El Club de la Milanesa ★ 4.0
Belgrano R milanesa hall: 20-plus toppings (napolitana, fugazzeta, calabresa), generous portions, beer-and-fries combos, packed with locals weeknights.
Try: Milanesa napolitana
History
The dish was invented in the late 1940s at Restaurant Napoli on Bouchard, between Corrientes and Lavalle, facing Luna Park in central Buenos Aires. Owner Jorge La Grotta covered a burned milanesa with tomato, ham and cheese; the name nods to his restaurant, not to the city of Naples. By the 1960s every bodegon offered it and the porteno lunch crowd ordered it with chips and a fried egg on top (a caballo).
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 2 thin beef cutlets (top round or eye of round), 150g each, pounded to 1cm
- 100g flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 150g coarse breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 200ml tomato sauce (simple, garlic and oregano)
- 4 slices cooked ham
- 150g mozzarella, sliced
- Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Beat the cutlets between baking paper to 1cm thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
- Set up three plates: flour, beaten egg mixed with grated garlic and parsley, then breadcrumbs.
- Dip each cutlet in flour, shake off, dip in egg, then press into breadcrumbs on both sides.
- Heat 1cm of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Fry cutlets 2 minutes per side until golden. Drain on paper towels.
- Place cutlets on a baking tray. Spoon tomato sauce over each, then top with two slices of ham and the sliced mozzarella.
- Grill under high heat for 3-4 minutes until cheese bubbles and edges brown. Serve immediately with chips.
Tip from the editors. Pound the cutlet thin (1cm); a fat milanesa is just a steak in breadcrumbs. The mozzarella should bubble and brown at the edges, not melt flat into the sauce.
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 milanesa napolitana
Milanesa Napolitana in Buenos Aires
El Preferido de Palermo ★ 4.7
Pablo Rivero and Guido Tassi's revived 1952 corner bodegon; Spanish-Italian classics with parrilla-level meat sourcing. Latin America's 50 Best #24 in 2025.
Signature: Tortilla, Vitel tone, Milanesa
Miramar ★ 4.2
San Cristobal Spanish-Argentine bodegon since 1948. Paella on Sundays, weeknight classics; one of the city's last big wood-panelled rooms at bodegon prices.
Try: Paella de mariscos at Sunday lunch
Albamonte ★ 4.1
Chacarita Argentine-Italian bodegon since 1953. Hand-rolled noodles, baked pastas and cheap Sunday family lunches under wood-beam ceilings on Corrientes.
Try: Cannelloni rossini
More cities are in research. Want milanesa napolitana covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.