Argentina - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 70

EATING
Córdoba is a real delight for winers and diners. There are
restaurants for refined tastebuds, boisterous drinking holes
serving pub grub, and plenty of eat-on-the-run empanada
joints for lining your stomach before a night out on the town.
The pick of the fashionable restaurants is in Nueva Córdoba.
La Alameda Obispo Trejo 170. Savour inexpensive
Argentine staples like empanadas and humitas for a few
pesos, while sitting outside on wooden benches, or indoors
where customers' poetry and art adorn the walls. Mains
around AR$25-40. Mon-Sat noon-4/5am.
Ì Alfonsina Duarte Quiros 66 T 0351 427 2847,
W alfonsinaweb.com.ar. Antique typewriters, exposed brick-
work and a jolly crowd of students are the hallmarks of this
restaurant-bar, which offers a taste of Argentina's northwest
(mains AR$30-60) and is popular for an evening mate .
There are other branches at Belgrano 763 and Viamonte and
Lima. Mon-Sat 8am-2pm & 6pm-2am, Sun 6pm-2am.
Bursátil Cafe Ituzaingo & San Jeronimo T 0351 571
9971. In Córdoba's small financial district, this café takes
its name from the Spanish for “stock exchange”. F ood
includes classics like locro (stew) and international dishes
such as Caesar salad. Mains from AR$30. Mon-Fri 7am-
7/8pm, Sat noon-7/8pm.
Ì Mandarina Obispo Trejo 171 T 0351 426 4909. This
chilled-out crowd-pleaser is more inventive than the
norm, with Chinese, Japanese and southeast Asian dishes,
as well as plenty of vegetarian options. The decor includes
orange walls and Buddhist symbolism. Mains from AR$30.
Daily 8am-2am.
Sol y Luna Av Gral Paz 278 T 0351 425 1189, W solyluna
online.com.ar. Load your plate with a variety of hot and
cold dishes at this lunchtime vegetarian buffet: a good
feed costs less than AR$30. There's another branch at
Montevideo 66, Nueva Córdoba. Mon-Sat noon-3.30pm.
La Vieja Esquina Caseros & Belgrano T 0351 424 7940.
This tiny local joint serves up excellent empanadas (around
AR$5), humitas and locro ; you can eat at one of the
counters, take them away or even have them delivered to
your room. Mon-Sat 11am-3pm & 7.30pm-midnight.

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bus starting from the Plaza San Martín near the cathedral.
For day-trips and tours of the province, try Nativo Viajes,
Independencia 174 ( T 0351 424 5341, W cordobanativo
viajes.com.ar).

ACCOMMODATION
Córdoba has some of the best-value hostels in the country,
as well as the odd decent guesthouse, but its lower-cost
hotels are generally pretty poor. All the establishments
listed here offer tour-booking services and include
internet/wi-fi access, breakfast and use of kitchen in their
rates.
Ì Aldea Hostel Santa Rosa 447 T 0351 426 1312,
W aldeahostelcordoba.com. This bright, ambitious hostel
has space for one hundred people and is bursting with
extras including two games rooms, a TV lounge, a leafy
patio and a r oof terra ce. Disco unts for extended stays.
Dorms AR$55 , doubles AR$200
Baluch Backpackers San Martín 338 T 0351 422 3977,
W baluchbackpackers.com. This popular hostel has a cosy
lounge area, helpful staff and hosts weekly barbecues
on its roof terrace. The dorms sleep up to eight people,
and the private rooms have a/c. Late risers, however,
might be put off by th e ambient street noise. Dorms
AR$50 , doubles AR$170
Córdoba Backpacker's Hostel Deán Funes 285 T 0351
422 0593, W cordobabackpackers.com.ar. A lively bar, pool
table, tour desk and roof terrace with dead-on cathedral
views are just some of the pe rks of thi s bustling , centrally
located hostel. Dorms AR$55 , doubles AR$160
Le Grand Hostel Buenos Aires 547 T 0351 422 7115,
W legrandhostel.com. The largest hostel on the scene,
located in Nueva Córdoba, an area popular with students.
There's a chill-out room with huge flat-screen TV, an
excellently equipped kitchen and decent outside area.
The attached Le Gran d Suites has smar t private en-suite
rooms. Dorms AR$60 , doubles AR$200
N'aike Fresnal 5048 T 0351 589 0501, W naike.com.ar.
This friendly, well-run guesthouse is located in the quiet
Villa Belgrano neighbourhood, a few kilometres north-
west of the centre. There are six colourful rooms, and
guests have acc ess to a kitchen, a plunge pool and a
Jacuzzi. AR$290
Palenque Hostel General Paz 371 T 0351 423 7588,
W palenquehostel.com.ar. Noisy but fun hostel in a
converted nineteenth-century townhouse. The dorms and
private rooms are reasonable value, and the wood-panelled
comm on area s are go od for m eeting other backpackers.
Dorms AR$60 , doubles AR$165
Tango Hostel Fructose Rivera 70 T 0351 425 6023,
W tangohostelcordoba.com.ar. In a convenient location,
close to the Paseo de las Artes, this hostel has a sociable
atmosphere and a collection of decen t, no-frill s dorms,
plus a few private rooms. Dorms AR$60 , doubles AR$150

DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE
Córdoba is no wallflower when it comes to partying,
with Nueva Córdoba the late-night venue of choice for
the masses. Hipsters gravitate to the revived warehouse
district of El Abasto, just north of the centre, for its edgy
bars and nightclubs. Further afield, in the Chateau Carreras
neighbourhood, chic discos cater to a young crowd who
love cuarteto music - a Córdoba speciality.
Carreras Av Cárcano and del Piamonte, Chateau Carreras
T 0351 15 676 2342. One of the city's biggest and liveliest
clubs, Carreras focuses on house and electro, though
early on in the evening the sounds are a bit more varied.
Fri & Sat 11pm-6am.