Cafe Retiro - Buenos Aires

The Retiro at the railway station is a cavernous old space with elegant facades and nice architectural detailing which could be a really special cafe. Unfortunately the fare on offer means that this is just another average cafe serving average food and drink in an environment that really deserves better. A shame, but worth a stop just to look at the interior.

We were due to take a train from BA to Tigre and called into this cafe, which was recommended in our guide book. It 's a beautiful, spacious art deco lounge Spotless, with polished floors and magnificent dark fittings. Friendly service, comfortable chairs, quite a good little menu. Nice coffee, pretty good wine (but very limited choice). I had what was termed a "pizzetta), which I presumed was a miniature pizza like the small square ones you get in Italy. In fact it was quite a large oblong pizza and delicious to boot. The place was so relaxing and elegant that we spent a couple of hours there.

The food is O.K. without being exceptional as the service, but what sets this place apart is its magnificent sitting deep in the caves of Retiro Station. Enjoy the gastronomic vault and admire the building a century ago.

The there are actually three stations. Peek in at the Belgrano and the San Martin stations. Take some beautiful pics of Retiro station-lots of beauty. Then have a light lunch in Cafe Retiro. Lovely. Good food. Beautiful atmosphere. No WiFi, but easy to relax there. Remember, we're not talking about fine dining.

This week, Oct 7 and 8,I returned to one of my favourite coffee shops in the Retiro Station in Buenos Aires and was not disappointed. The old world coffee culture atmosphere still abounds and the morning coffee/croissants are as delicious as ever. They have a special offer on and for 26 Argentinian pesos, you get a cappuccino, 3 medalunas(sweet croissants) and a small glass if orange juice....almost the same price as just the coffee alone....good value for what has now become a very expensive Buenos Aires.