Pizzería Güerrín

Pizzería Güerrín has been serving pizza on Avenida Corrientes since 1932, and it remains one of the best places to understand the city's own style of pizza. The city tourism board calls it a monument to pizza founded before the Obelisco, and in 2011 the city legislature declared it a site of cultural interest. It still trades at the same address, between Uruguay and Talcahuano, a few metres from the Obelisco.

It was founded by two Genoese immigrants, Franco Malvezzi and Guido Grondona, and is still connected to the founding families: Grondona's great-nephew has been in charge of operations. At first only the front of the shop operated, with a till and a counter for a slice eaten on the go. That tradition survives: inside the glass entrance you will see the counter, the dessert table and two fixed ledges where customers eat standing up, while the dining room behind has tables and waiters.

The house emblem is pizza al molde, a thick pan-baked pizza; the signature version carries around 600 grams of mozzarella, so there is no need to ask for extra cheese. The menu runs to around 70 varieties, including muzzarella, fugazza and fugazzeta with onions, napolitana, calabresa and a vegan pizza, and many people add a slice of fainá. Empanadas come fried or from the wood oven, and desserts include flan, tiramisu and bread pudding. Waiters still call orders in code, so listen out for a 21, a slice of muzzarella with one of fainá.

The scale is remarkable. In 2022 Forbes Argentina reported more than 1,500 pizzas a day from five wood-fired ovens that are never allowed to go out, and the dough is still worked by hand in a large trough. The rooms are finished with Venetian mosaic, granite, ceramic, wood, bronze and travertine. It suits families, groups and solo travellers wanting a quick, filling meal at budget prices.

The tourism board lists opening hours of 11:00 to 01:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 to 02:00 on Friday and Saturday, which makes it a useful late option after an evening at the theatre or the Teatro Colón. Expect queues at busy times, and look out for the house pan dulce, which draws long lines from November.