Restaurant in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Book it. Nothing else in BA does this.
Mishiguene is Buenos Aires's only serious restaurant built around Argentinian-Jewish and Middle Eastern culinary traditions, with Michelin Plate recognition and an OAD Top 30 South America ranking. At $$$ for dinner service, it offers something no steakhouse or modern Argentinian tasting room does. Book two to three weeks ahead — weeknight tables are easier to land than weekends.
Mishiguene operates dinner-only, seven nights a week, from 7 pm to midnight — and at $$$ pricing in Buenos Aires, it is already one of the harder evening reservations to land in Palermo. If you are planning a trip around a meal here, book at least two to three weeks ahead. The restaurant's recognition is accelerating: a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, a 2025 La Liste score of 82.5 points, and a #26 ranking on Opinionated About Dining's South America list. That combination of critical momentum and a single nightly service window means availability compresses quickly around weekends and Argentine public holidays.
The name means 'crazy' in Yiddish, and the concept is genuinely hard to find elsewhere in South America. Chef Tomás Kalika built Mishiguene around Argentina's Jewish immigrant heritage, reworking Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Israeli, and Middle Eastern culinary traditions through a modern Buenos Aires lens. This is not a deli, not a falafel counter, and not a fusion restaurant in the diluted sense. It is a full-service, award-tracked dinner destination that treats the food traditions of Jewish diaspora communities as serious culinary material — the same way [Atomix in New York City](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/atomix) treats Korean culinary heritage: with precision, investment, and a clear authorial voice.
The dining room at Lafinur 3368 in Palermo runs at a scale that feels considered rather than expansive. The spatial experience is warm and relatively intimate , this is not a cavernous steakhouse or a modernist tasting-room bunker. Seating is structured for convivial dining: the room works well for couples and small groups of three or four, and the energy tends toward animated without becoming loud in the early part of the evening. Arriving at 7 pm gives you the full room at its most comfortable; by 9 pm the atmosphere intensifies. For food-focused diners who want to concentrate on what is on the plate, an early booking is the better call.
Given the PEA-R-11 framing of lunch versus dinner, the short answer here is: there is no lunch. Mishiguene runs one service, starting at 7 pm. So the comparison is not between two meal periods , it is between booking an early table versus arriving late. The distinction matters. Early evening at Mishiguene gives you a quieter room, more attentive pacing, and a better overall experience of the food. Later tables, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, sit inside a livelier dining room that suits a celebration but is less ideal for the kind of focused eating this kitchen deserves.
At $$$ per head, Mishiguene sits in a competitive middle tier for Buenos Aires fine dining. It is priced below [Aramburu](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/aramburu-buenos-aires-restaurant), which operates at $$$$ with a full tasting menu format, and roughly level with [Elena](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/crizia-buenos-aires-restaurant) in the steakhouse-adjacent tier. But Mishiguene offers something neither of those restaurants does: a cuisine category that has almost no direct competition in this city. If you are visiting Buenos Aires specifically to eat across the widest range of serious restaurants, Mishiguene is not redundant with any other booking on your list. It is the only restaurant in the city doing this at this level.
Mishiguene is a strong choice for food-focused travellers who want to move beyond the asado circuit without abandoning the idea that a Buenos Aires dinner should feel distinctly Argentine. The kitchen's grounding in local Jewish immigrant history gives it a specificity that generic 'modern South American' restaurants rarely achieve. Compared to the broader Buenos Aires scene , see our [full Buenos Aires restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/buenos-aires) for context , Mishiguene occupies a genuinely distinct position.
It is less suited to groups who want a traditional Argentinian steakhouse experience. For that, [Don Julio](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/don-julio-buenos-aires-restaurant) or [La Carniceria](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-carniceria) are the better calls. And if your priority is tasting-menu format with modernist Argentinian technique, [Aramburu](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/aramburu-buenos-aires-restaurant) or [Trescha](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/trescha-buenos-aires-restaurant) should be on your list first. Mishiguene works leading when you go in specifically for what it does , not as a backup option or a wild card pick.
Solo diners should note that the room is not bar-forward in the way some Buenos Aires restaurants are. Seating is primarily table-based, so solo dining is possible but feels more natural at smaller tables; confirm availability when booking. Groups of five or more should enquire directly about configuration , the room's intimate scale means larger parties need advance coordination. For broader Buenos Aires trip planning across hotels, bars, and experiences, see our [Buenos Aires hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/buenos-aires), [Buenos Aires bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/buenos-aires), and [Buenos Aires experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/buenos-aires).
| Detail | Mishiguene | Aramburu | Don Julio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | $$$ | $$$$ | $$$$ |
| Cuisine | Argentinian-Jewish / Israeli | Modern Argentinian | Argentinian Steakhouse |
| Service hours | Dinner only, 7 pm–12 am | Dinner only | Lunch and dinner |
| Booking difficulty | Moderate (2–3 weeks out) | High (book early) | High (weeks in advance) |
| Awards | Michelin Plate, La Liste, OAD | Michelin-listed | Michelin Plate, La Liste |
| Leading for | Food explorers, couples | Tasting menu fans | Steakhouse, groups |
Mishiguene is open every day from 7 pm to midnight, which gives you flexibility across the week. Weeknight tables , Tuesday through Thursday , are meaningfully easier to secure than weekend slots. Book two to three weeks ahead for a standard weeknight table; for Friday or Saturday, push that to four weeks or further if your travel dates are fixed. No phone number is listed in our database; check the restaurant's own website or use a third-party reservation platform to confirm current booking methods. Arriving on time for an early table gives you the leading experience this kitchen offers.
For more context on dining across Argentina, explore our guides to [Azafrán in Mendoza](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/azafrn-mendoza-restaurant), [Awasi Iguazu in Puerto Iguazu](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/awasi-iguazu-puerto-iguazu-restaurant), [Cavas Wine Lodge in Alto Agrelo](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/cavas-wine-lodge-alto-agrelo-restaurant), [EOLO in El Calafate](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/eolo-patagonias-spirit-el-calafate-santa-cruz-restaurant), and [La Bamba de Areco](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/la-bamba-de-areco-san-antonio-de-areco-restaurant).
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mishiguene | La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 78pts; Chef: Tomas Kalika document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { var el = document.getElementById("Achievements_chefs"); if (el && el.parentNode) { el.parentNode.removeChild(el); } });; Michelin Plate (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in South America Ranked #26 (2025); La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 82.5pts; Mishiguene, which means 'crazy' in Yiddish, honors Argentina's Jewish immigrant heritage by reinventing Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Israeli, and Middle Eastern cuisine. Chef Tomás Kalika tells a very personal story through dishes that blend tradition with modern techniques, creating a unique and vibrant culinary experience.; Michelin Plate (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in South America Ranked #34 (2024) | $$$ | — |
| Don Julio | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | $$$$ | — |
| Aramburu | Michelin 2 Star | $$$$ | — |
| El Preferido de Palermo | World's 50 Best | $$ | — |
| Elena | $$$ | — | |
| La Carniceria | $$ | — |
How Mishiguene stacks up against the competition.
Mishiguene runs dinner-only, seven nights a week from 7 pm to midnight — there is no lunch service, so plan accordingly. The kitchen draws on Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Israeli, and Middle Eastern traditions through a distinctly Argentine lens, which means the menu reads nothing like a standard Buenos Aires restaurant. At $$$ pricing with a Michelin Plate and an OAD Top 26 South America ranking, this is a food-focused booking rather than a casual night out.
Yes, provided you are comfortable with a dinner-format restaurant at $$$ per head. The concept rewards attention — Chef Tomás Kalika's cooking is detail-driven, and the Yiddish-rooted menu gives solo diners plenty to think about between courses. Book a weeknight table Tuesday through Thursday for the easiest reservation.
Specific menu items are not documented here, so ordering advice would be speculative. What is documented: the kitchen works across Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Israeli, and Middle Eastern traditions, so the range is wider than a single-cuisine restaurant. Ask the floor team for current recommendations when you arrive — at this price point, they will know the menu well.
Whether a tasting menu is offered is not confirmed in available data, so this cannot be answered definitively. What is clear: at $$$ pricing with OAD South America Top 26 recognition and a Michelin Plate, the kitchen is operating at a level where a chef-driven format would make sense. Confirm the current menu format directly when booking.
At $$$ in Buenos Aires, Mishiguene sits at the higher end of the local market — but the concept has no direct equivalent in the city. The OAD South America Top 26 ranking and consecutive Michelin Plates (2024, 2025) back up the price. If you want something beyond the asado circuit, this is one of the clearer cases for spending up.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in available data. check the venue's official channels at Lafinur 3368 to ask about counter or bar options before your visit, particularly if you are dining solo or on short notice.
Group-specific policies are not documented here. Given the $$$ price point and the restaurant's recognition on international lists, larger group bookings would likely need advance coordination. Contact Mishiguene directly at Lafinur 3368, Buenos Aires, to confirm capacity and any group dining arrangements.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
