Food & Cuisine in Puerto Iguazu

Food info sections | Eating locally

Fertile land fed by rivers, cultural influences from its own fascinating past and a tri-border location have made Puerto Iguazu cuisine exotic, complete with rare vegetables, fascinating fruits and eclectic herbs. Its cuisine is a grand affair - an eclectic mix of local Spanish and Guarani as well as international influences. Restaurants Here pastas and pizzas; salmon and trout; and rump steak, flanks and loin are as popular as some of its indigenous crops, which have been cultivated in the region for a thousand years.

Restaurants serving good Argentinean fare, including grilled meats and barbecues, are tourist favourites, but you can also find different varieties of cuisines in Puerto Iguazu, as well as regular pizzas and beer. 

Use our Puerto Iguazu Restaurant Guide for ideas on where to eat whilst in Puerto Iguazu and also what to order. The great local restaurants make a great place to relax after a busy day of exploring Iguazu National Park or shopping in Puerto Iguazu. Be sure to also check out our Argentina Restaurant Guide for information about cuisine in other parts of the country.

Food & Cuisine in Puerto Iguazu

To entertain its visitors, Puerto Iguazu restaurants offer live music and tango, reminiscent of the traditional success of contemporary musicians Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzola. Dancers show their skillful steps to complement the fine music. Talking to the waiters about the masters of tango can yield good laughs and a lesson in how to appreciate the popular culture of Argentina. They will speak convinced that the music of Gardel, dead for almost 70 years, 'is getting better'.

Fruit & Vegetables

Prominent among the local fruit and vegetables are - batata (the sweet potato or yam), which is grilled or roasted; the mandioca, referred to in English as cassava, manioc or tapioca. This vegetable is a substitute for potato and is usually fried for chips and crisps (known locally as mandiocas fritas); its flour is used in baking cakes or bread. Passion fruit, known locally as (maracuyá), is used widely for making desserts, especially chocolate based sauces, mousses and cakes. Fruit salads (ensaladas de fruta) are very popular here.

Fruits like avocado, papayas, mangoes, kumquats, pineapples, bananas and the maracuyá (passion fruit) found in abundance are fairly inexpensive.

Regional Favourites

Fresh water fish is found in abundance in the rivers of Iguazú and Paraná. Surubí, a local favourite here is an expensive item in restaurants in Puerto Iguazu. For those wanting to try something unique there is pacú, belonging to the family of the man-eating piranha.

The sopa paraguaya, which translates to ‘paraguayan soup', is delectable moist cornbread, which contains milk, eggs, onions, cheese and cassava flour.

Chipás are a much-loved mid-morning snack also often served in the afternoons. It is prepared with cassava flour and cheese and made into long or ring-shaped bread rolls, which retain the moisture inside. Chipás go well with marmalade, jam, tea, coffee or the local maté.

The conventional Sunday meal here is a grand affair. The asado or parrillada makes the meal a true feast. Cow meat mainly and portions of pig, chicken or goat meat are cooked over an open flame or grill. The meat is garnished with the traditional chimichurri dressing made using oregano, parsley, paprika, garlic, olive oil, pepper and vinegar and served along with its fat on a hot plate. The rich red malbec wine from Mendoza is served with the meal.

Another traditional Argentinean item is the stuffed pastry known as the empanada. Stuffed with cheese, chicken, ham or beef, the Iguazu version of the item is smaller in size than standard empanadas.

Dessert brings you pancakes served with the dulce de leche, a rich caramel sauce used to prepare ice-cream, cakes and sweets. Also popular are alfajores, which are large cookies and the preferred choice for snacks between meals.

Drinks

In Puerto Iguazu the traditional hot drink maté is sipped through metal straws from a hollow gourd. It is preferable to opt for bottled mineral water (known locally, agua mineral) like Eco, Villa del Sur, Villavicencio, Nestlé's Pureza Vital and Coca-Cola's Dasani.

Blessed with a rich subtropical rainforest, the region is home to some of the best wine producing belts like Mendoza and Cafayate. Popular varieties from these vineyards are - the rich Malbec, a red wine prepared with soft and juicy grapes, which is less tannic compared to the French varieties; fine white-wine brands like torrontés, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and semillón; red wines like the merlot, syrah (also called shiraz) and cabernet sauvignon; and brands like the Trapiche, Etchart and Norton which are also found in Buenos Aires. These apart, local markets are flooded with favourites like Brahma, Isenbeck, Patagonia and the Quilmes, which are varieties of beer; and digestifs like Gancia and Fernet Branca.

Where to Eat

The 'El Fortín' is in the city of Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. It is a rustic restaurant, specializing in Parrillada, typical dish of Argentina. Buffett owns with seven kinds of salads, accompaniments, Argentine wines and the dessert buffet.

The 'Quincho Del Tio Querido' is a tradition in restaurants in the Argentina, is more than 20 years. There is at the center of Puerto Iguazu, near from Foz do Iguacu. Entries, salads, fish and Argentina's most famous plate: steak of chorizo are some of the options of the menu of Uncle Honey, apart from nice live.

The restaurant 'La Selva' is located in the center of visitors to the Iguazu National Park in Argentina. The menu is varied: barbecue with a variety of meat, and free buffet of hot dishes, cold, salads, pasta and desserts. Pick closed user groups with reservations. 

Nightlife

For those who prefer a more hectic night, Puerto Iguazú offers three good options - The 'La Barranca', the 'Cuba Libre' and 'Native' - which play international dance hits to electronic music with Latin rhythms.

Alternatively, you can cross the border to the Brazilian city 'Foz do Iguaçu', which only takes about 20 minutes. At its centre is numerous bars and restaurants lined up to please different tastes. You will also find exotic night clubs.

Without a similar attraction in Brazil, the 'Casino Iguazú' is a good alternative to finishing off the night on Argentine territory. It matches the class of the big's casinos of the world, in a tropical South America way. The high standard of service is its main feature, and there are 200 slots machines, 20 roulettes, point and banking, letter seven, blackjack, home exchange, and a restaurant. The casino is open to the public daily, including holidays, from 18 to 5 o'clock. Minors are prohibited. Beside the house of games, there is also a luxury hotel for those who wish to stay.