DINING AT DON JULIO RESTAURANT BUENOS AIRES: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW.
There are very few people who haven’t heard of the Don Julio restaurant and Pablo Rivero, the owner-chef at one of the world’s best “parrillas”.
Michelin Guide on Don Julio
On our recent visit to Argentina, we made a decisive bee-line to Don Julio restaurant. A world renowned “parilla”, grill restaurant in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires. As the Granddaughter of a butcher, I’ve got a soft spot for restaurants where the meat is the centerpiece and I could not wait to dine at Don Julio. But there was one small problem, we didn’t have a reservation……
Read on to find out more about how to get a table at Don Julio and our experience of dining in the most famous restaurant in Argentina.
How much does it cost to dine at Don Julio restaurant?
Don Julio quite cleverly does not have a menu on their website. Subsequently, we were a little daunted before we sat down that the prices would be prohibitively high. In fact, prices are very reasonable at Don Julio. Considering the popularity of the restaurant and the quality of the food, prices could be significantly higher.
The extensive wine list includes wine by the glass, as well as bottles for between 12,000 pesos up to 200,000 (and beyond.) Starters cost around 12,000 on average, with an 80,000 peso sharing starter also featured.
For steaks, you can expect to pay around 60,000 for a one person portion or up to 80,000 for something you could share between two (or eat alone!)
To give an idea, our bill came to 107,745 pesos (around £100 as of March 2024.) This included one bottle of wine, water, one giant T-Bone steak and a salad. We also received complimentary glasses of fizz whilst waiting for the table, bread and a little amuse bouche of empanadas.
It is possible to spend a lot of money at Don Julio if you want – or to keep things a little more restrained.
Is visiting Don Julio worth it?
My answer to whether Don Julio restaurant is worth it, is in two parts.
Firstly, is it worth the money? Honestly, I think yes. One of the things that we loved most about Don Julio is that it doesn’t cost the earth. Considering it is such a popular restaurant and with the reputation it has, the prices could be much higher.
Yes, Don Julio is more expensive than the typical Parilla. However, taking into account the level of service and quality of food, it is well worth it.
Secondly, is it worth the faff of getting a table? We were waiting outside at 17:45 to join the wait list at Don Julio and asked ourselves this question.
Thankfully, we decided that the answer was yes, so we waited and got a table. Dining at Don Julio does require a fair bit of queuing – but the free glasses of bubbles certainly greased our palms and made the waiting tolerable. And once our waiter had whisked us to our table with a fresh glass of fizz, we were even more assured!
Is Don Julio the best steak in the world?
Don Julio has been listed on the prestigious Top 50 restaurants of the world for a number of years now. It is currently sitting pretty at number 19.
To add to the accolades, Don Julio also has one Michelin star. Perhaps a lesser known fact, is that Don Julio was voted as the best steak restaurant in the world by the website “worldsbeststeaks.com“.
And what’s our verdict on Don Julio? Find out below.
What is the wine list like at Don Julio?
The wine list at Don Julio is, unsurprisingly, lengthy.
A selection of wine by the glass is offered – from white to red and sparkling.
When it comes to wines by the bottle, there’s a large selection of styles. Bottles of red make up most of the menu, as you’d perhaps expect in a steak restaurant. But not all of it is Malbec – there’s also a plentiful selection of Pinot Noir and Cabernet.
Prices are very reasonable, with less expensive bottles at around 12,000 to 13,000 pesos ($15) ranging upwards. We enjoyed a mellow Pinot Noir at the lower price range and it was a delight.
You can catch a glimpse of the fantastic wine cellar downstairs when you pop to the bathroom. Quite a sight.
Our experience dining at Don Julio: An honest review
Here’s a little insight into our experience of dining at Don Julio restaurant in Buenos Aires.
How it began: Don Julio
Arriving in what still felt like the heat of the day at 17:45, we joined a small queue of three people that had already politely formed outside of Don Julio restaurant.
Soon, a friendly waiter, perhaps noticing the heat, brought us a bottle of water each. I wondered if this meant we would be in the queue for the long haul, but I’d barely had a chance to take a sip when we were at the front of the queue greeted by another member of staff wielding a clip board.
Each day, at 18:00 sharp the Don Julio wait list opens. This is a chance for anyone who did not have the foresight to make a reservation many months in advance, to get a table at Don Julio – the famous Argentinean grill house in the Palermo district, known as one of the best places in the world to eat steak.
In our team huddle before joining the queue, we had agreed that we would accept any table given to us. Whether inside or out and even if it was at an unacceptably “international” time of eating. We had heard from friends who visited Don Julio previously of 23:30 tables, a criminally un-British time to eat, that had resulted in a regrettable portion of pre-dinner chips. We had been warned!
A table is ours: Don Julio
Better luck for us, to our surprise we were given a table at 19:00, and a little ticket to confirm our reservation – perhaps not a coincidence that La Boca were playing at 19:15.
Great news for us, especially as we had already dressed for dinner (just in case). We were happy with this, but the Argentinean chap in front of us in the queue who had been offered a table at 19:00 too, was not.
I overheard him making a call to his girlfriend to explain that he “couldn’t get a table” and they would be forced to watch the football tonight instead.
The first order of business was to find a pre-dinner drink at a bar around the corner – a Fernet con Cola to prepare our stomachs for the feast ahead.
Then back to Don Julio – we arrived five minutes early to find another queue had formed, this one much bigger at 30 people deep.
Waving my little ticket around, and in my best broken Spanish, I tried to jump to the front of the queue – assuming that the people waiting were yet to be given a table. I was firmly told to join the back – it turns out, everyone waiting excitedly in the line had a reservation too.
Many diners accepted their fate, but others less so – a few smartly dressed diners were clearly not expecting to have to wait their turn.
Moods soon took an upward turn though when the familiar sound of corks popping from champagne bottles was heard – waiters with silver trays delivered complimentary crisp sparkling wine to the crowds. All was forgiven.
After two further complimentary sparkling top ups, it was go time. A gaggle of waiters gathered at the front of the restaurant, each ready to escort excited diners to their tables.
Ours was outside, under one of the covered terraces. Pleasingly, we had a great view of the front door so could watch all the comings and goings – the staff moving back and forth, systematic and well-practiced.
We were presented with the leather bound menus. The wine list was a little intimidating, but the food menu helpfully included pictures of different steak cuts on offer. This makes things a little less opaque for anyone who doesn’t know their t-bone from their tenderloin.
With meticulous precision two waiters arrived, one with freshly baked warm bread, the other with a cacophony of oils and dips to accompany it.
After a few minutes, small empanadas were delivered to us wrapped in napkins. Delicious morsels of soft buttery pastry with succulent beef hidden inside. We ordered our wine, a well-priced bottle of Pinot Noir from the Uco Valley – if the waiter didn’t approve of our “bottom of the list” wine pick, he didn’t show it.
It turns out, that a restaurant as good as Don Julio just doesn’t have bad wine on the menu. Whilst I took my first sip of the smooth, juicy wine, a well rehearsed waiter whisked away the paper napkin left over from my emapanda, with tweezers (a new one for me.)
Noticing a recurrent tomato theme on the menu, we chose a zingy green tomato salad – and of course the showpiece – a 900gr T Bone steak for two. The menu doesn’t spell it out, but there are smaller steaks (400 gr or so), ideal for one person, and larger ones more suitable ‘pour deux.’
The food: Don Julio
Our food arrived swiftly and our friendly waiter deftly cut our T-Bone steak into two portions – I was slightly aggrieved to find that John’s half was larger, they must have known it was his birthday!
We hadn’t ordered any carbs and perhaps our waiter took pity on us, but he had soon brought us our third round of Don Julio’s signature bread.
As we tucked into the steak, all around us we heard the “oos and ahhs” of other diner’s taking their first mouthful. The steak was, of course, lip-smackingly delicious.
The service was faultless throughout the entirety of the meal. And, the tomato salad was delightful – made even more so by the bread to mop it up with.
We sat by candlelight in the balmy streets of Buenos Aires feeling entirely lucky to be where we were in that moment – especially as we saw perspective diners turn up throughout the evening and being sent away hungry.
But it’s not just that, eating at Don Julio makes you feel special. Even if you order the smallest steak on the menu, or the cheapest drop of wine – you will be treated as well as the person ordering the 180,000 peso bottle of Malbec Reserva.
The Verdict: Don Julio
Once out of ear shot of the restaurant, we discussed the burning question of the day. Was the steak at Don Julio the best we had ever eaten? In all honestly, no – but, only by a very very slim margin. And perhaps this was because we had spent three weeks in Argentina before eating at Don Julio.
We both unanimously agreed that the best steak we have ever eaten was at an unassuming restaurant in a small town Chacras de Coria, in the Mendoza region.
A restaurant that has a (far too low) 4.1 rating on Google Reviews, where our T-Bone cost 25% of the one in Don Julio. But, this this is just testimony to the fact that Argentina produces the world’s best steak. Or perhaps it is because the steak we had in a back-street parilla in Chacras de Coria was the first we ate in Argentina. It could be mind trickery!
All of this is not to say that Don Julio is bad – who are we to argue with the Michelin Guide, or indeed “worldsbeststeaks.com”.
Don Julio is a spectacular dining experience, I don’t doubt that it’s the world’s best steak restaurant. The restaurant presents an impeccable dining extravaganza, from start to finish. The meat is incredible, melt in the mouth stuff – expertly prepared and cooked. We would visit again in a heart beat!
How to make reservations at Don Julio restaurant Buenos Aires
Making a reservation at Don Julio restaurant is pretty straightforward. You can make reservations online via the website – found here.
The one, teeny little hiccup, is that Don Julio tends to be booked months in advance, especially for supper. But if you’ve got the foresight and you know when you’ll be in Buenos Aires, then booking is easy.
What happens if all of the tables are booked when you want to go? Don’t worry! Don Julio keeps a number of tables back for walk ins. Find out more on this below!
Does Don Julio accept walk ins?
Don’t be put off if you can’t get a reservation at Don Julio as they do accept walk ins.
There are a few ways to secure a table at Don Julio as a walk in.
Option one (and the one we recommend) is to arrive at around 17:30/17:45 to start queuing for the wait list.
The wait list opens at 18:00, with the first few in the queue being offered the preferable tables and the last in the queue being offered what is left (if any.)
In Argentina, people tend to eat between 21:00 and 23:00, so you’re most likely to be offered a table at an early sitting (19:00) or a very late table (23:30). But, if it’s a quiet night you may be given another option.
If you get given a table on the wait list, your name will be written down and you’ll be given a time slot. You can then return at your allocated slot. (See note below on queuing for your table!)
Option two would be to arrive at 19:00 when the first sitting starts and try to find a vacant table. In all likelihood, this isn’t the best approach as there will be a huge queue of people waiting to sit at their tables. A better solution may be to arrive at 19:30 to see if there are any no shows and you can grab a table.
Finally, another option would be to arrive at around 20:45/21:00 to see there any tables on the off chance. Honestly, unless it is a quiet night (perhaps a Sunday or Monday) then you’d have a slim chance of getting a table – but you never know!
What’s all this about queuing for your table at Don Julio?
Argentinians are great at queuing! They take it, almost, as seriously as us Brits. Don Julio restaurant makes no exception to this love of queuing.
So, whatever happens you are most likely going to have to queue for your table. This is not quite as bad as singing for your supper! But we did notice a few people were quite disgruntled about this. Whether you’ve been given a walk in/ wait list spot or you made reservations months in advance, it’s most likely that you will have to join the queue!
If your table is at the first sitting at 19:00 and you’re arriving hungry/ or you are a little…impatient…arrive at 18:45 to be first in the queue. For later sittings, this is less of an issue but you’re likely to still have to wait for a table for a little while.
However, do not despair! See note below on complimentary champagne!
What’s all this about complimentary champagne at Don Julio?
The massive upside of queuing for your table at Don Julio is that you will be offered, a glass, or more, of complimentary champagne as you wait in the queue. In our experience, it’s pretty free flowing!
Waiters bring glasses to anyone waiting in the queue. Sometimes they will also pass around delicious mini-empanadas. For this reason, we recommend arriving promptly for your table!
If you have a later table, 20:30 onwards, there’s less of a “queue” and more of a milling of people lurking next to the champagne stand and chatting. For me, this was actually one of the most fun parts of the meal. Who doesn’t want to start the night with a few glasses of bubbles?!?
Is there a dress code at Don Julio?
There is no strict or formal dress code at Don Julio. Most diners are dressed in smart causal clothing, with a smattering of diners having made a little more effort with suits and fancier attire. Having finished a backpacking trip in Argentina, we were a little worried that our sandals wouldn’t pass muster, but had no issues at all!
Alternatives to Don Julio in Buenos Aires
If you want a full scale slap up meal but Don Julio restaurant isn’t the one for you, or if you miss out on a table, rest assured there are a few further options in the area.
FOGON ASADO: Fogon, like Don Julio, is found on the Michelin guide. It is a popular, upscale and delicious alternative and can also be found in the Palermo district. Book tables up in advance!
CALDEN DEL SOHO: This is a great “mid-range” choice for an Asado restaurant in Palermo. It still has a nice upmarket feel to it, and is ranked number 3 for grill restaurants in the area, but the prices are a little lower.
LA BOUQUERIA PALERMO: A good budget option is La Bouqueria, which is also found in Palermo. Here, you can most likely get a table without a reservation and prices are much more reasonable.
FOOD TOUR IN PALERMO: A fun alternative to a sit down dinner is this fabulous food tour in Palermo. Eat a variety of dishes, including steak, and enjoy cocktails and wine tasting alongside it.
✅ 3-4 hours with a small group of foodie travellers
✅Evening slots available
✅Wine & Cocktails included
✅4 – 5 sumptuous food stops
✅ Free cancellation
Where to stay in Bunos Aires
As a visitor, it can be super overwhelming to decide where to stay in Buenos Aires. Each district, or barrio, has it’s own unique personality and charm. Each has it’s own safety considerations. And, each district offers accommodation that may suit different types of travellers – from couples, to solo, budget and beyond.
Where to next in Argentina?
You can find our guides to travelling in Argentina below:
- Buenos Aires – a three day itinerary
- Best things to do in Palermo, Buenos Aires
- Dining at Don Julio restaurant in Buenos Aires
- Where to stay in Buenos Aires
- Where to stay in Mendoza
- Our experience of staying in a wine hotel in Mendoza
- Wine cycling in Mendoza – a top experience
- Best hikes in Bariloche
- Best hikes & things to do in El Chalten
- Visiting Perito Moreno Glacier – a guide
- Driving in Argentina: A guide
Written by Emma
Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.
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3 responses to “Dining at Don Julio Restaurant Buenos Aires: All you need to know”
[…] a food tour around the district to identify the best places that locals like to eat and drink. Dine at Don Julio restaurant – a one Michelin star steak restaurant, known as the best steak restaurant in the world. Explore […]
[…] Don Julio is perhaps the most famous restaurant in Buenos Aires. It has been visited by A listers and is even a designated site of tourist interest in the city. It has one Michelin Star and features in the Top 50 restaurants in the world. The star of the show? Steak! […]
[…] Getting a table is not always easy however – read more about the best way to be one of the lucky diners at Don Julio here. […]