This is a cafe bar restaurant in the Recoleta area of BA. It is situated on a corner, has outdoor seating and is almost exclusively for locals who live in this upscale part of BA. If you find it cause you're staying in the area and just happen to walk by and say "this looks real and authentic and local" it's because it is real and authentic and local. My husband and I search these places out no matter where we travel. And when we pass by a place which has a lot of tourists, even though we are a tourist too, we don't go in. I guess we don't consider ourselves a tourist or simply don't want to have an experience being assaulted by American English speaking people. And at The Rambla, that will not happen. The waitstaff are Argentinian and 99% of the patrons are local and are there daily or several times a day. You can tell that's the case when a man or woman or groups of them walk in, sit down at "their" table, and the waiter brings over their newspaper and their order. And this is what we love to observe. The local vibe. The dynamics between the regulars. For us, it's a scene out of one of the Argentinian (or Spanish, Germany, Israel, ) films we have seen. And we just love it. And my husband is a "famous person sighter". No matter where we go, he identifies a famous person. No kidding. And at the Rambla he insisted that a guy sitting at one of the tables was an actor. And after the guy left he asked our waiter who he was and the waiter showed him a magazine with the guy on the cover. Yup, that's Dennis for ya!
Oh, the food. You were wondering if I would get to that. We only had breakfast and it was delicious. We ordered The Americano (what else?) which included freshly squeezed orange juice, toasted bread with creamy cream cheese or butter and fresh jams, and a moist ham and bacon omelette, and of course, coffee. So what's the big deal. First of all, if you didn't know it, coffee is an art form in Argentina. There's all sorts of preparations with their own name and if you have to ask what it is then you're clearly in need of coffee mentoring. Coffee is always freshly ground. Hot. And strong. Very strong. And varies as to how much milk is added and whether it is hot or cold or steamed. Theirs is awesome. And the moist omelette was super good, the ham tasted like it had just been cured and the bacon was cooked but not crispy.
If you're in the area stop in. It doesn't matter if you're not a local. They know that you're not. They will still serve you the same delish food and beverage. But after our third visit "our" waiter asked if we were having the Americano and whether we wanted our "aqua con gas" now or after the cortado. That made me feel good. Very good. I wonder if he misses us! read more