34 Best Restaurants in Patagonia, Argentina

Founded in 1963, photos of visiting Argentine celebrities mingle with the marine-themed doodads that cover the walls at this local favorite. The best bet in town, they are most known for their large portions of fish and seafood dishes but they also offer traditional Argentine cuisine.

Herbes de provence in the greeting room, a tank of lively king crabs in the dining room: French chef Manu Herbin gives local seafood a French touch and creates some of Ushuaia's most memorable meals with views to match. The first-rate wine list includes Patagonian selections, while all dishes are created entirely with ingredients from Tierra del Fuego. Perched a couple of miles above town across the street from the Hotel Glaciar, the restaurant has stunning views of the Beagle Channel. Don't miss the baby scallops or the centolla (king crab) au gratin.

This successful microbrewery is famous in the region for its brews and comfort food. Of course, it's not just the hops bringing in the crowds; they also cook up delicious soups, snacks, empanadas, and a great locro (hearty traditional northern Argentine stew). The owners of this restaurant and bar pride themselves on the handmade beers, with the stout or negra not to be missed.

A short way out of town lies Gaiman's largest teahouse (where Lady Di famously took tea in the 1990s), surrounded by cypress trees, sculpted gardens, and a giant tea pot. It stands apart from its rivals culturally, too: it's run by descendants of a Spanish family, which shows in the sprawling colonial-style architecture. Otherwise you'd never know they weren't Welsh, as they do the most impressive spread of traditional cakes in town.

In a dark wooden dining hall you'll share hearty steaks, warming soups, and wine poured from penguin-shaped ceramic jugs in a family restaurant that includes a hostel upstairs. It's rustic, and the food is not spectacular, but you can't beat the friendly atmosphere in what is easily El Chaltén's largest and most popular restaurant. It's also the only one that's consistently open for lunch and dinner in the off-season.

This restaurant in the center of town is one of the many typical and popular tenedor libre (all-you-can-eat) parrillas on the main strip—nobody orders à la carte. Skip the Italian buffet and Chinese offerings and fill up instead on the grilled meats and morcilla (blood sausage). Sit by the interior window toward the back where you see the parrillero artfully coordinate the flames and spits, and ask him to load your plate with the choicest cuts.

The young owners of this resto bar provide friendly service, a creative take on Argentine and international cuisine, and excellent microbrews.

The coolest bar in Pirámides is also the town's best seafood restaurant where amid nets, nautical gear, and glam-rock posters the requisite fish and steak dishes are offered alongside pizzas and homemade pastas.

A mustard-yellow pioneer house that lights up the main street, this traditional eatery is driven by its ebullient owner Sergio Otero, a constant presence bustling around the bench seating, making suggestions, and revving up his staff. Sample the picada plate (king crab rolls, Roma-style calamari, marinated rabbit) over an artisanal Beagle Beer—the dark version is the perfect balm on a cold windy day. Lamb dominates the mains, and the emphasis is on hearty rather than fashionable. Tables filled with locals and visitors make for a boisterous atmosphere. Don't worry about the no-reservations policy as you won't have to wait long.

This restaurant and wine bar boasts a hipper-than-thou interior and modern menu serving such delights as Patagonian lamb with calafate sauce (calafate is a local wild berry). The Casimiro Biguá Parrilla, down the street from the main restaurant, has a similar trendy feel, but you can recognize the parrilla by the cordero al asador (spit-roasted lamb) displayed in the window. A third branch, also on Libertador, offers Italian dishes in a less formal setting. Each closes periodically during winter.

An eclectic menu with a mix of seafood, international and Argentine classics, including all manner of beef options, this is a fine stop for a meal. They also have vegetarian and gluten free dishes. The service is excellent, but the prices are steep. 

For decades the Jones family, owners of this stately redbrick corner building, ran a hotel and bar (complete with a boxing ring in the basement) here, but switched to serving steaks, pizzas, and pasta in between the tea cakes. The decision has been a success: on weekends locals pack themselves around the wooden tables to devour the generous parilladas (mixed grills).

Sour dough pizzas that leave any pizza aficionado content, Fervor has high quality, homemade pastas and incredible pizzas. Dine in a warm atmosphere with good food that won't break your bank.

Homemade pastas are the specialty here, but locals also tuck into hearty grilled dishes of steak, pork, and chicken at this lively restaurant with exposed brick, low lighting, wooden booths, and a traditional pub-like atmosphere. Some come just for a beer while others come to dine.

It takes a lot of moxie to open a restaurant not serving cordero, barbecue, or pizza in Patagonia, and former “fancy” chefs José and Leandro show they have just that with their homey restaurant, which uses vintage plow wheels to cook a traditional and ultimately delicious stew-style dish known as al disco. The al disco menu offers all sorts of meats and veggies cooked in beer, red wine, or white wine; more creative and quasi-modern options like Bife al Napolitana; or you can create your own. And you've got to love a restaurant that tells you not to bother with starters but rather just dunk your bread in the disco sauce. Great atmosphere, laid-back charm, and effortlessly tasty food have made this a popular spot in town.

Beautiful dishes and a contemporary twist on traditional Patagonian flavors meet at this funky little restaurant at the end of the world. Owner and chef Jorge says that recipes are inspired by his grandma's classics, but there is also a hint of Peruvian and Mediterranean with signature dishes like octopus ceviche, centolla, Beagle Channel mussels, and paella. The wine list has plenty of Patagonian wines to help you while away a couple hours at this slow-paced and charming restaurant.

The white picket fence, manicured lawns, and planter boxes play up the fact that this out-of-the-way restaurant used to be a family home. Inside, the star ingredient is centolla, best presented as chowder with a hint of mustard. Polished wooden floors, picture windows, and tables covered in wine glasses further the sophisticated dining experience with an intimate touch. This restaurant is on a steep ridge above town and offers good views, only a little bit spoiled by the radio antennae sticking up from plots next door. Still, it's seafood served with panache and warmth in a dining room that belies the status quo of the kitschy restaurants near the waterfront. But it can be hard to find; even taxi drivers get lost in the warren of streets above town.

This impeccably maintained riverside cottage is nestled in a verdant stand of lenga trees and overlooks the Beagle Channel and provides a warm, cozy spot for delicious loose-leaf tea or comforting snacks before or after a hike to the Martial Glacier (conveniently located at the end of the Martial road that leads up from Ushuaia). An afternoon tea with all the trimmings will satiate any peckish trekker, fondues are served at lunchtime, and at 8 pm in summer the menu shifts to pricier dinner fare with dishes like salmon in wine sauce (mainly for the guests at the adjoining cabin accommodation).

This bustling spot is where locals go for their pizza joint fix, thanks to the typical Argentine-style pizza of thick crust, and layered with stringy cheese. Their empanadas are just as good—pick up a few and you have the perfect pastry pick-me-up during a long day of exploring. With two other branches on the main strip (one with a kids' playground and the other for more Patagonian-style dishes), the secret is out, but stick with the original pizzeria, as the locals do. If it's not crowded, you're in the wrong one.

It's a couple of extra blocks from downtown and across a little white bridge, but this parrilla is where the locals go for a special night out to watch their food as it's cooking; Patagonian lamb and beef ribs roast gaucho-style on frames hanging over a circular asador, and an enormous grill along the back wall is full of steaks, chorizos, and morcilla (blood sausage). The whole place is filled with a warm glow despite the lackluster decor. It's slightly more expensive than other parillas in the center of town—and almost always fully booked—but has a classier atmosphere that will make you want to linger for dessert, if you have room.

The locals crowding the tables at this bustling, family-oriented restaurant are proof of its reputation as the top seafood spot in town. The best dishes are the starters: think oyster platters, a decadent bowl of calamari, or the picada de mariscos, a sampling of hot and cold shellfish dishes. Follow up with the centolla (king crab) or stuffed salmon.

Bohemian music, homemade cooking, and colorful patchwork cushions set the tone for this unpretentious, friendly restaurant several blocks from downtown. You'll be surrounded by funky artwork, couples whispering under low-hung lights, and laid-back but efficient staff as you try to decide which big-enough-to-share dish you'll order while working your way through a great dome of steaming bread. Choose between soups, pies, and bakes; the lamb stew served inside a calabaza (pumpkin) is the signature dish. They also have vegan and vegetarian options. 

With its paneled walls, sleek black tables, and vintage photos, this retro Italo-Argentine diner is popular with locals and visitors alike for its pasta specialties. Try the stuffed gnocchi and the good prix-fixe menus.

Entering this café on the waterfront puts you in mind of a general store from the earliest frontier years of Ushuaia, which is why locals call it the viejo almacén (old grocery store). Burgers and picada platters are uninspiring; choose fresh-baked bread or scrumptious lemon croissants instead, and try the submarino—a mug of hot milk in which you plunge a bar of dark chocolate (goes well with a panini). As you walk from room to room admiring the relics (like the hand-cranked Victrola phonograph), the hubbub around the bar reminds you that a warehouse like this was not just a store to pick up supplies; it was also a place for isolated pioneers to socialize and gather all the latest news from the port.

On the street that runs right along the Beagle Channel, Tia Elvira is a good place to sample the local catch. Garlicky shellfish appetizers and centolla are delicious; even more memorable is the tender merluza negra (black sea bass). The room is decked out with nautical knickknacks that may seem on the tacky side for such a pricey place. The service is friendly and familial.