El Banco Rojo — Restaurant in Autonomous City of Buenos Aires

July 2018 Update:

Now that everything on the menu except an empanada is over 100 pesos, time for a revisit.

I've been here several times since the last review because it's still a reliably good place to bring visitors who want something fresh, inexpensive, and not classical Argentine.

But the usual inconsistencies keep me from ever bumping the rating up.

I had a Burger of the Week on the last visit: "cheddar," bourbon-pancetta jam, sriracha mayo. Good flavors, especially the spicy mayo, and a good, if not great burger. Pink in the middle and moderately juicy, it was too dense for me. Beautiful bun, slightly sweet, but gommy. After holding the burger a bit the bun basically smashed into a smaller, sticky, gummy disk and just didn't work well texturally with the rest of the burger. I used to catch fish as a kid by spitting on a wad of white bread, rolling it into a ball, and slipping it on a hook. Sometimes I'd eat it. That's what it reminded me of. Ew.

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned they can leave the fries off the plate. Back in the day I seem to remember midwestern-style fries: potato rounds fried on a grill with onions and I loved them. It's still rounds but pre-fried way ahead of time and reheated, or not. Not in my case. They were chewy and cool. Blech. Does anyone make good fries in this town?

My one friend's chicken in a pita was gigantic and much more successful. Same crappy fries, though. His wife's Big Harvey was great, as always, although I've always thought the dish would be made a lot better with some char on those shrimp.

October 2016 Update:

Although I still think this is the best and most fun cheap-eats place in San Telmo, and it's certainly the most popular, not everything here is great, owing mostly to having to cater to the teenage palette of most Argentines: not too much flavor, please; make sweet sauces even sweeter; mediocre bread products; and for goodness sake, hold the picante.

Best bets: Burgers, Big Harvey, Falafel dishes (although it's fresh, it's the soft, Israeli style, not the crispy Lebanese style), tacos (flavorful, even though they're inauthentically served in a toasted flour tortilla), BBQ pork (huge, but still too sweet sauce and very little smoke).

Avoid: Philly Cheese Steak. Chewy chunks of meat, not thinly sliced, and bland cheese. Among the smaller plates in the joint. Americans, this won't remind you of home.

El banco rojo is thankfully, finally a sit-down place, easily quadruple the size of the old hole in the wall, with a pleasant terrace. The craft beer on tap is welcome but wow, I'm still shocked at how much we pay for decent beer in Argentina.

I'm gonna have to try the wings someday, but not gonna hold my breath...

I would have given 0 stars if I could have. We standed there for more than 40 minutes and asked twice if we could order for take-away. They said no, but they never mentioned we needed to put our name on the list until finally a vacant seat came up and we were now ready to sit on it. Sooooo ruuuuude!!!!

I have read a review that they are rude and discriminate asian. I CERTAINTLY FELT THE VIBE.

I WOULD HAVE PROTESTED IF THEY WERE NORTH AMERICANs.. BUT... well.. what do you expect from a country like this.. I've been to Bolivia and Peru.. and Chile.. Even Chile was nicer than this.. So... now my worst country is Argentina...

I would have used the f...

Best burger in Buenos Aires!!! I come here often and always order the LB burger with an egg—It is absolutely delicious! The beer is always served to the top of the glass, good quality and cold. The environment is relaxed, warm, friendly. Great place to get into a nice conversation. Music is good. Service is friendly. They even have good quality wifi! You can come here during the week for the burger + pint of beer deal for 2100... Really an amazing deal for such high quality! Or come on the weekend and you are right in the center of San Telmo for your weekend market experience.

I adore this place; hope it's open...