in the old town.79 Among antiques and old photographs, its stalls sell shawarma, Salta-style empanadas, raclette and choripán.29 It opens every day from 9 to 20 h.3 Around the corner on Defensa, Pirilo serves fugazzetta, fugazza and fainá to customers standing at the counter, with no tables at all.28
On Sundays San Telmo becomes a fair. Visit Argentina counts around 15,000 visitors every Sunday on Plaza Dorrego and Defensa Street, with more than 230 stalls of antiques and crafts.80,11 The fair began in 1970.81 Eat early, before the crowds, and wear your bag on your front; the UK lists the San Telmo market and area among places to be particularly cautious about theft.82
For the most local Sunday, go west to the Feria de Mataderos, which runs from March to December, 11 AM to 7 PM.12 Its stalls sell empanadas, locro, choripán, spit-roast meat, pastelitos, tortas fritas and tamales, with folk music on stage.4 The fair began more than 30 years ago and is listed as cultural heritage of the city.83 At weekends the travelling Buenos Aires Market sets up in a different square with organic fruit, bread and cheese.84
Street food with a guide
Choose your group size and compare two San Telmo walks and a city tour with street food.
3 options compared
Choose your group size and compare two San Telmo walks and a city tour with street food.
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ViewGetYourGuide's starting prices, converted at the ECB reference rate; exact pricing appears when you book.
Argentina's signature street snack is the choripán, a grilled sausage of beef or pork tucked into a crusty roll and sold from stalls nationwide.85 Add chimichurri, the herby sauce of parsley, garlic and oregano in oil.86 Visit Argentina notes that the choripán won the street food category of Taste Atlas in 2023.87 Look for it at the weekend fairs and at the San Telmo market.29
Chinatown in Belgrano is the other cheap street food district. Via Viva, under the Mitre railway viaduct, has stalls with small outdoor tables and covered rooms.30 Along pasaje Echeverría the counters mostly lack tables and waiters, so the pavement becomes the dining room.30 Orei, the ramen counter a top chef recommends, is on Echeverría too.7 Around Chinese New Year, between late January and early February, the barrio hosts a big fair with food stalls.88
By the river, the Costanera Sur promenade once drew the whole city to its restaurants, beer halls and bathing beach, in the early decades of the 20th century.89 Today it leads into the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve, 350 hectares of green and the largest open space in the city.74 Take food along and picnic; the UK names the Ecological Reserve among areas to watch your belongings, so keep valuables out of sight.82
Video

Mike Chen on YouTube · Nothing is fetched until you hit play.
Many traditional pizzerias have a space to eat standing up at the bar (popular with people ordering a quick portion of pizza on their way home from work)
Eat cheap, eat well
The cheapest meal of the porteño day is breakfast: a coffee and medialunas at any café counter. Ask for a cortado, espresso cut with a little hot milk, and a medialuna on the side.90 Medialunas come either buttery and glazed or salty, made with beef fat.91 Facturas, the wider family of pastries, keep company with coffee and mate morning and afternoon.92
The afternoon merienda is the second cheap window: cafés usually serve it, often as a coffee and a piece of cake.13 If you want to splurge a little, Las Violetas in Almagro is famous for generous meriendas, though a queue forms most afternoons.93 For a quick lunch, Café Paulín downtown serves sandwiches you eat sitting at the bar.9
Kiosks fill the gaps. Corner kiosks sell alfajores, the biscuits sandwiched with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate, a treat that reached its industrial, packaged peak in the 1950s.94 Ice cream is everywhere too, with heladerías from big chains to tiny makers all over the city.95 A cone of dulce de leche, the classic flavour, is a small luxury worth an afternoon detour.14
Is street food safe to eat? Common sense applies. The city tourism board confirms that tap water from the public network is drinkable.78 Canada still advises safe food and water precautions and frequent hand washing because of hepatitis A risk.96 Do not accept food or drink from strangers and never leave your drink unattended.97
Carry some cash. Some old places take cash only, such as Lo de Mary.36 ATMs work around the clock and accept the main international cards; use one indoors, in a hotel or a supermarket, rather than on the street.98,75 Never change money with the street dealers called arbolitos in the Microcentro: their trade is illegal.76 When paying by card, ask for the machine to be brought to your table.99
Prefer to hand the choices to an expert? A Buenos Aires street food tour bundles several bites with the stories behind them. A San Telmo walk with street food and drinks lasts 3.5 hours for groups of up to 10 and costs from $69. A city tour that mixes sights and street snacks takes 3 to 5 hours, from $38. For less, a 2-hour San Telmo walk that ends at the market starts from $13; its listing names no tastings.
FAQ
Traditional pizzerias have a standing bar for a quick portion and a seated room with waiters.1
It runs from 11 AM to 7 PM, with empanadas, locro and folk music.12
A city tour that mixes sights and street snacks takes 3 to 5 hours, from $38.
Sources
Hungry in Buenos Aires? Ask a real person here.