Cabaña Las Lilas

There are restaurants you visit and restaurants you return to. Cabaña Las Lilas is, after one quiet Sunday in Buenos Aires, very much the second kind.

The room is exactly what you want it to be: polished tourist temple, but the beef holds up. We were seated near the back, given menus we hardly needed, and brought a small bowl of olives without being asked.

We started with a small dish of marinated white anchovies, which set the tone — generous, unfussy, and confident enough not to crowd what was coming. With it we ordered a glass of port to finish, and then another, and were glad of both.

Then the main event: bife de lomo, the dish that puts Cabaña Las Lilas on every short list. The seasoning was simple — salt, pepper, restraint — and it was the right call. The signature touch — Puerto Madero waterfront views and confident service — is not a gimmick; it is the reason to come.

For sides we asked for buttered haricots verts and creamed spinach so rich it should embarrass us. Both arrived hot, both arrived early, both were exactly large enough to overdo it. We overdid it.

Dessert was key lime pie, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

If you are passing through Buenos Aires, do not pass Cabaña Las Lilas by.