Where Does a Vegetarian eat in Buenos Aires?

Sattva - Vegetarian Cuisine in BA's Microcentro

Aug 28, 2009

Argentina is a world of meat. Argentines export and eat it with pride. However, there are lots of tasty veggie spots to dine in when enjoying the delights of Buenos Aires

Sattva on Montevideo in the Microcentro is a very inviting restaurant. The decor is warm and comforting and the menu choice is not only extensive but very creative. Much of the time, vegetarian restaurants can be very dull - particularly when eating in a country so famed for its meat - but Sattva is different.

Variety of Vegetarian Food Available on Sattva´s Menu

The range of sandwiches and brochettes on offer make it difficult to avoid trying them all. They prepare creative combinations of olives, cheeses, different herbs, hummus, a range of vegetables and treats such as caramelised onions, to make a list that appears endless.

The desert menu is nothing to be sniffed at either. The apple and muesli based cake (made with all natural ingredients, staying away from all thos refined sugars), accompanied by the infamous café con leche, takes about an hour to plough through. Granted, that includes an hour of chatting with friends, but even when dining alone, fifteen minutes would still mean racing unnaturally against the laws of digestion.

Sattva also serves lots of fresh fruit juices, including a mystery juice of the day (always fun to feel a sense of the unexpected when eating out!) and some meal deals placed on the chalk boards above the counter.

Service, Ambience and Location

The service is a little cold, but the décor and food quality certainly made up for this. The restaurant is strewn with very subtle Indian influences in the form of interesting teapots, Buddhism relics and dark-wooded furniture.

The restaurant is also a great spot for an after work meet in Buenos Aires due to its central location it is literally a few blocks away from the famous obelisk monument in the middle of 9 de Julio.

Warning Advice about the Eating Habits of Argentines

However, as is the case in most restaurants in this South American city, ordering anything other than drinks, the brochettes or a desert is just not possible to do before 8pm, more or less. The food is just not available and they'll be no exceptions on that score.

Argentines love to eat late. It has to be at least 10pm, if not 11pm, before they grace any restaurant with their presence. Therefore, if still on a European or North American eating schedule, where dinner at 9pm is considered late, change the regime as quickly as possible. Eating will become a real challenge otherwise.

Cost

A typical meal for two, including a drink, in Sattva would cost between US$10 -15 each.

The copyright of the article Where Does a Vegetarian eat in Buenos Aires? in Vegetarian Cuisine is owned by Tracey Chandler. Permission to republish Where Does a Vegetarian eat in Buenos Aires? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.