El Desnivel, Buenos Aires

The restaurant is quite small with tables very close together and it is always crowded and noisy, but if you can get past that you'll be happy you decide to came inside. The food here is so good and cheap. The service is fantastic as well and its well worth the wait as there is usually people waiting to be seated.

I've been here several time, my first visit was back in November 2007 when we were in San Thelmo just walking around. We were starting to feel a bit hungry sometime around 3:30 and decided to have a meal to share here.

During my second visit, we again were here for a late lunch, this time we each decided to order our own dish.

Favorite Dish: Anything you order here will be good. I usually have their bife de lomo and fries with either a glass of wine or a Quilmes.

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El Desnivel is one of Buenos Aires' best known restaurants and is popular with both portenos and tourists who flock here in huge numbers to sample the excellent steaks and the great atmosphere. You'll be greeted by big waiters who look like they eat steak for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It´s located in the heart of the historic district of San Telmo and the menu is typical Argentinian fare; you can order pretty much any part of the cow you fancy though we decided to be non-adventurous and chose the classic lomo (fillet) steak. There are cheaper restaurants in Buenos Aires and in San Telmo where you´ll get just as good a meal, but all the same El Desnivel is well worth a visit.

El Desnivel was so much fun. We enjoyed a super lunch there - packed with people, lots of noise, great atmosphere and good food. I am still reeling at the memory of the man at the next table eating a huge steak at 3pm, then ordering another and finishing that too!!! Wonderful group of 4 old men at the next table, enjoying their parilla and wine and having the time of their lives.

Favorite Dish: Super chorizo, flan and coffee cortado. I became a coffe cortado addict in Argentina!

All the reviews are spot on about this place: tasty food at the right price! I've been in B.A. for three weeks and it's the cheapest I've come across.

I didn't actually sit down for a meal; I stood and ate a "chor y pan" (chorizo/sausage and bread) as I saw the locals do. Also had a copa de vino tinto. All for the grand total of 6 pesos! That's $2 usd.

Also, I was impressed by the friendly staff. My story was: I was supposed to meet classmates for dinner and was stood up. I waited half and hour and nothing. Of course all the staff saw me loitering so when I finally decided to make an order, they were so nice about it. Jorge, the guy manning the grill, was super cool and pointed out the salsa (sauce) I should put on my sandwich and he also made me laugh by hiding my wine and then acting surpised when I looked around for it.

It probably helped I was a single woman dressed nicely but nevertheless, I haven't been to many restaurants in my life where staff (waiters were joking with me too) went out of their way to make me comfortable.

P.S. I spoke Spanish the whole time but I'm no expert. They knew I was a foreigner. Also, this place is casual. Don't need to put on your best outfit unless you're dancing afterwards.

Favorite Dish: Chor y pan. Take it to go! You can eat it in their tiny entrance too.

The bife de lomo looked incredible too. Large portion.

I must say the first time that I ate in this restaurant, it was a really good experience. The food was good and the staff was freindly so I had to take my friends back there on my second trip and thank goodness it was busy. While waiting in line (right beside the chef) he managed to drop food on the floor, pick it up and continue to cook with it... absolutely terrible and because of that, I will not go back there again!

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VT member Sofia and her mother both swore that this was the place for the best steak in Buenos Aires at any price. And still they indicated that the prices were economical. They indicated that it was popular with Argentinians. Sofia even wrote out a little note indicating that I had to order "bife de lomo" and for a starter a "provolete. The place was clearly popular with a typical Buenos Aires type of atmosphere.

Favorite Dish: The bife de lomo was tasty, lean, perfectly cooked and the most tender steak I have ever eaten. Although the tenderness was extraordinary, I still can not get over how tasty in was considering how lean.

I loved the local ambiance of the place. Not fancy, but fun none the less. We even got to listen to a local artist singing a few songs of tango music.

Our waiter was so surly that by the end of our meal, we were clapping when he finally brought one of the guys the steak he thought he had ordered an hour earlier.

The prices are so reasonable here. The tab for our party of 12 was 350 pesos with tip. Amazing that it included the bottles of wine and beer that we had ordered...less than $10 per person.

Favorite Dish: Per Sofi's recommendation, I tried the Bife de lomo. It was fantastic! I'm not really even a meat eater, but this steak was so tender and flavorful that I ate every bite of it.

El Desnivel is a great place. Again it’s a multi-visit place that is cheap and great. It has small tables and some of the walls aren’t in the best of repair. But that doesn’t stop the quick and good service and excellent food. I first came here with Sofia and her cousin with another VT’er I was just meeting. I had actually walked out of Cabana Las Lilas this night to come eat here.

Favorite Dish: Usually have the Bife de Lomo and fries with a large Quilmes. Imagine all this for $10 US. So nice.