Buenos Aires Cafe

Wonderful food but horrible, rude service from everyone. I’m sad that I don’t plan to return.

The best gnocchi hands down of any place in Austin or the surrounding area. My husband’s grandmother made gnocchi homemade. You can tell these are homemade along with the sauce!

Great atmosphere, great food! The tenderloin sandwich and spinach salad is one of my favorite lunch meals in the Bee Cave/​Lakeway area.

Best lunch menu in town. Their spinach salad is amazing and their tenderloin is always perfectly cooked.

I love this place. The food is always done to sell and the service staff are always to welcoming.

I love the food here, although it is fairly pricey. The service, however, is often slow, so if you go here, it’s not going to be a quick meal. But I have never had a bad dinner here — the steaks were fantastic and the lemon meringue pie was to DIE for.

I was quite disappointed. I was really looking forward to this, but perhaps it was because I was looking forward to the menu items at the 6^th street location. There wasn’t anything memorable at this location.
We order the chicken, spinach, and tuna empanadas. The tuna was probably the best one. I really wanted a good spinach and cheese empanada. No luck in Austin so far.
We also ordered the shrimp prosciutto. The shrimp was dry and overdone.
For entrees, we decided to share the parrillada for two ($ 62), combination of grilled meats. We got chicken instead of the quail as written on the menu. I think we could’ve shared the single order, for two was a huge platter good for 3 – 4 people. The seasoning on the meats was lacking. And we did find a strand of hair stuck on the beef. didn’t make a deal out of it though. There were two pieces of the beef.
Overall, I wouldn’t come back here.

I work in the Galleria and this place is one of the best options around, and definitely worth going to otherwise. Anything with the chimichurri is a highlight; both the lunch and dinner menus have a good variety for everyone and contain some excellent flavors all around. The only downside is that the service is sometimes spotty; this is a more relaxed pace of restaurant, and not the place to go if you’re on a strict schedule. I highly recommend the lomito al plata, lomito beef sandwich, the empanadas, and the pork tenderloin dinner plate.

This place is awesome! The staff has been nice every time I go in (I live right around the corner) and the food is great. At lunch always ask about soup of the day. It’s homemade — if it’s the cream of asparagus or spinach-​potato. Order it! Also the big lunch secret — order the Lomito. It’s a awesome steak sandwich!
At night, the steaks are a good bet! For dessert, get the key lime pie!

Everything I have tried has been great! The portobello mushroom sandwich is good and they have the best baby spinach salad~ goat cheese, candied pecans, apple… Really good!

I’ve been visiting this place since it fist opened on South 1^st and Oltorf eight or nine years ago. Their food is unbelievable. My favorite there is their Beef Lomito Sandwich. It is just out of this world.

Had a delightful brunch at Buenos Aires Café. The Eggs Benedict were delicious with a light and lemony hollandaise sauce. Our helpful and friendly waiter, Franz, explained that each dish is made to order with a fresh batch of hollandaise. Truly the best Eggs Benedict I’ve ever had. We concluded our meal with a terrific chocolate crème brûlée. The flavor, which boasted a touch a cayenne, was excellent and the texture velvety. The Bloody Marys were terrific, too!

I give it 2 stars but only for the service. Food Is amazing but the service is horrible! I arrived at lunch time and I understand it’s a busy place but it took me about 15 minutes before they even noticed me standing. They are short staffed so I would recommend to come in plenty of time during lunch.

Always good friendly and courteous staff. Their lomolito steak sandwich is amazing and $ 7 at happy hour. Highly recommend

Where the service lacks, the food makes up for. It’s possible they have been short handed each time I go, but the Lomito Beef sandwich is just worth the wait. I go here on my lunch break in the Galleria during the week and I can just barely make it back to work in an hour if I push the server to bring my check with the food.
I’ve been on a Saturday but the service isn’t much better. As long as your sandwich is that good, you don’t have much to worry about. I’ll bring friends from out of town but if I’m looking to get my meal and get out without having to track down our server, I’ll go somewhere else.

Lookie here. I’m afraid to say this following thing, in the same way a hipster is afraid of committing to more than accidentally grabbing tacos with another human being. I’m afraid, but I’m going to just go with it, see what happens. Here goes: I declare this to be one of the best cheese plates I have ever had. Maybe the best one.
Was I just coming off of a Latin dance boat party in the midday sun? Yes, yes I was. So was I maybe biased due to hunger and things? No, I don’t think so. What a hearty amount of cheese, bread, nuts, and side things this was. I would’ve taken a picture for you, but soon became confident that my eating it — and quickly — was the best testament to this being an amazing, satisfying serving.
We also got the churrasco platter for 1 and that thing was on point. My yummy lumberjack about lost his mind when they brought out chimichurri sauce with this platter. The beef was tender, the sausage was great, and there was a little birdie hanging out on the plate too, along with some melted cheese and bread. We got sides too: asparagus (yes yes yes) and maybe potatoes. Who knows. After a cheese plate and an empanada each (the spicy one is delicious and not very spicy) this platter for 1 sufficed for two.
Is it like you’re in Buenos Aires? Probably not as much as the E 6^th or the original spot I went to ages ago. I almost did a 180 out the door because it had this odd pub feel, what with TVs everywhere and neon wall fixtures. But I’m glad we stayed, ate, and resisted the temptation to order more than we could eat. I’m coming after you next time, gnocchi.

For an appetizer I shared an assortment of empanadas. They were all delicious! The sauce that is served with them is phenomenal!
I also shared the arugula salad which wasn’t anything special but it was tasty.
For the entrée we were recommended the Lomito Beef sandwich by the waitress. It was very good! The steak was cooked perfectly and the French baguette was very soft and fresh. I would recommend trying this at least once, very good.
For dessert we had crepes and the spicy dark chocolate crème brûlée. Both were yummy but the crepes were the winner!
All in all I would eat here again but this time I would purchase a bottle of wine to go with my meal. That would put the icing on the cake! Perfect date night restaraunt. :)

Just avoid it!!!
Our cocktails were very good. The Pisco sour was excellent. After that, things started going down hill. Our server introduce himself. When my aunt couldn’t remember his name he reminded us that he already told us his name, in a very rude manner. The empanadas were good, but they were overshadowed by the long wait in between courses and our server’s inability to get a bottle of wine to the table in a timely fashion. I ordered the ribeye medium rare and when it arrived it was definitely medium, hot in the center and barely pink. However, I did not dare send it back lest I face the wrath of Michael, our indignant server. The steak was tough and bland just like the side dishes. The meal cost us over $ 300 and we were left with nothing but disappointment. I will never visit this restaurant again and I advise that you do the same.

We walked in at 3pm and we were seated right away. We ordered 2 mojitos, 3 tapas, 2 salads and shared a steak. It was delicious! We finished within an hour and half. We were stuffed and we can’t wait to go back. The mussels and steak dishes were awesome!

Have been wanting to check out the Argentinean cuisine at Buenos Aires Café for some time. Finally made it on a Wednesday night. Walked into to a very inviting, stunning yet simplistic smallish dining room. My husband and I chose to take two seats at the large bar… beautiful woodwork, lighting, and white washed bricks on the wallls. Live music playing in the corner. All nice touches.
Was welcomed by Franz, the barkeep. Really nice and knowable young man. Cocktails? Yes, please. When in Buenos Aires, or a café with the same name in the Hill Country Galleria, have to go for an Argentine specialty… or rather a few.
The drinks —
Caipirinha: Cachaca (people often mistake for a rum; however, it is not… it is a cane sugar based liquor but has a more smoky flavor like tequila), lime, and brown sugar shaken and poured over crushed ice, as is tradition. Oh, yum, so incredibly refreshing… one of my new fav drinks for sure!
Piso Sour: Piso, egg white, and house made simple syrup (from brown sugar) served in a martini glass with a pretty swirl of bitters on top. The old-​fashioned additive of the egg white provided the frothy foam on top. Again, yum.
Qulmes: Argentine beer. Extremely light and crisp. Like a summer pale ale, but better. Not hoppy at all. Huge fan.
The eats —
Started of with a few empanadas. Carne Picante: Spicy ground beef with onions, egg white, raisins, and olives. Just the right amount of heat, great flavor. Vendura: Spinach and ricotta. Really reminiscent of Greek Spanakopita. Good. Both empanadas had the most flaky, buttery crust. A+
At the recommendation of Franz, we order the Parrillada for ONE to share: Great selection, especially if it’s your first visit and you want to try a bit of many things Argentinean. Huge chunks of perfectly cooked beef and pork tenderloin. Load up on the made fresh daily chimichurri… I’m in carnivore heaven. Some of the most tasty chargrilled chorizo I’ve ever had. Two halves of a quall; a little tough; tad overcooked. Melted provolone and spice served in a cute cast iron skillet to smear on pieces of toasted bread. All accompanied by fantastic fried potato squares (extra crispy on the outside, super moist on the inside, not at all greasy; would normally be an afterthought, but we actually noshed on the tators before slicing into the beef) and blanched haricots vert. Great, just great. And for $ 29.99…plenty enough for two… even took a bit home and made myself a frittata for lunch the next day.
While finishing dining, and well into an hour after the restaurant had closed, now having moved onto to wine, we had the great pleasure of meeting BAC’s Executive Pastry Chef Reina who sat at the bar next to us. We spoke about travel and obviously all of love for food. Exceptionally nice and interesting conversation. Reina creates and makes all the in-​house desserts daily. She insisted we try something… twist our rubber arms. ;) Had to go for the Crème Brûlée. Not like any you’ve ever had before. Dark chocolate base with hints of flavor and spice from a variety of chilies, including cayenne and pasilla. And of course, the perfectly torched sugar shell on the top that makes all Brûlées so good. Highly recommend trying this fascinating and enjoyable dessert. Thanks for the talk and the dessert Reina!
Overall: We will be back, especially for happy hour. After only our first visit, Buenos Aires Café feels like a second home. The service is great, the food is wonderful, and the price is right!
Tips: HH is Mon-​Sat from 3−6pm. A few $ 5 house cocktails (sadly neither of the two I had), $ 1 off beers, and assorted food items ranging from $ 3 – 10 (including a half Lomito beef sandwich other Unilocaler’s have raved about; only served during lunch and HH).
If you want GREAT bar service, go on Wednesday or Saturdays when Franz is working.
Live music on Tue, Wed, Thur, & Sat from 7−9pm.
***Despite Unilocal,they do have full bar
Salut!!!