Part bakery, part tea importer, part gourmet shop, El Gato Negro has been a Corrientes fixture since 1928, serving porteños who remember when the neighborhood was the center of intellectual life. The front half sells imported teas, chocolates, candies, and baked goods; the back half is a simple cafe with marble tables and bentwood chairs where you can sample everything. The medialunas are among the city's best—flaky, buttery, just sweet enough. The alfajores are made on-site, and the selection of imported cookies and sweets is dizzying. Service is old-school formal, the clientele skews older, and the prices are modest. It's a time capsule, operating largely unchanged for nearly a century.
Location
Microcentro, Buenos Aires
Map
Insider Intel
Medialunas—regular or de manteca—with a cortado. Pick up a box of alfajores to take away. If you're a tea drinker, browse their impressive selection of imported loose-leaf.
Mid-morning when locals stop by for coffee and pastries. The shop is busy but not hectic. Avoid lunch rush when the cafe fills with office workers.
Two sections: shop for takeaway, cafe for sit-down service. Cash preferred but cards accepted. Staff is formal and efficient. The shop side is great for edible souvenirs. Closed Sundays.