La Brigada has been an Argentinean meat institution for many years, but the restaurant is still developing and its football passionate Chef Patron Hugo Chavarrieta still cuts his super tender meat with a spoon to show his guests who has the most tender meat in town.

Argentina is one of the most football (or soccer as it is called in the United States) loving nations in the world and Hugo Chavarrieta used to be a football player before he kicked off his first restaurant which soon became a success, and today the Chef’s parrilla has been widely famous far outside its original location in Buenos Aires. A parrilla is a style of open grill used for cooking asado which is the barbecue of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay among others. Chef Hugo is not spending as much time in the kitchen as he used to, but he is still a king when it comes to the best cut of any meat.

Chef Patron Hugo Chavarrieta owns several restaurants, but his most famous is his La Brigada located in the tango district of San Telmo in the heart of Buenos Aires. In recent years the restaurant has become more and more like a tourist trap at the cost of fewer locals, but the restaurant is divided into several dining rooms for the regulars and for the curious outsiders looking for the best cut in town.

Old football glory and city history decorate the walls, and the style of your dining room depends on where you are seated, but we recommend the oldest parts of the restaurant which feel nostalgic and are anything but spacious, but it is here you will enjoy your asado (short rib roast) or lomo (sirloin steak) together with the locals.

Hugo Chavarrieta’s passion for wine and most particularly local Argentinean wines has grown over the years and today he can proudly present one of Argentina’s most amazing wine cellars consisting of almost 100 percent local wines mostly from Mendoza. There are around 52,000 bottles, and the most impressive part is the range of Catena Zapata vintages from the nineteen seventies. Several Argentinean celebrities like Diego Maradona keep their wines in the cellar as well. La Brigada is a haven for carnivores, but the restaurant is worth visiting alone for its amazing local wines of absolute top international class.

La Brigada is one of the most obvious choices when it comes to the selection of a parrilla in Buenos Aires. The restaurant might be a bit too touristy and simple for some, but the meat is still fantastic in all its forms, both the traditional and the more contemporary, so start practicing on your Latino asado phrases like the chinchulines de chivito, pechito de cerdo, colita de cuadril and vacio del fino to mention a few of many delicious cuts.

Written by Andy