Gran Cafe Tortoni ★ 4.4
The oldest cafe in Buenos Aires, founded 1858 and on Avenida de Mayo since 1880. Cafe Notable, a Site of Cultural Interest; Borges and Gardel were regulars.
Signature drink: Submarino (hot milk with chocolate bar)
History
Yerba mate is indigenous to the Guarani people of the Parana basin in pre-Columbian times. Jesuit missions cultivated it commercially in the 1600s in northeast Argentina. Today the average Argentine drinks 6.5 kg of yerba mate a year, more than any other country; the ritual remains intact (the cebador prepares and passes the gourd around the circle).
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1 mate gourd (calabaza), cured
- 1 bombilla (metal straw)
- 60g yerba mate (about three-quarters of the gourd)
- 1 litre water, heated to 70-80C (NEVER boiling)
- Optional: orange peel, mint, dried herbs (yuyos)
Method
- Fill the gourd two-thirds full with yerba. Cover with your palm and tip upside-down to push the powder to the top; this protects your lungs.
- Tip the gourd back to 45 degrees so the yerba forms a wedge with one empty side.
- Pour a small amount of cold water into the empty side to wet the yerba at the base; let it absorb for 30 seconds.
- Insert the bombilla into the wet yerba at the base (filter end down). Do not stir it once in.
- Pour hot water (70-80C, never boiling) over the bombilla side, just enough to wet the wedge without flooding.
- Drink the entire serving through the bombilla in one go; do not pass it on partially drunk.
- Refill with hot water and pass to the next person in the circle. Re-pour 20-30 times before the yerba is washed out.
Tip from the editors. Boiling water burns the yerba and makes it taste bitter. Use a kettle with a temperature setting or stop just before the boil.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat mate
Mate in Buenos Aires
La Biela ★ 4.2
Cafe Notable opposite Recoleta Cemetery, on Quintana and Junin since 1850. Renamed La Biela in the 1950s for its racing-driver clientele; Borges wrote here.
Signature drink: Cafe and tres medialunas
Las Violetas ★ 4.5
Voted best Cafe Notable in Buenos Aires, opened 21 September 1884 at Rivadavia and Medrano. Belle-epoque stained glass, Italian marble, legendary merienda.
Signature drink: Merienda (tea, medialunas, tea sandwiches)
Cafe de los Angelitos ★ 4.1
Cafe Notable at Rivadavia and Rincon, opened 1890 and rebuilt in 2007 after demolition. Gardel and Pugliese were regulars; upstairs tango show runs nightly.
Signature drink: Cafe con leche and medialunas
More cities are in research. Want mate covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.