Mishiguene

Mishiguene celebrates one of the many immigrant cuisines that shaped Buenos Aires. Chef Tomás Kalika reworks the Jewish home cooking of his grandmother's generation, drawing on Eastern European, Middle Eastern and North African traditions, and presents it with modern technique. The name means crazy in Yiddish. The Michelin Guide notes that the chef trained in Jerusalem and that his cooking draws on emotional memories of his childhood. The restaurant has appeared regularly on the Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list, winning its Highest Climber Award in 2018, reaching number 15 in 2022 and placing 32nd in 2023, and it is listed in the 2026 Michelin Guide Argentina.

The signature dish is the pastrami, or pastrón: beef prime rib cured for ten days with salt, herbs and spices, smoked over wood embers for four hours and then steamed for a further fourteen. It appears in several forms, from a pairing with truffle risotto to a Wellington and a version with potato latkes. Elsewhere on the menu, familiar dishes are reimagined: Russian-Polish borscht, spit-roasted Moroccan lamb and baba ganoush show how widely the kitchen roams across the Jewish diaspora. The Michelin Guide describes the plates as generous and full of personality, so sharing several around the table works well. There is an à la carte menu as well as a tasting menu.

The dining room is low-lit and busy, with dark wood, a bar counter and bold photographs of Israeli markets on the walls, and there is also a terrace. On Friday nights the restaurant celebrates Shabbat with live music, which makes the end of the week the liveliest time to visit, while a chef's table beside the kitchen offers a special tasting menu that suits groups and celebrations.

Mishiguene opens for dinner every day; the Michelin Guide lists service from 19:00 to midnight. It suits couples, groups of friends and anyone curious about the Jewish side of the city's food culture. Prices are in the upper-middle range. The restaurant handles its own bookings, so reserve ahead through its website or by phone, especially for Friday evenings, and ask about the chef's table if you are a group.

The restaurant is at Lafinur 3368, in the Palermo Botánico area, a few metres from the Jardín Japonés according to the Michelin Guide. Museo Evita is on the same street, at Lafinur 2988, so a late-afternoon museum visit followed by an early dinner makes a neat plan.