Kosher, Buenos Aires

Located in the Abasto shopping plaza, this eatery is a branch of the bigger restaurant located in the Palermo neighborhood. It features the main dishes of the actual restaurant, like pizza etc. But also serves middle eastern foods like falafel. I was not impressed with the falafel (being a middle easterner, I have come to have a real strict standard for good falafel). The pizza was good but it had way to much cheese that was difficult to control when it was hot. They also have a nice pasta selection, empanadas, tostados, ensaladas and yes even sushi (though the sushi is very expensive in Argentine terms) and the most amazing desserts. This is a good place to stop for lunch, but deliveries are also available.

Opening hours are Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 to 00:00. Saturday from 21:00 until 4:00, Sunday. Kosher certification is given by Rabbi Yosef Chehebar.

This is a very popular pizza place in the Once neighborhood. It seems to be the hangout of the locals on Saturday nights. I stopped in on a Friday afternoon for some pizza and cheese empanadas. Was very happy with both as service was quick and helpful. I was surprised that the owner would actually tell you if you were ordering too much food as he told us in Spanish that one pizza napolitana chica and a calzone would be too much for two people to finish. The staff speaks only Spanish so expect to make an effort here (though if you go on a Saturday night, you might find people who can translate into Hebrew or English). Take notice that every pizza in Argentina comes with a whole olive in the middle. I found it interestingly different than pizza in the US and Israel (though pizza in Tiberius, Israel comes only with olives on top!)

The restaurant is clean and has lots of seating.

I went to Kosher Palace on a Friday afternoon to get some food to take with me to the hotel. It was very good and really a steal in terms of money. The owner is there most of the time and is very friendly (speaks great Hebrew and Spanish) and had no problem double wrapping the food in aluminum foil for us. We took more than enough from the restaurant and I was very satisfied with the food which we had heated up at the hotel. This tip might be difficult to understand to those who don't keep kosher but I hope that it will be helpful to those that do.

This is a small Argentinian bakery which makes all the traditional Argentinian baked goods and some pan arabic (Jewish) treats. On Friday afternoons they bake this delicious called jallah (pronounced CHAH-LLAH) which are absolutely to die for. I also enjoyed their medillalunas which I brought home with me from Argentina. They also have cakes and cookies for sale (which I brought home as well). Definently a great stop for anyone in the area or who wants to bring home Argentina's bakery to their native country.

Kosher certification is given by Rabbi Yosef Chehebar.

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The only reason why I am posting this tip is that this is the only known kosher McDonald's outside of Israel. Located in the food court of the Abasto shopping plaza, it is frequented by many Argentinian teenagers. It has all of the classic McDonald's meals but lacks most of the newer meals since they can only have a limited menu (no dairy available). This is great if you are allergic to dairy products because here you know that there won't be any dairy. The typical McDonald's meal here is AR $8.00 which is around US $2.75.

Note: There are three McDonald's in this mall, only the one on the third floor in the far corner is kosher.

Al Galope is a very popular kosher steakhouse in the Once neighborhood. During lunchtime is when the restaurant is busiest with customers. I didn't understand that the staff are extremely quiet and shy so you have to be willing to call to them if you should need to place an order or for anything else. Later my mate pointed out that it actually said that in the Frommer's guidebook to Buenos Aires. Well they were certainly right about that.

On the menu there is a wide variety of meat and meat dishes along with a few classic Jewish Middle Eastern foods such as Mamoul, Hummus, Baklawa etc. I really enjoyed the steaks and sausages here and would definently go back. It is quite a find since the restaurant is on a very run down side street between Avenida Cordoba and Avenida Corrientes.