Café Tortoni
- Wi-Fi
- Indoor seating
- Smoke-free indoors
Buenos Aires · Microcentro & Monserrat
Cafés in Microcentro & Monserrat
Avenida de Mayo, Corrientes and the blocks around Plaza de Mayo, where the oldest bares notables are.
Photo: Jan Tang, Pexels License
The old center splits between two barrios: Monserrat, which takes in Avenida de Mayo and the blocks south of Plaza de Mayo, and San Nicolás, home of the Microcentro's office streets and Avenida Corrientes.1 Avenida de Mayo opened on 9 July 1894 and runs about 1,350 meters from Plaza de Mayo to Plaza del Congreso. It took the Paris boulevards as its model, but Spanish immigration gave it a character often compared with Madrid's Gran Vía.2
The oldest café in the city is here, Café Tortoni, from 1858, and so is La Puerto Rico, from 1887.54 Around them, in Monserrat and San Nicolás, are more bares notables than in any other part of the city, among them Confitería La Ideal, El Gato Negro, La Giralda, Petit Colón (Libertad 505), Bar Seddon (Defensa 695) and Vía 71 (Viamonte 1771).1
Local tip: For chocolate con churros after a show on Corrientes, La Giralda at number 1453 stays open all night on Fridays and Saturdays.
At a glance
117Cafés listed
10With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
21:00Latest closing
- Opens earliest: La Puerto Rico, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00).
- Closes latest: Café Tortoni, until 21:00 (Daily 08:00–21:00).
- Most listed streets: Tucumán (2), Viamonte (2).
- Most common features: outdoor seating (7%), wi-fi (6%), takeaway (5%).
Coffee Place
Franco Specialty Coffee
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Smoke-free indoors
- Specialty
Hábito Café
La Puerto Rico
- Outdoor seating
- Card payment
- Toilets
Mar Azul
- Card payment
Nica
- Takeaway
- Air-con
Pick & Go Café
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Air-con
Simik
Take & Coffee
90's Coffee Roasters
- Specialty
Altitud
Anam Bar de Té
Bar Lavalle
Blue | Pasaje de los Carruajes
Bonaira
Boston City
Café & Chocolate
Cafe Bar 360
Café Goodis
Café Metro Bar
Café Monserrat
Café Nómada
Café Parisien
Cafe Paulin
Café Paulin
Café Restaurante El Teatro, Buenos Aires
Café Rivarola
Café Thibon
Cafetería Uruguay
Caffe le caravelle
Casa d'Huicque
Club Café
Coffee & bar Stockholm Vermoutt
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Indoor seating
- Partial wheelchair access
Como
Confiteria Ideal
- Wheelchair access
Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Buenos Aires.
Coffee chains in Microcentro & Monserrat
Chain
Café Martínez
Show 18 locations
- Microcentro & Monserrat
- Av. Rivadavia 1599
- Avenida Belgrano 1775Mon–Fri 09:00–20:00 · Sat 09:00–14:00
- Avenida Callao 156Daily 08:00–21:00
- Avenida Callao 498Mon–Fri 07:30–20:00 · Sat 09:00–20:00
- Avenida Corrientes 450Mon–Fri 07:30–21:00
- Avenida de Mayo 1102Mon–Fri 07:30–20:30 · Sat–Sun 08:30–19:30
- Avenida de Mayo 699Mon–Sat 07:00–20:00
- Avenida Presidente Roque Sáenz Peña 1141Mon–Fri 08:00–21:00 · Sat–Sun 10:00–21:00
- Balcarce 420Mon–Thu 07:00–21:00 · Fri 07:00–00:00 · Sat 09:30–23:30 · Sun 14:00–21:00
- Carlos Pellegrini 629Mon–Fri 07:00–20:00 · Sat 10:00–17:30
- Chacabuco 285Mon–Fri 07:30–20:00
- Lima 701Mon–Fri 06:30–22:00 · Sat 08:30–20:30 · Sun 09:00–20:30
- Montevideo 601Mon–Fri 07:30–20:00 · Sat 09:00–16:00
- Sarmiento 740Mon–Fri 08:00–20:00
- Tucumán
- Uruguay 463Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00
- Uruguay 715
Chain
Starbucks
Show 22 locations
- 25 de Mayo 152Mon–Fri 07:00–20:00
- Adolfo Alsina 300Mon–Fri 07:00–20:00
- Av Juan Domingo Peron 1500 Pilar
- Av. de Mayo 970
- Avenida Belgrano 601Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00 · Sun 13:00–20:00
- Avenida Callao 702Mon–Fri 07:00–22:00 · Sat 08:00–22:00 · Sun 08:00–21:00
- Avenida Callao 98Mon–Fri 07:00–22:00 · Sat 08:00–21:00 · Sun 09:00–22:00
- Avenida Corrientes 1702Mon–Thu 07:00–00:00 · Fri 07:00–03:00 · Sat 08:00–03:00 · Sun 08:00–22:00
- Avenida Corrientes 857Mon–Thu 07:00–21:00 · Fri 07:00–00:00 · Sat 09:00–00:00 · Sun 10:00–21:00
- Avenida de Mayo 1300Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00 · Sat 08:00–20:00
- Avenida Presidente Roque Sáenz Peña 885Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00
- Cerrito 336Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00 · Sat 08:00–21:00 · Sun 09:00–21:00
- Florida 1Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00 · Sat–Sun 09:00–20:00
- Lavalle 1394Mon–Fri 07:00–20:00
- Lima 717Mon–Fri 07:00–21:30
- Moreno 877Mon–Fri 08:00–19:30
- Reconquista 383Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00 · Sat 08:00–20:00
- Reconquista 751Mon–Fri 07:00–21:00
- San Martín 150Mon–Fri 07:00–20:00
- San Martín 298Mon–Fri 07:00–20:30
- Sarmiento 342Mon–Fri 08:00–20:00 · Sat 08:00–13:00
- Teniente General Juan Domingo Perón 430Mon–Fri 07:00–20:00
Chain
Havanna
Show 12 locations
Chain
Bonafide
Show 6 locations
Chain
Tienda de Café
Chain
The Coffee Store
Show 4 locations
Chain
Tostado Café Club
Chain
Nucha
Chain
La Panera Rosa
Chain
Establecimiento General de Café
Show 5 locations
- Avenida Corrientes 1543Daily 09:00–23:00
- Lavalle 1518Mon–Fri 08:00–19:00
- Lavalle 1701Mon–Fri 08:00–19:00
- Reconquista 591Mon–Fri 08:00–20:30
- Tucumán 1365Mon–Fri 07:30–18:30
Chain
Brioche Dorée
Chain
Whoopies
Chain
Alma Café
Chain
Import Coffee Company
Chain
NEGRO. Cueva de café
Chain
Pertutti
Avenida de Mayo and Café Tortoni
Café Tortoni has stood at its current site since 1880; its entrance on Avenida de Mayo, at number 825, dates from 1898.23 Its website gives daily hours of 08:00–21:00.5 Tango and jazz play in La Bodega, the basement, where the Fénix Jazz Band has appeared on Saturdays since 1978.3
Line A, the first subway in Latin America, runs beneath the avenue; its Plaza de Mayo–Plaza Miserere section opened on 1 December 1913.2 Other old cafés line the same stretch: London City, in the former Gath y Chaves building since 1954, and the Iberia, which opened as La Toja in 1897 and was a meeting place for Spanish Republicans.2 Café Dalí is at Avenida de Mayo 948.
La Puerto Rico, a block from Plaza de Mayo
La Puerto Rico, one block south of Plaza de Mayo at Alsina 416, opened in 1887 and is one of the three oldest cafés in the city, according to the tourism office.4 It makes its own pastas, and old photographs on the walls record the films shot inside.4 The city legislature declared it a Sitio de Interés Cultural in 1999.4
Corrientes: churros and spices
La Giralda, at Avenida Corrientes 1453, began in 1930 as a small dairy run by Francisco Garrido, an Andalusian, who served his Colonial chocolate with churros.6 For decades it was open 24 hours. It closed in 2018 for financial reasons and reopened in August 2021 after a restoration that kept the white tiles and marble tables.6 The tourism office lists it as open 07:00–01:00 Sunday to Thursday and around the clock on Friday and Saturday.6
Two blocks west, El Gato Negro, at Corrientes 1669, opened in 1927 as a spice shop and keeps its original oak counters and shelves.7 A corner of it serves teas and coffee roasted and ground in view, with genuine Thonet chairs.7
Confitería La Ideal on Suipacha
Confitería La Ideal, at Suipacha 384, was founded in 1912 by Manuel Rosendo Fernández, a Spanish immigrant.8 It closed in 2017, and its more than 2,000 square meters were restored until November 2022.8 The dome has 60 stained-glass panels, the house runs its own bakery, pastry kitchen and chocolate shop, and the first-floor salon has hosted milongas since the 1970s.8
Specialty coffee is thinner on the ground downtown. Franco Specialty Coffee, at Presidente Luis Sáenz Peña 18, opens Monday to Saturday 08:00–19:00.
Sources
- Bares Notables de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, consolidado 2025 (anexo IF-2026-10314379-GCABA-DGPMYCH), Ministerio de Cultura, Ciudad de Buenos Aires (February 26, 2026), accessed October 2026
- Avenida de Mayo (Buenos Aires), Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
- Café Tortoni, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
- La Puerto Rico, Turismo Buenos Aires, Gobierno de la Ciudad, accessed October 2026
- Café Tortoni, Café Tortoni, accessed October 2026
- La Giralda, Turismo Buenos Aires, Gobierno de la Ciudad, accessed October 2026
- El Gato Negro (Don Victoriano), Turismo Buenos Aires, Gobierno de la Ciudad, accessed October 2026
- Confitería La Ideal, Turismo Buenos Aires, Gobierno de la Ciudad, accessed October 2026
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FAQ
Microcentro & Monserrat cafés: questions
What is the oldest café on Avenida de Mayo in Buenos Aires?
Café Tortoni, at Avenida de Mayo 825, opened in 1858 and is the oldest café in the city. It has been at its current site since 1880, and its entrance on the avenue dates from 1898. Its website gives daily hours of 08:00–21:00, and tango and jazz play in La Bodega, the basement.
Where can you get chocolate con churros on Avenida Corrientes in Buenos Aires?
La Giralda, at Avenida Corrientes 1453, has served chocolate with churros since Francisco Garrido opened it as a small dairy in 1930. It closed in 2018 and reopened in August 2021. The city's tourism office lists it as open 07:00–01:00 Sunday to Thursday and 24 hours on Friday and Saturday.
When did Confitería La Ideal in downtown Buenos Aires reopen?
Confitería La Ideal, at Suipacha 384, closed in 2017, and the restoration of its more than 2,000 square meters ran until November 2022. Founded in 1912, it has a dome of 60 stained-glass panels and its own bakery and pastry kitchen, and its first-floor salon has hosted milongas since the 1970s.
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