5 restaurants led by renowned Argentine chefs worldwide

Original flavors, regional ingredients, Argentine sweets, and some of the best restaurants led by the most emblematic female gastronomes in the country.

In the week of International Women's Day, we tell you who some of the Argentine chefs are who innovate Argentine gastronomy and who with creativity and audacity conquer international palates. Although traditional local cuisine has been positioned in the world for a long time, especially with smoky grills, masterful cuts of meat, and the perfect blend of top-notch wines, in recent years a new generation of young chefs has emerged who challenge expectations and take the gastronomic scene to new heights.

Maru Botana, Narda Lepes, Julieta Oriolo, Felicitas Pizarro, and Ximena Sáenz are five famous Argentine chefs and have their own restaurants in bustling Buenos Aires. Through innovative dishes, exceptional use of local products, and a high-quality menu, the chefs have transformed the Buenos Aires scene. These culinary artists have forged their paths, honing their skills in gourmet craftsmanship. From the kitchens of their homes to the tables of the restaurants they lead, each weaves their own success story into the rich fabric of Argentine gastronomy.

La Alacena, Julieta Oriolo

Julieta Oriolo's restaurant is in one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires (Palermo), but her heart also rests in Italy, where she has family roots. Recently, she received recognition from the Michelin Guide as a Bib Gourmand restaurant. And from that imminent love for the European country emerges this trattoria. Talent, dedication, and passion are three factors that define the personality and cuisine of this chef. Her specialization as a chef in different restaurants and her programs on the specialized channel El Gourmet positioned her at the top of the female culinary podium. And it's not for nothing: La Alacena opened its doors in 2014 and continues to grow and perfect its dishes since then. The corner of Palermo is already a Buenos Aires classic, where lines of eager diners form to taste delights such as confit sardines, caponata eggplant, roasted porchetta, or a good stuffed pasta.

Now, La Alacena Pastificio also opened a few meters away, a small space dedicated to the sale of homemade pasta, charcuterie, and products associated with Italy.

Narda Comedor, Narda Lepes

The best chef in Latin America in 2020, according to the organization Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants. She is renowned and precisely for that reason Narda Lepes has become a reference in the industry. Her training in Paris and her time at El Gourmet defined her style, and today she is an eminence in the country of the End of the World. In 2017, she opened her first restaurant, Narda Comedor, which was selected by the Michelin Guide in 2024 and was also recognized as one of the best restaurants in Latin America by the same company that awarded her the highest culinary honor. What does the menu of this emblematic place in the Belgrano neighborhood consist of? Mainly in providing balanced seasonal products in each dish, with a strong presence of vegetables. Unmissable are the "avocado that gave birth to it" (avocado with grilled halloumi, pickled red onion, and chili sauce), seasonal vegetable tempura with miso aioli and feta cheese, and the knife-cut beef empanadas with spicy sauce. It also offers bakery alternatives for breakfasts and snacks.

Narda has other restaurants open in Buenos Aires: Lokanta Imprenta, Kõnã Corner, and the gastronomic complex Bocha, located in the Campo Argentino de Polo (Palermo).

Maru Botana

Representative of Argentine sweets and pastry. She has five restaurants under her belt and, over the years, has become an icon of Argentine pastry. Maru cultivated her passion for cooking since she was a child, and while studying Business Administration, she had the unique opportunity to work with the renowned chef Francis Mallmann. She started as a pastry assistant, and the rest is history: sacrifice, commitment, and work led her to star in several television programs and write books about the art of pastry. Nowadays, her brand is present in 5 different places distributed throughout Buenos Aires, and her charisma is well received by the local audience. Her specialty is cakes: from marquise with red fruits, through bombon cake with nuts and chocolate, cheesecake, rogel, and three mousses. She also sells sweet squares and pastries such as alfajores, cookies, and croissants, without neglecting her savory side with dishes like pies, sandwiches, and salads.

Maíz Nordelta, Felicitas Pizarro

It opened its doors in 2022, and inside stand out the wine cellar, cheeses and cold cuts, and the beautiful nursery that provides the necessary greenery. But Maíz is much more than that. In Felicitas Pizarro's kitchen, the products are the protagonists, and the preparations revolve around cheeses and grills. Salteñas and Tucumanas empanadas find their best version in clay ovens, and different cuts of meat and vegetables are roasted on the grills. The chef's experience comes from learning with the renowned British chef Jamie Oliver, and she applies that knowledge in her first restaurant located in a gastronomic multi-space that involves other proposals such as La Valiente, Christian Petersen's bakery.

Casa Sáenz, Ximena Sáenz

The clay oven is the star in this restaurant of Ximena Sáenz. A specialist in local cuisine, she led the television program Cocineros Argentinos for twelve years and also interned in restaurants in Spain and Buenos Aires. Those years of study and training resulted in a personal gastronomic proposal that is much talked about in the Belgrano neighborhood. Modern and bright, Casa Sáenz is the faithful reflection of the methods that characterize this chef, who offers both sweet and savory alternatives. What to eat in this glazed corner of the neighborhood? The "chipá guazú" to taste the flavors of the Litoral, the grilled "cima" for a sample of authentic Argentine meat, the pork Milanese with salad to try an innovative variant of the classic local version, and a perfect end of flan with dulce de leche to complete a menu full of sky blue and white.