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
History
The 29th-of-the-month gnocchi ritual came with Italian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century. The story: salaries ran out before month-end, so families ate cheap potato gnocchi on the 29th and slipped a coin under the plate to attract more money. Almost every porteno restaurant serves them on the 29th.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1 kg floury potatoes (yukon gold or russet), unpeeled
- 300g plain flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- For tomato sauce: 800g canned tomatoes; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 garlic cloves; 1 small onion; basil
- Parmesan, grated, to serve
Method
- Boil potatoes in their skins until tender, 30-40 minutes. Drain. While still warm, peel and pass through a ricer onto a clean surface.
- Let the riced potato cool to lukewarm. Make a well, add the egg yolk, salt and nutmeg.
- Sprinkle 250g of flour over the potato. Bring together gently with your hands; add more flour only if the dough is sticking, until it just holds.
- Roll the dough into 1.5cm-thick ropes. Cut into 2cm pieces. Roll each piece off the back of a fork to ridge.
- Make tomato sauce: gently cook garlic and onion in oil 8 minutes, add tomatoes, simmer 20 minutes, finish with basil.
- Boil gnocchi in salted water, about 1 minute, until they bob to the surface. Lift out with a slotted spoon directly into the sauce.
- Toss gently, plate, finish with grated parmesan.
Tip from the editors. Use mealy potatoes, never waxy. Old potatoes (low moisture) make better gnocchi than new ones.
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 ñoquis del 29
Ñoquis del 29 in Buenos Aires
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
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
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