Yes, I am aware that labeling a restaurant in Buenos Aires home to the best empanadas in the city is quite a tall order. However, I can confidently say that with respect to empanadas, thus far in my experience, no restaurant, café, or pizzeria has compared to El Sanjuanino in Recoleta. Centrally located at 1515 Posadas, the restaurant is within a five minute walk of the Recoleta Cemetery, Patio Bullrich Mall, and Plaza San Martin. One might walk by El Sanjuanino dozens of times before stepping foot inside for the first time because of the lack of flashy or distinguishing characteristics visible from the outside. Unlike many places to dine in Buenos Aires, there are no gimmicks here, just great food.
For $1.70 pesos, a diner can choose between almost a dozen of the standard varieties of empanadas; choices include baked empanadas filled with meat, chicken, cheese and onion, creamed corn, spicy beef, spinach, tomato and basil, ham and cheese, as well as a fried meat, egg, and olive empanada called El Sanjuanino for $2.50. Also on the menu are offerings of tamales and locro (a traditional Argentine baked meat casserole), neither of which exceeds $10 pesos.
In addition to the almost unbeatable price, the empanadas are HUGE. I can usually pack away six empanadas in a sitting without trouble, but after four I was beginning to struggle. In fact, I was in a group of seven people and we ordered 36 empanadas and barely topped 30 before we called it quits. Just to reiterate, we spent about $21 dollars total between seven people for lunch and could not finish!
So if three dollars for a delicious lunch or dinner (plus drinks) sounds like your idea of a good time, El Sanjuanino is your best bet. Not only is the price unbeatable, but I dare you to find a better empanada in the city, or better yet, anywhere in the world!
El Sanjuanino
Posadas 1515 (corner with Callao)
Recoleta, Buenos Aires
Tel: +54 11 4804-2909
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[…] I first learned about this McDonald’s in the plane on my way to Buenos Aires. Reading through the Frommer’s guide, I was surprised. Is Buenos Aires a city with a large Jewish population? It turns out, yes, and I knew right then that since I might never make it to Israel, I was going to have to find this Kosher McDonald’s and see it for myself. Two months later, I still hadn’t done it, despite walking past Abasto time and time again. It was hard to pick McDonald’s over a choripan or empanada. This Wednesday, I finally went into the mall and asked the girl working the dessert counter at McDonald’s if this was a Kosher McDonald’s. No, she said, this one isn’t. I was momentarily disappointed, until she pointed up, telling me I would find it on the third floor, down a hall on the right side. Up two escalators and only asking for directions one more time, I finally found the Kosher McDonald’s, tucked off the main food court (where another, regular McDonald’s was doing brisk business). Appropriately, an Orthodox Jew stood by the Pick-Up counter. I wanted to take a picture of him in the foreground, with the McDonald’s sign in the back, but that seemed far too rude to even consider actually asking. Instead, I took out my camera and took some pictures of the counter until I was stopped by a security guard in the mall. Perhaps no one is allowed to take pictures in the mall, but I suspect it was because I was taking pictures of the Kosher McDonald’s. Even after 13 years, people here still remember the bombing in 1994 of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association that killed 85 people. […]
[…] I first learned about this McDonald’s in the plane on my way to Buenos Aires. Reading through the Frommer’s guide, I was surprised. Is Buenos Aires a city with a large Jewish population? It turns out, yes, and I knew right then that since I might never make it to Israel, I was going to have to find this Kosher McDonald’s and see it for myself. Two months later, I still hadn’t done it, despite walking past Abasto time and time again. It was hard to pick McDonald’s over a choripan or empanada. This Wednesday, I finally went into the mall and asked the girl working the dessert counter at McDonald’s if this was a Kosher McDonald’s. No, she said, this one isn’t. I was momentarily disappointed, until she pointed up, telling me I would find it on the third floor, down a hall on the right side. Up two escalators and only asking for directions one more time, I finally found the Kosher McDonald’s, tucked off the main food court (where another, regular McDonald’s was doing brisk business). Appropriately, an Orthodox Jew stood by the Pick-Up counter. I wanted to take a picture of him in the foreground, with the McDonald’s sign in the back, but that seemed far too rude to even consider actually asking. Instead, I took out my camera and took some pictures of the counter until I was stopped by a security guard in the mall. Perhaps no one is allowed to take pictures in the mall, but I suspect it was because I was taking pictures of the Kosher McDonald’s. Even after 13 years, people here still remember the bombing in 1994 of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association that killed 85 people. […]
[…] be good friends. Nothing is more relaxing than plopping down in comfortable and clean park with a picnic of empanadas and dozing for a couple of hours with some new tunes from my iPod playing in my […]
Based on this review we went to El Sanjuanino. Unfortunately, our experience there was very different from Mr. Schuller’s. We ordered a selection of the empanadas (one of each), plus some pasta with meat sauce.
Without a doubt, these were some of the WORST empanadas that we have had during our 4 months so far in Buenos Aires. In fact, my daughter got food poisoning late that night (for the first time since we’ve been here).
So where would we recommend for the best empanadas? The one thing about empanadas is that every restaurant makes them differently. For instance, just getting a meat empanada, you can have regular, or spicy. Also, it can be fried or baked (usually baked, but I do love fried on occassion!) The meat can be ground beef, cubed/chopped, or almost shreded-like in texture. It can be plain, or with a tasty juicy meat sauce (similar to a taco sauce for us). The best ones (in my opinion) have a lot of other ingredients thrown in, such as chopped boiled eggs, raisins, olives (not my favorite), potato, etc…
So, I’d suggest just trying any cafe, pizza parlor, and fine dining resturant. Whenever we go out, we always order an empanada, even just as an appetizer. Part of the treat for us is discovering how every restaurant is so different in their version of a empanada de carne (I always prefer carne picante if availble).
My favorite used to be at a restaurant that was at the south-east corner of Plaza Dorrego, though I heard that their recipe has changed recently and isn’t as spectacular anymore.
We’ve also had terrific empanadas at small pizza joints around Recoletta, as well as at the fancy, tourist oriented (but still with excellent value for very high quality food) El Mirasol — the location in Retiro close to Four Seasons is our favorite.
Anyway, I would definitely NOT recommend El Sanjuanino to anyone. Absolutely horrible!!!!
Have to agree with Sam Jay. I went to
El Sanjuanino this past Sunday. El Sanjuanino was a nice, clean, friendly place that served probably the worse empenadas Ive had in Buenos Aires. The best empenadas Ive had was at the San Telmo feria sold by an nice elderly couple at Plaza Dorrego. It was delish!
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