Café Tortoni

Café Tortoni opened in 1858 and moved to its present premises in 1880, opening its entrance on Avenida de Mayo in 1898, and it has been serving continuously ever since, which makes it the oldest café in the country and one of the notable ones in the world. The interior has changed little: dark wood, marble-topped tables, bevelled mirrors, stained glass in the ceiling and busts and paintings of the writers, musicians and politicians who spent years here, among them Borges, the tango singer Carlos Gardel and the pianist Arthur Rubinstein. It is protected as a notable bar of the city. Coffee with churros is the classic order, and a small basement room hosts tango performances in the evening.

History

A French immigrant named Touan opened the café in 1858, naming it after the Tortoni on the Boulevard des Italiens in Paris, at first on the corner of Rivadavia and Esmeralda; in 1880 it moved to its present site, once the Templo Escocés, with its entrance on Rivadavia, and in 1898 an entrance on Avenida de Mayo opened with a facade by Alejandro Christophersen, while late in the century another Frenchman, Celestino Curutchet, bought it. In 1926 La Peña was set up in the basement to support the arts and literature, until it broke up in 1943, drawing Alfonsina Storni, Juana de Ibarbourou, Arthur Rubinstein, Roberto Arlt, José Ortega y Gasset, Jorge Luis Borges and Benito Quinquela Martín, and over the years Carlos Gardel, Juan Manuel Fangio, Albert Einstein and Federico García Lorca came too (Wikipedia, Café Tortoni).

What's there

• The historic interior - dark wood, marble tables, mirrors and stained glass.
• The literary memorabilia - busts and paintings of former regulars.
• The tango room - the basement space with evening performances.
• The classic order - coffee with chocolate and churros at a marble table.

When to go

Year-round; queues form outside through the middle of the day, and early morning or late evening are easier. Tango shows run nightly and require booking. The café closes on some holidays.

Things to know

Tortoni trades heavily on its history: prices are well above other cafés, service can be brisk, and the queue is often long. The food is ordinary. It is worth it as a piece of the city rather than as a meal.

Nearby

Palacio Barolo is along the same avenue; Plaza de Mayo lies a few blocks east.

Key facts