El Patio - Puerto Iguazú

We were a group of 16 people and we had great food. Very simple place, no music, but steaks and parilla were very good. If for you food is more important than ambient, this is the place for you

HORRIBLE restaurant. If you don’t want to spoil your whole trip, DON’T go there! The waiters are extremely rude and even aggressive sometimes and the restrooms were the dirtiest I’ve ever seen!

We asked around for a place that was cheaper than all the touristy haunts, but not a dive - Patio was the answer.This parilla/cafe boasted a large, covered, outdoor dinning area with a typical Argentine menu including Milanese, hamburgers and empanadas. The serve sodas and beers (although their selection is limited, or they were just running low) and is well below the avaerage price of other restaurants in Puerto Iguacu.

There are many places to eat in Puerto Iguazu which are aimed at tourists. El Patio (on Av Victoria Aguirre, not to be confused to with a fancier French Restaurant of the same name which is attached to a hotel) tries to draw in tourists, but is still frequented by locals, and is not as fancy as the more tourist-aimed eateries. It is therefore significantly cheaper, and has a more local feel to it. It is a big, wide open space - with half blocked off, where flamenco dancing is practised by the locals some nights. Simply funished with plastic tables and chairs, but clean and comfortable. The menus are in Spanish, and most of the staff speak very limited English, but they are very willing to try to converse in whatever way possible (charades, pointing, writing etc) and we found it easy to order although we speak no Spanish. We dined there 4 consecutive nights, and by the last night they were even offering us local food and beer not specifically offered on the menu. Their specialty is an Argentinian BBQ. There's a special area where meat (mostly beef and chicken) is continually slow-cooked, and if you order it they bring a huge helping to your table. A salad bar (looked OK but any salad in South America is a bit questionable) is also included. This option was 20peso per person when we were there (Nov 2008). Other menu options include wonderful hamburgers with egg, lettuce and tomato for 5 pesos; various pasta options (nothing special, but edible and cheap) about 10-15 pesos; pizzas (about 20 pesos) and more. A highlight for us were the cheap drinks (a litre of Budweiser or Heineken for 8 pesos, they also have local beer (quilmes) but it's not on the menu - it's slightly cheaper than the imported stuff - and very drinkable).Waiting staff were very pleasant to deal with and also very efficient. As with other eateries in Puerto Iguazu it was not very busy from about 7pm - 9pm, but got busier from 9-11. Not the place to eat if you are after very high quality food with Western style service, but definitely the place if you want a really good meal at a great price with a bit of local atmosphere.

The steaks was excellent,cook to perfection. The service was very good we have nothing to complain,big portions and delicious food!