The list of the world's best steak restaurant for 2024 has just been revealed and at the top of the list is Don Julio. A steak meal at Don Julio is on most people's most wanted list when visiting Buenos Aires in Argentina. So how does it all work? How do you get a table there (apart from the 3 month waiting list)? Are there really complimentary empanadas and sparkling wine for people in the queue and once you get in, what is the best steak to order? Find out what to expect when you visit Don Julio.
Picture it: we are seated at a table for six right in front of the chefs at Don Julio in Buenos Aires' fashionable Palermo district. The table is covered with a black leather tablecloth. There are paintings of award winning cattle on the wall above next to a 1975 sculpture from an Argentinean Artist representing the blending of natural resources. And as we segue in Autumn there are plenty of gourd displays over the kitchen, in doorways and windowsills. The sound of steak sizzling on the parilla and knives being sharpened fills the air at Don Julio.
Even before 11am there is a queue of standby patrons hoping for a table. The Buenos Aires restaurant seats just 87 and the dining rooms are spread out across several rooms. My personal pick is the main room right where we are sitting where all of the cooking action is taking place but there is also a loft area and a few other smaller rooms branching out towards the back as well as outdoor seating. I'm dining here with Kiren, Ayana, Jacqueline, Esther and Kerrissa.
The walls at Don Julio are lined with awards from the 50 Best to Michelin and only a few days Don Julio was bestowed the best steak restaurant in the world by The World Best Steaks. To go with steaks is a wine list with over 4,200 Argentinean wine labels. The owner chef of Don Julio Parilla is Pablo Rivero who arrived in Buenos Aires in 1994 from Rosario. He comes from a butcher family where his grandmother slaughtered half cows in her butcher shop in Rosario (the birthplace of the Argentine flag, Che Guevara and Lionel Messi). Pablo's parents Enrique and Graciela raised cattle in the northern area of the Pampas region of La Isla. The changing economy brought the Rivero family to Buenos Aires where they settled in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires moving into the first floor a large house built at the beginning of the 20th century. On November 26th, 1999 the restaurant Parilla Don Julio was born on the ground floor of that building. The name came from neighbour and friend Don Julio who was also the owner of the property where they lived. Together they set up the restaurant.
At Don Julio they serve grass fed British cattle breeds Aberdeen Angus and Hereford that are raised via regenerative livestock farming following Andre Voisin’s technique of rotational grazing (VRG). Their cattle is reared until three years old and 500 to 520 kilos/78-81 stone. The question of dry ageing is an interesting one. Their main objective is to have the least dehydration possible and the least product loss in each of the maturation processes. In Australia dry ageing is proudly labelled but here it is depends on the cut. Each has a wet and dry ageing process applied to it although when you see the end beef being sliced, it's very much a wet aged product. Beef trimmings are used to make their empanadas, the fat used to make bread and what remains that can't be used of the bone and fat is then transported to be used in commercial cosmetic businesses.
The steaks are cooked over white quebracho charcoal using a unique V shaped grill that ensures that the fat drips off. This is intentional to ensure that the diner only tastes the beef and only the beef rather than smoke. To complement the steak are a range of vegetable dishes and salads. All of the vegetables are grown organically on their own farms in La Plata and San Vicente approximately 60km/37miles from the city. The menu is designed ahead of time using native, heirloom and non-GMO seeds grown at these location and is based on what they can grow in that season.
The staff is without exception, well exceptional. They all wear black gloves and deliver stiff, starched linen napkins theatrically with tongs and leather bound menus with a deferential flourish. There's no more-popular-than-thou attitude and they're helpful, warm and polite. Our 21 year old waiter has it all under control and deftly answers any questions in Spanish and English.
Before we start on the food you're probably wondering how to get a reservation. At first I tried looking on the website and it was fully booked. Granted I only knew I was going to be in Buenos Aires only a short time before but the online booking system shows the restaurant as fully booked. They also accept walk-ins and you'll have better luck if you go early or late (arrive at 11am for the 11:30am lunch or 7pm for the 7:30pm dinner). I ended up messaging them on Instagram asking for any time available at all. They answered promptly and after a bit of shuffling, I was booked in. They were absolutely lovely when I added more people to the booking too. I don't know if they were just being nice because they saw that I was a food blogger but they have almost 400,000 followers on Instagram so compared to them I'm much smaller fry.
A lot of people say that eating at Don Julio is expensive and it is on the higher side for Argentina. The most expensive steak here is the tenderloin steak at $88065ARS/$158AUD/$100USD but they actually recommend sharing 3-4 steaks between the 6 of us. There was a group of 4 men who had a steak each as well as a steak to share but having 3 steaks for 6 of us was perfect. They're not small steaks at all and once you add on 3 or 4 side dishes you'll probably pay less than what you do at home (depending on where you live of course but it was definitely cheaper than Sydney). We ordered 5 empanadas, 3 steaks, 4 side dishes, 1 dessert, 1 cocktail and lots of bottled water and it was $273,160ARS or $45,000ARS each or $80AUD/$52USD plus 10% tip (they can only take cash tips, ideally in ARS or USD).
One rather lovely touch for every diner are the complimentary glasses of Prosecco and beef empanadas (and in this economy no less!). If you are waiting in line someone carrying a tray of drinks and empanadas will make their way down the queue. Since we aren't waiting long we only had time to take a glass of sparkling wine before we were shown inside and then we sit down they actually bring us the complimentary empanadas which is a rather nice touch. These dainty little parcels have a wonderfully short pastry and plenty of soft beef chunky filling and just the right amount of sauce. They're so good that we are convinced we need to try the other empanadas too.
The empanadas on the menu are larger than the complimentary ones, around three times the size. The other variety available is the Humitas with corn, chilli and smooth pureed pumpkin. The filling is absolutely delicious and given its larger size the ratio of pastry to filling is definitely in favour of the luscious, stretchy cheese and vegetable filling.
Along with the empanadas they bring warm bread, four small bread rolls per cluster with a salsa, chimichurri, flaked salt and olive oil that they pour with ceremony at the table. The vegetables arrive before the steak. As it is Autumn or Fall there's grilled pumpkins on the menu but of course we have to go with the classic mashed potato and French fries.
I love mashed potato and steak and this is nice although it was less buttery than I was expecting as the Jersey butter was specifically mentioned.
Out of the mash or the fries, the fries hot the spot. They've golden crunchy, well seasoned, piping hot (as requested) and absolutely moreish.
The heirloom tomatoes are cut into chunks and served with the crispiest greens, thinly sliced white onions and a simple vinaigrette. It's just what you need to pair with steak and fries.
But back to the main event: the steak arrives shortly after the vegetables hit the table. Each steak is liberally seasoned with salt before having its time on the grill. We order the three of the most popular cuts that are a mix of fatty and lean. They're all sold by weight with prices on the menu per kilo but the sizes are just a rough guide and we end up with around 1kg/2.2lbs of steak for each cut. Our waiter polishes the wooden table in preparation for the steaks arrival and changes cutlery and brings over plates. "Watch out for the plates, they're hot," says out waiter before putting a finger to the plate and making a sizzling sound which quite frankly makes us all dissolve into giggles.
The first steak he cuts is the prime rib boneless steak or Bife de Chorizo Ancho, a luscious, fatty ringed steak cooked perfectly medium rare. The steak is cooked, rested and then sliced up and our waiter brings a slice to each person's plate. I got the last piece so that was quite a fatty piece but Ayana gave me some of her steak that was perfect as it was luscious without the ring of fat. I always order grass fed steak medium rare and both this wet aged and dry aged steak are very tender. Now if you absolutely love dry aged beef like I do, this does impact the resulting steak. I did enjoy it but to me, dry aged steak has a bit more of a beefy flavour to the meat.
Rump Steak/Bife de Cuadril $63420ARS/$113AUD/$74USD (centre) and Butterfly Sirloin Steak /Bife de chorizo mariposa $67040ARS/$119AUD/$78USD (right)
The rump steak is also cooked medium rare as requested and it is also delicious. I slightly preferred the Prime rib but if you like things a touch leaner then the rump steak might be your preference. The butterfly sirloin steak is cooked medium as a few at the table prefer their steak done that way. I liked the flavour of it but medium steak is never my preference as it just switches it from luscious to drier in texture. My favourite steak of the three is the Prime Rib Steak Boneless that is just so luscious and melts in the mouth with a good flavour profile to it and sharing the three steaks among the six of us is perfect in terms of quantity.
There is a dessert menu with fresh gelato and sorbet made daily. Kerrissa feels like trying the dulce de leche which I am keen to also try so we get a scoop of this that comes out perfectly formed orb in a beautiful bowl. It's a really pitch perfect rendition with the caramel taken dark so that it has a beautifully bitter edge to balance out the sweetness of this very memorable meal.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever been to Don Julio and if so, what did you think of the steak? Where is the most memorable steak that you've had?
This meal was independently paid for. NQN travelled to Buenos Aires as a guest of Qantas
Qantas
https://www.qantas.com/au/
Don Julio
Guatemala 4699, C1425 Cdad. Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Open 7 days: 11:30 am–4 pm, 7 pm–1 am
Phone: +54 11 4832-6058
https://www.parrilladonjulio.com/
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