“So you live in Chacarita? That’s a cool neighborhood to be in!”

The buzz on the ‘Little Farm’ started out as a faint hum a decade ago. Now, Chacarita has become such a hive of activity that it’s leading Buenos Aires’ eating and drinking scene. In the 12 years I’ve lived in the ‘hood, plenty has come and some have gone, but many establishments that set up shop in this low-rise residential barrio have flourished. 

I first set foot in Chacarita to pick up gig tickets. As a writer on the entertainment desk of this publication in 2008, I took the B line early one spring morning to Dorrego station, and walked several eerily peaceful cobbled street blocks to a curious building, a former textiles factory where, more curiously, I live today. Winding through the labyrinth of hospital-like corridors, I rang the designated doorbell, stated my name and received an envelope with the tickets inside. I scarpered back to the safety of San Telmo and thought no more of Chacarita until I moved there four years later. 

At that time, El Galpón was causing a foodie furor, an organic market operating out of a converted railway warehouse next to Lacroze station, its vegetable patch giving a new lease of life to disused tracks. The twice-weekly market was the place to pick up fresh milk in glass bottles, free-range eggs and dewy lettuces — a pioneer for the time. Across the street is the legendary pizza palace El Imperio, whose lactose-loaded slices have been fuelling late-night and early-morning workers since 1947.

Besides going to a notorious Halloween party near the cemetery, for a while I didn’t have much reason to return to Chacarita. Not much went on for eaters and drinkers beyond gooey slices. Then, in 2018, Vermutería La Fuerza lifted the metal blind bearing a mural of the film El secreto de sus ojos. The vermouth bar kickstarted a scene. It was evenly matched by worthy neighbor Falena, a gorgeous bookstore tucked away behind closed doors, serving decent caffeine and charcuterie platters. Suddenly there were more reasons to come to Chacarita — and Chacarita reached critical mass for the next phase in Buenos Aires’ foodie scene. 

From Palermo Soho and Palermo Hollywood to Palermo Pacífico, we’ve been talking about various Palermo sub-divisions forever. Yet, none of them have really embraced a particular movement as well as Chacarita. Its location is simply perfect. To the south is Villa Crespo, the artsy barrio that, food-wise, has never truly flourished as expected. Due east is lady-in-waiting Colegiales. But as fresh and unexplored territory in Palermo Hollywood’s immediate orbit, its geography has propelled Chacarita forward to create an unprecedented indie food and drink scene, easily absorbing the overspill. It used to be cool to say you were going out in Palermo Hollywood. Now those establishments in the audiovisual district liberally move the geographical boundaries to their benefit. 

You might not have had a good pandemic but Chacarita did, thanks to a flurry of openings from wine bars serving food, to bistros, cafés and cocktail bars. Downsizing physical space became a trend, as did quitting the hardcore 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. gastro shift. The next generation took matters into its own hands to create an independent food and drink scene out of necessity (as usual in Argentina). Naranjo overhauled a toilet bowl warehouse, for example, and now it’s one of the city’s darling wine bars. 

South-east Asian flavors? Apu Nena’s kitchen counter serves up adobo tacos and kinilaw. Specialist coffee? There’s easily a dozen within a four-block radius of my house, including hipster haunt and one of the city’s most renowned roasters, Cuervo, and recent openings Hobby and Jungla. Fan of fungi? Book a table at Donnet. 

Snappy menu for a working lunch? Alegra or Picarón. Vegan pasta with cashew sauce to prepare at home? Step forward female-led Tita la vedette. Dinner at a Michelin Green Star restaurant? Try your best to get a reservation at Anchoita. Got a yen for omakase paired with a vinyl soundtrack? Book a spot at Yakanilo’s kitchen counter for 10, a 2024 recent opening. 

Espresso Martini or another cocktail? Stop by Sofá – un bar, teeny tiny Dimi, or glamorous Punto Mona. Choose churros? Churros Olleros has been serving Chacarita since 1963. Need a gelato fix? Lose yourself in the Bermuda Triangle of ice-cream parlors Scannapieco, Occo and Pistachio. And on the border with Colegiales is Rondinella, the classic bodegón serving such well-priced steak, chips, pasta and minutas the vast dining room is packed. I could continue. 

We’ve lost a few too: Marte is now a butcher while Ulúa taco joint is now Pizzeria Culpina. But Chacarita is ticking all the boxes, and these hot spots that have sprung up are within walking distance of my flat.

And if it’s live music you want, two venues regularly host a crop of homegrown artists such as Conociendo Rusia as well as international stars: Lenny Kravitz adorned the same Movistar Arena stage as the porteño artist last weekend. My, how our little farm has flourished!

Of course, there’s the gentrification downside, history in the form of 100-year-old beveled corner properties demolished to make way for identikit apartment blocks. And perhaps there are too many coffee shops serving avocado on sourdough toast… A New York Times writer roved Chacatown some months ago, although it was limited to a sojourn down Avenida Newbery judging by the stops they made. But of course, it’s good for business, and in complex economic times, it’s all you and I can wish for for Chacarita’s brave indie purveyors. As for the ‘new’ Chacarita, La Paternal is a natural suitor for the forthcoming overflow.

Cover image photos, from left to right: La Fuerza, credit: La Fuerza/Sebastián Pani; Picarón, credit: Diana Mejías; Imperio Pizzería, credit: Buenos Aires City Government