Staying Up with the Porteños

Buenos Aires is a 24-hour city, and you can find places that serve food around the clock, but most of these are downtown and tend to fall into the fast-food and pizza categories. Although much is made about porteños' late eating habits, the truth is the ideal and the most popular dining time is 9–9:30 pm (though you can easily show up for dinner at midnight and no one will blink an eye). Most restaurants open at 8 pm for dinner and will serve until 1 or 2 am. You can find more late-night confiterías (confectioneries) and cafés in the Centro area; most other neighborhoods have scarce late-night offerings.

You can find breakfast—coffee and pastries—anywhere, at any time. Lunch is served from noon to 4 pm, 1 to 2 pm being the rush hour, especially downtown, which is packed with office workers.