Holy Cow! Don Julio Is a Must

Don Julio

I had been urged by my friend Cali to check out her favorite restaurant in Buenos Aires, the Argentine parilla (or grill) Don Julio, which is just around the corner from my apartment (Guatemala 4691). The food (especially the steak), she said, was top notch, equivalent to what you would find at a four- or five-star restaurant. I had passed the restaurant a few times on various occasions, and each of the times the restaurant was full of people. I definitely needed to go, but I also wanted to invite my new friends to experience Don Julio with me. It turned out that my Spanish classmates’ homestay parents were strangely denying them meat. Sophie and Juliet had described at length how for more than a week, they had not been fed any meat and that they desperately wanted to get a taste of quality steak. I was shocked: not being fed meat … in Argentina? What? So I decided to invite my meat-deprived friends to Don Julio. Chris and his new tango friend Vy also joined our meat-eating mission.

Don Julio – interior (l); Don Julio – menu (r)

We got there at 9:oo pm, and the restaurant was already full of diners – a good sign. We did not have any reservations, but we were seated instantly in the back dining room. My friend Cali had said the waiters did not speak much English, which was ok. It meant that we could practice our Spanish. We were all given Spanish menus, as well as one English menu. Our waiter spoke minimal English, but he was patient with all of us. Most importantly, he understood our preferences of how rare we wanted our steaks when we said it in English. The prices are very reasonable, especially if you consider that ordering the equivalent steak selection at a fine-dining steakhouse in the United States would cost you an arm and a leg.

Ojo de Bife (Rib-Eye Steak)

I ordered the Ojo de Bife (rib-eye steak), medium rare, priced at AR$42 (just about US$10), as well as a salad starter for AR$20. We ordered a fantastic Malbec made by the Weinert winery at AR$80 – one of the best Malbecs I’ve had on my trip so far. My rib-eye steak was a perfect medium rare – the portion was thick, tender, and very juicy. The steak was perfect as is and did not need even the slightest addition of salt or pepper – a sure sign of a fantastic steak. My dining companions all agreed that their steaks were perfectly prepared, thick, and quite flavorful. We all devoured our steaks!

Flan

I ended my meal with a cafe con leche and a yummy flan. The grand total for me was about AR$135, which included a ten percent tip. I walked home in a food coma. I read some reviews that said that Don Julio is a tourist trap. I would have to disagree. There is a distinct neighborhood feel to the restaurant. I think that word of mouth about how good a parilla Don Julio is has spread, and so it makes sense that non-Argentines would want to eat there. In fact, Don Julio doesn’t even have a website. Don Julio is a quality place that I would recommend to all meat eaters out there.