One very important piece of information for tourists arriving in Argentina is that we don’t usually eat a savory breakfast, we have a sweet breakfast!
People have coffee and sweet pastries, no sausages, bacon, or baked beans!
What do people drink for breakfast?
The most popular morning beverage is mate, some people prefer coffee with milk (café con leche) and others prefer tea or matecocido.
We don’t usually drink orange juice at home, Argentines prefer drinking orange juice when they go on holiday and are staying at a hotel or having a big breakfast out.
What do people eat for breakfast?
As I mentioned above, breakfast in Argentina is usually sweet. Some of the popular foods for breakfast are:
Medialunas:
These are a type of croissant, you can choose between two options, with lard (medialuna de grasa) or with butter (medialuna de manteca). They are very popular for breakfast and/or for a coffee break mid-morning.
Biscuits, Bread and Toast:
Some people like eating biscuits in the morning at home, these are called biszcohitos de grasa, which are lard biscuits with salt. They are very good!
Others like eating bread or toast with butter and jam or dulce de leche.
What are Facturas?
These sweet pastries are sometimes made with jam (called mermelada in Spanish), dulce de leche, or custard (crema pastelera). Some are coated in sugar or chocolate, others glazed in caramel.
What is the origin of facturas?
The word comes from the Latin facere, which means to make or create, although in today’s Spanish it also means a receipt. Argentina is the only country that calls its pastries “facturas”.
Resentment towards the government was growing among the lower and middle classes. Anarchist and communist schools of thought were spreading throughout Europe, with demands for greater rights for workers.
When in the 19th century Buenos Aires received enormous numbers of European immigrants, mainly from Spain and Italy, they brought with them the ideal of a society free of the sovereign, military, or religious authority, where all were treated equally.
One of these anarchists was an Italian named Errico Malatesta, when he arrived in Buenos Aires in 1885 he quickly associated with other European anarchists, including his fellow countryman Ettore Mattei who had just organized a union for the city’s bakers.
In 1887, the Sociedad Cosmopolita de Resistencia y Colocación de Obreros Panaderos called a strike, shutting down the city’s bakeries for more than a week.
As part of that movement, the members renamed their cakes with nicknames that insulted the government, the military, and the Church, the institutions that, according to the anarchists, curtailed individual freedom.
This resulted in the names we normally call the facturas nowadays like ‘vigilante’ (vigilante), ‘cañoncito’ (canyon), ‘suspiro de monja’ (nun’s whisper), ‘bolas de fraile’ (frair’s balls) among others.
Some popular facturas in BA are:
Many locals buy them on the weekend, especially on Sundays, you might see people queuing outside the bakeries (panaderías) to get freshly baked facturas.
Some facturas have dulce de leche, others have crema pastelera (custard), or caramelized apple or covered in chocolate. One thing for sure, they have loads of sugar!
There are some bakeries that offer gluten free and vegan ones too.
What to order for breakfast in Buenos Aires?
If you are wondering what to order for breakfast in Buenos Aires here are some options:
Check the breakfast menús (promoción de desayuno), the cafés usually have a set of breakfast options with special prices, for example:
- Café con leche + 2 medialunas
- Café con leche + tostadas con manteca y mermelada (butter and jam)
- Café con leche + tostado de jamón y queso
- Café con leche + porción de torta (slice of cake)
There are many traditional cafés in the city, like El Continental, you’ll see that in these places there are more locals, menús are not in English and options are like the ones mentioned above. I personally love these!
Other places offer a menu that includes mate with pastries, you can go here and ask the assistants to recommend yerba (mate tea leaves) for your mate.
Places to get mate for breakfast or merienda (in the afternoon):
- Cumaná – Rodriguez Peña 1149, Recoleta
- Las Cabras – Fitz Roy 1795, Palermo
- Candela, Cdad. de La Paz 353, Las Cañitas
👆 These are the most traditional options.
Some cafés have more international options, like American breakfast with bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice, coffee, and yogurt.
There are also places that offer a more hipster option, they’re usually in neighborhoods like Palermo and Recoleta. These options include avocado toast and poached eggs with coffee, granola, and/or salmon bagel.
The good news is that in the city you’ll have plenty of options for a more traditional breakfast or an international one!
My recommendation? You should try them all!
Check out these City Tours in Buenos Aires!
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