Café Tortoni

One of the most fiercely if quietly traditional places in town, Café Tortoni has made no concessions to the 21st century and only a few to the 20th: upholstered chairs and marble tables stand among sturdy columns beneath a ceiling punctuated by stained-glass light fixtures, the wallpaper looks original between the surrounding stained wooden trim, and walls are decorated with pictures, portraits, and filete, the traditional calligraphy of porteño sign painters. Past patrons acknowledged on the walls include tango singer Carlos Gardel, La Boca painter Benito Quinquela Martín, dramatists Luigi Pirandello and Federico García Lorca, and pianist Arthur Rubinstein; more recently, the Tortoni has hosted King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Hilary Rodham Clinton.

The original entrance was on Rivadavia, on the north side of the building, but Torcuato de Alvear’s creation of Avenida de Mayo forced it to reorient itself. One of BA’s can’t-miss sights, for drinks or tango or just a coffee, its current address is Avenida de Mayo 825.