Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Porteños
take a “coffee break” in the late after-
noon rather than in the morning. You'll find a
late day snack will keep you from being fam-
ished by dinner time.
Tip
Reservations, while not necessary, are
a good idea, particularly on weekends.
Open seven days except where noted, most res-
taurants open for lunch from 12 noon until 3:30
pm and dinner from 9 pm. Brunch is popular on
weekends.
Service & Tipping
Unlike many US restaurants, where service is
perfunctory at best, service is taken very seri-
ously here. Restaurant patrons are treated
with respect, as if they were guests in one's
home. Even inexpensive restaurants have
starchy tablecloths, uniformly dressed waiters
(who are almost always male) and printed
menus. Some restaurants, especially steak-
houses, add a service charge to the bill but an
additional 10% gratuity is the norm. Other res-
taurants do not add a service charge and there-
fore you should tip as you would at home.
Confiterías & Sidewalk Cafés
European-style coffee houses or
confiterías
,
many with sidewalk cafés, are located through-
out the city. They are a mainstay of Buenos
Aires and
porteños
frequent them at all hours of
