The story
Don Julio is an Argentine grill at Guatemala 4691 in Palermo Viejo, Buenos Aires, and it earned one Michelin star in 2026. The restaurant is still run by owner-sommelier Pablo Rivero, who opened it as a neighbourhood steakhouse about 25 years ago.
Nearly everything on the menu comes from the restaurant's own farm outside Buenos Aires. Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle are raised under regenerative practices, then butchered and aged in-house. Grilled seasonal vegetables, including organic asparagus, peppers and courgette, sit alongside the heirloom tomato salad.
Executive chef Guido Tassi works the grill in full view of the dining room. The menu runs from a thick rib-eye and a giant T-bone to the house-favourite skirt steak and the famous spiral sausage. Diners who want a guided tour of the beef can spend time on the menu, which is long enough to feel like a lesson in cuts.
The cellar holds around 60,000 bottles from across Argentina, and the walls of the two-floor room are covered with wine bottles bearing handwritten notes from past guests. Tables are in high demand, so booking a couple of months ahead is advised. Guests who join the queue near opening or closing can expect sparkling wine and hot mini empanadas while they wait.
Recognition
Details
History
High quality cooking
Meet Don Julio:A family-run labour of love, an homage to the flavours and terroirs of Argentina, a temple of regenerative farming – Don Julio is all this and more. Some 25 years after owner-sommelier Pablo Rivero opened his neighbourhood steakhouse on a corner of Palermo, he is still serving some of the best beef cuts, local wines and authentic Argentine hospitality you can find anywhere. Homemade philosophy:Nearly everything you can find on Don Julio’s menu comes from the restaurant’s own farm outside of Buenos Aires. Grilled seasonal vegetables – such as organic asparagus, peppers and courgette – are a popular choice, as is the restaurant’s famous heirloom tomato salad. The juicy servings of Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle haven’t only been farmed according to regenerative practices, but are also butchered and aged entirely in-house. What about the menu?Choosing from the extensive list may feel like taking a beef anatomy masterclass, but whatever you choose – the thick rib-eye, a giant T-bone, the house-favourite skirt steak, or the famous spiral sausage – the combination of smokiness, nuttiness and sweetness in the meat will blow your socks off. Take a tour:Entering the two-floor restaurant, the eye is caught by the dancing flames of the grill and the spread of delicately marbled steaks waiting to receive executive chef Guido Tassi’s smoky touch. Countless wine bottles with scribbled messages adorn the walls, forming a living memory of the good times shared by previous diners. For the full experience, visit the cellar where 60,000 bottles cover the length and breadth of the Argentine territory, the nearby butcher’s shop and the square-turned-biodynamic-garden that forms the heart of Rivero’s community projects. Should I book?Don Julio remains one of the most coveted reservations in Buenos Aires, so booking a couple of months in advance is recommended. Those without this luxury may still score a table by joining the queue close to opening or closing time – Don Julio extends its Argentine hospitality to waiting diners in the form of sparkling wine and hot, delicious mini empanadas.
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