RFK Rankings · Buenos Aires
Best Restaurants Open Late in Buenos Aires 2026
Open Late · Buenos Aires · 7 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 14, 2026 · Updated June 14, 2026
In Buenos Aires the prime dinner reservation is logged for 9:45pm, and the city treats midnight as the middle of the evening rather than the end of it. Porteno kitchens are built around this: the grills do not light in earnest until ten, the second sitting fills after eleven, and the Malbec keeps moving until one. A late table here is not a compromise or a last resort, it is the way the city actually eats. The seven rooms below were chosen because they cook seriously and they cook late, from the parrillas of Palermo that run their fires past midnight to a Retiro bar that pours until two. Each is ranked on how good the food is once the rest of the world has gone to bed.
1.Don Julio
Palermo's beef cathedral runs the grill to 1am, the bife de chorizo and Malbec waiting. Book the late table.
Don Julio sits on a corner of Guatemala street in Palermo Viejo, where owner Pablo Rivero runs the most decorated parrilla in the city. It took one Michelin star in the inaugural 2024 Argentina guide and was named Latin America's Best Restaurant in 2020. The grill covers every major Argentine cut, but the order is the bife de chorizo for two with a bottle of Mendoza Malbec, and a plate of provoleta to start; a full dinner runs about USD 80 to 120 a head with wine. The kitchen serves until 1am, which is the quiet trick here: arrive at eleven and the early-evening crush has gone, the wall of named bottles glows, and the room is at its best. Reserve well ahead and ask for a later slot.
Book through Parrilla Don Julio; request a late table.
2.La Cabrera
Twenty-five sides, thick char-edged steak and Malbec past midnight in Palermo Soho. Reserve the second sitting.
Gaston Riviera opened La Cabrera on Jose Antonio Cabrera in Palermo Soho in 2001, and the format has barely changed because it works: order a cut and a fleet of small ceramic dishes lands beside it, glazed sweet potato, provoleta, chimichurri, pickles, more than two dozen in all. The signature is the bife de chorizo, thick and char-edged, with the ojo de bife and the mollejas close behind; a dinner runs about USD 50 to 90 a head with wine. The room works two sittings, an early one and a later one from half past eight that pushes on past midnight, and the late one is where the Malbec really flows. Book the second sitting, push two tables together, and let the sides keep arriving.
Reserve on the La Cabrera site for the later sitting.
3.El Preferido de Palermo
Pablo Rivero's 1952 bodegón plates Spanish-Argentine conservas and tortilla deep into the night. Order at midnight.
When Pablo Rivero, the owner of Don Julio, reopened the historic 1952 corner bodegon El Preferido in 2019, he kept the green tilework and the neighbourhood feel and added a serious Spanish-Argentine kitchen. The cooking leans on house conservas, a thick Spanish tortilla, escabeches and the vermouth trolley, with an a la carte built for grazing and a chef's tasting around AR$65,000; it sits in the upper-mid bracket. Named to the World's 50 Best Discovery list, it draws a crowd that lingers, and the corner room on Jorge Luis Borges in Palermo Soho keeps sending plates and pouring vermouth late into the night. Come after the early rush, take a stool at the bar if the tables are full, and order steadily rather than all at once.
Book on Resy one to two weeks ahead.
4.Niño Gordo
Asian-Argentine fire and a hundred cocktails in a red-lit Palermo room that fills after eleven. Walk in late.
Pedro Pena and German Sitz opened Nino Gordo on Thames in Palermo Soho in 2018, a red-lacquered room that crosses Argentine fire cooking with the flavours of East Asia. The grill turns out fat cuts, pork and dumplings rather than a classic parrilla line-up, and the bar runs to a hundred cocktails, which is the clue to how the night goes; it sits in the upper-mid price bracket. The room is one of the most photographed in the city and one of the most fun after dark, filling up after eleven and staying loud past midnight. There is a bar to wait at, so a walk-in late in the evening often beats the early queue. Go after eleven and start at the bar with a cocktail.
Reserve on Resy, or walk in late to the bar.
5.Florería Atlántico
Tato Giovannoni's flower-shop speakeasy pours award-listed cocktails and small plates until 2am in Retiro. Make it the nightcap.
Behind a working flower shop on Arroyo in Retiro, a refrigerator door opens onto the staircase down to Floreria Atlantico, the basement bar where Renato Tato Giovannoni has spent more than a decade telling the story of Argentine immigration in a glass. It is a perennial fixture on The World's 50 Best Bars, built on Giovannoni's own Principe de los Apostoles gin and a menu of oysters, empanadas and grilled small plates that holds its own with the drinks; it sits in the upper-mid bracket. The bar runs until around 2am, which makes it the natural last stop of a Buenos Aires night rather than the first. Come down after dinner, take a seat at the bar, and let the bartender steer the order.
Book via the Floreria Atlantico site for a late seat.
6.Mengano
Facundo Kelemen's wagyu milanesa and Bib Gourmand cooking, the bar open to midnight off Cabrera street. Pencil it in.
Facundo Kelemen opened Mengano in 2018 in a refurbished casa chorizo on Cabrera in Palermo, and turned the everyday bodegon into something Michelin took seriously, awarding it a Bib Gourmand in 2024. The signature rewrites a classic: a milanesa napolitana made with wagyu, thin-pounded and golden, alongside gnocchi of chipa and seasonal plates that rotate with the year. Prices are gentle by international standards, around USD 45 a head with a serious Mendoza red. The kitchen runs Tuesday to Saturday until midnight, and the bar welcomes walk-ins, so a late solo seat at the counter is one of the most rewarding in the city. Pencil it in for a weeknight, sit at the bar, and order the wagyu milanesa for one.
Reserve on the Mengano site, or take a late bar stool.
7.La Carnicería
Sitz and Peña's compact modern parrilla chars its way past midnight in Palermo Soho. Hold the late slot.
German Sitz and Pedro Pena, the pair behind Nino Gordo, opened La Carniceria on Thames in Palermo Soho in 2015 as a small, chef-driven take on the parrilla. The room seats only a few dozen, the asado programme is precise rather than rustic, and the sharing menu moves through smoked provoleta, grilled vegetables and serious cuts; it sits in the upper-mid bracket. Its size makes it one of Palermo's harder late tables, but the kitchen keeps the fire going past midnight for the second seating. Book ahead for a later slot, go with a small group so you can order across the menu, and let the kitchen send the cuts in its own order.
Book on Resy two weeks ahead for a late seat.
Avoid for a late dinner
Right city, wrong hour
Cafe Tortoni. The grand 1858 cafe on Avenida de Mayo is a piece of history worth seeing, but it closes early, runs to a tourist script and serves coffee-house fare, not a late dinner. Visit it in the afternoon for a coffee and a churro, and eat your midnight asado somewhere with a working grill.
i Latina. The Colombian tasting-menu room in Villa Crespo is one of the city's best meals, but it runs a single early seating by reservation and is firmly shut by the time Buenos Aires gets going. Save it for a planned evening that starts at eight, not a spontaneous late table.
Late-night strategy in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires runs late by default, so the move is to book the second sitting rather than the first. The grand parrillas like Don Julio and La Cabrera work two seatings, and the later one, from about half past eight onward, is both easier to get and better to be in once the early crowd thins. Reserve through Resy or the restaurant's own site one to two weeks ahead for the Palermo rooms, and treat 10pm as a normal, not a late, booking. For the smallest rooms, La Carniceria and El Preferido, lead time matters more, so plan those further out.
For the bars and the walk-in spots the strategy flips. Floreria Atlantico, Nino Gordo and Mengano all keep seats at the bar, so arriving late without a table often beats queuing early with one; head to the bar, order a drink, and a table frequently opens within the hour. Tip in pesos or by card as the room prefers, and do not rush the bill, since lingering is the point. If you want one long night, eat at a Palermo parrilla around eleven and finish with a nightcap at Floreria Atlantico in Retiro, which pours until two.
Frequently asked
What are the best restaurants open late in Buenos Aires?
Don Julio leads, with the grill running until 1am in Palermo Viejo. La Cabrera and La Carniceria keep their fires going past midnight nearby, Mengano serves until midnight Tuesday to Saturday, and Floreria Atlantico in Retiro pours until around 2am. Buenos Aires dines later than almost any city, so a 10pm or 11pm booking is normal rather than late.
How late do restaurants serve dinner in Buenos Aires?
Most serious kitchens take dinner orders until at least midnight, and the parrillas run later. Don Julio and Nino Gordo serve until about 1am, La Cabrera works a late second sitting, and Floreria Atlantico runs as a bar until roughly 2am. The prime local dinner reservation is around 9:45pm, and tables fill again after eleven.
Where can I eat after midnight in Buenos Aires?
Don Julio in Palermo Viejo takes orders until 1am, and Nino Gordo on Thames stays loud well past midnight with its bar running late. For a true after-midnight stop, Floreria Atlantico in Retiro pours cocktails and sends small plates until around 2am. Booking the second sitting at a Palermo parrilla is the simplest way to still be eating at one.
Do you need a reservation for late dining in Buenos Aires?
For the grand parrillas, yes. Don Julio, La Cabrera and La Carniceria should be booked one to two weeks ahead through Resy or their own sites, and the later second sitting is both easier to get and better to be in. Floreria Atlantico, Nino Gordo and Mengano all hold bar seats, so a late walk-in to the bar often works when the tables are full.
Which late-night restaurant in Buenos Aires is best for a group?
La Cabrera is built for it: push tables together, order several cuts and let the twenty-five sides flow late into the night. Don Julio also handles large, lively tables well on a Saturday, and Nino Gordo suits a younger group that wants a bar and a loud room past midnight. Book the later sitting and tell the restaurant your group size when you reserve.
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