Plaza Dorrego Bar in Buenos Aires.

Plaza Dorrego Bar in the San Telmo district in Buenos Aires is one of the most famous bars in the city. On a recent visit to Buenos Aires I popped inside to have a look and see what makes this place so popular.

Dorrego bar is situated on the ground floor of a historical building that was built-in the Italian architectural style in 1880. Back in the day it hosted a typical grocer store where alcoholic beverages were served. It was known as Almacen de Besio after the name of the owner. Over the years the place have changed owners and names but the unique thing is that the bar remained.

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A very interesting bar with a lot of history.

The first thing that I have noticed was the huge wooden counter and a very friendly man behind it. There were a lot of people inside but I managed to get a table close to the window. There are beautiful black and white photos on the walls and the place has a special charm. When you look closely at the decorations you will notice an old espresso coffee machine and several drawers of wood and glass, where they used to store items such as coffee,tea and mate. On one of the walls, is a memorable photo taken in the 1970`s, when Jorge Luis Borges and Ernesto Sabato met here for a cup of coffee.

I don’t like it when people write on wood and I noticed that the beautiful wooden counter and tables decorated with carved names and messages. Messages vary from love notes to soccer fanatics who have expressed their opinions about their favourite club. Maybe they decided to keep it like that because it forms part of the history of this cozy bar.

Generations of silversmiths worked from this building.

The building also hosted generations of successful silversmiths from the Pallarols family. They were originally from Spain but came to Argentina at the beginning of the 19th century. A sixth generation silversmith called Juan Carlos still works from this same building today. He is world-famous and works with gems,silver,bronze and gold. Some of his famous customers include the late Princess Diana, Prince Felipe of Spain and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands.

Next time when you are in Buenos Aires and you are looking for a place to eat or to drink a cup of coffee, pay them a visit. I didn`t eat there but the coffee and service was great.