Buenos Aires

Markets

• Mercado de San Telmo: historic market with produce, spices, and specialty foods.
• Neighborhood ferias: weekly farmers markets in most barrios; ask locals for the schedule.
• Palermo and San Telmo specialty shops: useful for plant-based products and higher-end ingredients.

Supermarkets

• Disco, Jumbo, Carrefour, and Coto: mainstream options for staples.
• Chinese supermercados: cheap produce and beans in many neighborhoods.
• Large supermarkets usually carry oats, rice, canned beans, lentils, and frozen produce.

Health stores

• Dietéticas are on almost every street and carry plant milks, nutritional yeast, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and supplements.
• Dietética Santo Tomé: reliable chain.
• Dietética El Grano de Oro: excellent selection.

Restaurants

• La Reverde Parrillita: vegan parrilla experience without the meat.
• Hierbabuena: vegetable-forward, health-focused dishes.
• Veganius: vegan Argentine classics and seitan milanesa.
• Buenos Aires Verde: upscale plant-based dining.
• El Banco Común: not all-vegan but excellent vegetable-forward options.

Accidentally supravegan

• Pizza sin queso with tomato sauce and vegetables.
• Fainá, a chickpea flour flatbread, if made without oil.
• Ñoquis with salsa fileto and no cheese.
• Empanadas de verdura, usually need to ask sin queso.
• Guiso de lentejas; often has meat, so ask first.

Local staples

• Lentils and porotos
• Pasta and potatoes
• Fainá
• Rice and market vegetables
• Excellent wine as a cultural bonus, not a requirement

Tips

• Lunch is the easiest restaurant meal; look for menú del día.
• Dinner is late and meat-heavy; eat before social dinners.
• Soy vegano is widely understood.
• Dietéticas make Buenos Aires easier than it first appears.

Say it first

Soy vegano, sin carne, sin queso, sin huevo, sin aceite.