Buenos Aires Foodie Adventure

Loved our walking tour with the fabulous Denis - just a bundle of energy and fun facts about Argentina, its food and people. A perfect way to spend our first night getting to know Argentina

Everyone in San Telmo seems to know Stan. Stan, in turn, seems to know everyone in San Telmo. So by the time we had followed him through the market, several eating places and more than a few cobbled streets, it felt less like taking a tour and more like being shown around his own back yard. We began at El Federal, one of Buenos Aires’s officially designated Bares Notables and a beautiful place to meet. Stan found us outside, brought us in and somehow turned a table of strangers into an exceptionally convivial group. Some credit belongs to the lovely people we were with, but plenty belongs to him: he got everyone talking naturally, kept the humour moving and had the rare ability to sew a group together without showing the stitches. The first beer arrived with a substantial tortilla de papas. This is where a warning becomes necessary: do not mistake this for one of those food tours where you collect a toothpick-sized sample at each stop. This is a walking lunch—a large, leisurely meal spread across several addresses, with San Telmo’s history, stories and streets between courses. Arrive hungry. Stan was knowledgeable and, just as importantly, audible. His clear, carrying voice meant that even while walking through noisy streets, nobody at the back lost the thread or felt they were receiving the economy version of the tour. In the Mercado de San Telmo, he threaded us through the narrow aisles, pointing out things we would otherwise have walked straight past. Shopkeepers greeted him and conversations sprang up wherever we stopped. We sampled dulce de leche and alfajores, which I can only describe to a British audience as vastly superior relatives of the Wagon Wheel. At El Refuerzo, a wonderfully atmospheric bodegón crowded with vintage advertising, old bottles, photographs and assorted bar-room ephemera, we shared provoleta with vegetables and a hearty chorizo stew. Red wine came with soda from a siphon. Stan carefully explained how to operate it, which was useful, although faintly distressing for those of us old enough to remember when soda siphons were household objects rather than historical curiosities. The streets supplied their own unscheduled entertainment. At one point we stopped simply to listen to a man playing the double bass. There was another small market, more wandering and, somehow, room at the end for ice cream. The food was generous, the history engaging and the company tremendous. But the defining pleasure was that sense of being welcomed into somebody else’s patch and introduced properly. Everyone knows Stan, and Stan knows San Telmo. And for three and a half very wonderful hours, we felt as though we did too.

Stan was exceptional and Sherpa Food Tours. Great food and drink and chat. History of the country, the food and drink scene. Terrific

Stan was a fabulous tour guide. The food was excellent and Stan was great

Stan was an excellent guide! Highly recommend!