Best Restaurants Open on Monday in Buenos Aires 2026

Why a Monday list matters in Buenos Aires

Argentina earned its first Michelin Guide in 2024, and the city’s stars sit alongside its parrillas rather than above them: Don Julio holds a star, El Preferido de Palermo and El Preferido’s sibling rooms carry green stars and selections, and a cluster of modern kitchens fill out the list. The useful thing for a Monday diner is that the grills barely observe a rest day. Where a European tasting room shuts Sunday and Monday, the porteño parrilla cooks every night, because Argentines will eat a bife de chorizo any day of the week. The rooms that do close Monday are the small modern kitchens, not the institutions.

So the Monday question in Buenos Aires is which great grill to book, and the answer runs from the impossible-to-book to the walk-in. The order below leads with the one-star parrilla every traveller wants, runs through the Palermo and Puerto Madero classics, and closes with the Four Seasons grill for a hotel Monday. A note on timing: the city eats late, dinner rarely starts before nine even on a Monday, and lunch runs to four. Hours are checked against each restaurant’s published schedule. For the wider week, start with the Buenos Aires dining guide.

The Monday list

Don Julio

Parrilla · Palermo, Buenos Aires · one Michelin star · ~US$60–90 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–16:00 and 19:00–01:00

Don Julio at Guatemala 4699 in Palermo is the parrilla that put Argentine steak on the world map, a one-Michelin-star room hung with thousands of signed empty wine bottles. The dry-aged bife de chorizo and ojo de bife, grilled over quebracho coals by Pablo Rivero’s team, are the order, with a meal around sixty to ninety US dollars a head. It opens Monday for lunch and a long late dinner, the same as every day. Walk-ins queue with a glass of fizz on the corner; to skip the line, book weeks ahead through Meitre and arrive hungry.

El Preferido de Palermo

Bodegón · Palermo, Buenos Aires · Michelin Green Star · ~US$40–65 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–16:00 and 19:00–01:00

El Preferido de Palermo, run by the Don Julio team in a pink 1885 corner building at Jorge Luis Borges 2108, is the bodegón reborn, carrying a Michelin Green Star for its sustainable sourcing. The sirloin milanesa, the Spanish-leaning conservas and the escabeches are the order, with a meal around forty to sixty-five US dollars a head, the best value on this list. It opens Monday for lunch and dinner both. Sit at the marble counter for the conservas and a vermouth, or a table for the milanesa that locals queue for.

La Cabrera

Parrilla · Palermo, Buenos Aires · ~US$45–70 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 12:00–16:00 and 18:30–01:00

La Cabrera at José Antonio Cabrera 5099 in Palermo Soho is the parrilla that turned the steak into a banquet, each Angus cut arriving with a fleet of little dishes of sides and salsas. The bife de chorizo and the ojo de bife, wet-aged in-house, are the order, with a meal around forty-five to seventy US dollars a head. It opens Monday for lunch and dinner, with a keenly priced set lunch on weekdays. Book ahead for dinner, or come for the early-evening happy hour when the cuts run at a discount.

Cabaña Las Lilas

Parrilla · Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires · ~US$60–100 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 12:00–00:00

Cabaña Las Lilas at Alicia Moreau de Justo 516 is the grand Puerto Madero parrilla, a dockside dining room that sources its beef from its own estancia. The premium cuts, the provoleta and the dulce de leche pancakes are the order, with a meal around sixty to a hundred US dollars a head, the most polished steak on this list. It opens Monday from noon straight through to midnight. Book a table on the waterside terrace for the dock view, and let the maître steer you to the cut of the day.

Elena

Grill · Retiro, Buenos Aires · ~US$70–120 per head

Monday hours: Monday lunch, from 12:30

Elena, the grill inside the Four Seasons at the corner of Posadas and Cerrito in Retiro, is the hotel Monday for a quieter, more refined steak. The dry-aged beef from the in-house ageing room, the charcuterie and the seafood are the order, with a meal around seventy to a hundred and twenty US dollars a head. On Monday it runs lunch, including a weekday executive menu from 12:30, the smart choice for a midday Monday meeting. Sit by the open kitchen to watch the ageing-room cuts hit the grill.

How to book a Monday table in Buenos Aires

Because the parrillas barely keep a rest day, Monday is one of the easier nights to eat well in Buenos Aires. Don Julio is the exception that still needs planning: book weeks ahead through Meitre, or join the corner queue with a complimentary glass of sparkling. La Cabrera and Cabaña Las Lilas both reward a day’s notice for a Monday dinner, and Las Lilas holds the prettiest tables on the Puerto Madero dock. El Preferido takes walk-ins at the counter, the easiest upscale Monday seat in Palermo. Elena is a lunch booking on a Monday; reserve the executive menu for a midday meeting. The city dines late, so a 9pm table is normal and an 8pm one is early. For a solo Monday, the counters at El Preferido and Elena are the friendliest perches and a fine solo-dining move. Hosting a group? La Cabrera’s shared-cuts spread settles it for a Buenos Aires team dinner.

Frequently asked questions

Is Don Julio open on Monday in Buenos Aires?

Yes. Don Julio, the one-Michelin-star parrilla at Guatemala 4699 in Palermo, opens Monday for lunch from 11:30 and dinner from 7pm to 1am, the same as every other day. The dry-aged bife de chorizo over quebracho coals is the order, with a meal around sixty to ninety US dollars a head. Book weeks ahead through Meitre, or queue on the corner with the complimentary glass of sparkling wine.

Are Buenos Aires restaurants open on Monday?

Most of the great grills are, yes. Unlike European cities, Buenos Aires treats the parrilla as a seven-day institution, so Don Julio, La Cabrera, Cabaña Las Lilas and El Preferido de Palermo all trade on Monday. The rooms that close Monday tend to be the small modern kitchens, such as Niño Gordo and Aramburu. For a Monday steak, the city is one of the easiest fine-dining capitals in the world.

What is the best-value restaurant open Monday in Buenos Aires?

El Preferido de Palermo. Run by the Don Julio team in a pink 1885 corner building, the Michelin Green Star bodegón opens Monday for lunch and dinner, with its famous sirloin milanesa and Spanish-style conservas landing around forty to sixty-five US dollars a head. The marble counter takes walk-ins, making it both the best value and the easiest upscale Monday table in Palermo.

How do I book Don Julio for a Monday?

Don Julio takes online reservations through the Meitre platform, and the best Monday tables go weeks in advance, so book as early as you can. If you have not, the restaurant keeps a portion of its tables for walk-ins: arrive when it opens, give your name on the corner, and wait with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine. Monday is slightly easier than the weekend, but not by much.

What time is dinner in Buenos Aires on a Monday?

Late, even at the start of the week. Porteño dinner service rarely fills before 9pm and runs past midnight, so a 9 or 9:30 booking is normal and an 8pm one is early. Lunch is the other big meal, running to about 4pm. Don Julio, La Cabrera and Cabaña Las Lilas all keep these long Monday hours; only the hotel grill at Elena leans earlier for its weekday lunch.

Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of May 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.