Merienda: Afternoon Tea for two in Buenos Aires, Argentina

One of favorite meals in Buenos Aires is Merienda (afternoon tea) which we frequently have in our neighborhood of Recoleta. After trying several spots, our favorite restaurant in Recoleta is La Biela where is has a classic atmosphere, quality food and drinks and touch of elegance. Come join us as we sample Argentine sandwiches, pastries, cakes and coffee.
Merienda: Afternoon Tea for two in Buenos Aires, Argentina Travel Video Transcript:
So it is five PM here in Buenos Aires which means it is tea time or as we call it here it is Merienda time. So, we're at a little place called La Biela. This is a really famous cafe across from the Recoleta Cemetery. We've got a table, we've ordered our food.
And a special surprise should be coming. I'm not going to tell you what Merienda consists of until it gets here.
So apparently this place used to be a really popular hangout with race car drivers and celebrities who are into racing back in the 30's. So you can kind of get a feel for that in the decor. They have a lot of dated cars and tools on the walls. And you can even see that on the napkin. They've got like a little race car. Look at that fancy napkin. Some tools. La Biela. Fancy. And apparently La Biela is the name of a tool that you use to work on cars. So, yeah that is where it comes from.
So have a look over here. Um, this meal that we ordered it comes with two croissants. So we'll be sharing those. These are called medialunas. And they are sweet buttery media lunas. I love these. And it also comes with a tostado jamon y queso. Which is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Yeah, those are really good. We've been having a lot of those in Buenos Aires. Yeah, so super thin, lightly toasted. They are kind of your staple snack sandwich in Argentina, aren't they?
Oh yeah. That's good. Just a very thin layer of ham and cheese. Super light. Like I could probably eat ten of these I mean they are so thin and light. But yeah, good stuff.
So I guess technically we should be calling this coffee time not tea time. Because neither of us is having tea. Well, in Argentina - especially in Buenos Aires - coffee seems to be a bit more popular than tea.
And now we actually come to appreciate good quality coffee. It is funny.
And next up we have this sweet medialuna. Let me just break it in half so you can have a look in there. Look at how fluffy that is. Mmmm.
So good. So sweet. It has like a light coating, a light glaze on top which is just perfect. Very buttery, fluffy, light. I love these. Again, I could probably have like five, six or seven of these no problem.
And our order came with three different slices of pastries, cakes, pies, whatever you want to call it. Sweet treats.
So why don't we explain what there is. So this one here has chocolate and I think kind of a cracker filling with dulce de leche.
And over here we've got it appears to be like kind of a slice of apple pie. But what is cool about this pie is that it has like a white glaze. A glaze over top of it. Some extra sugar in there. No complaints about that.
And last but not least we have this. So that is called Pionono. It is a mini pionono. And it is kind of like a little roll with dulce de leche in the middle. Yeah, and anything with dulce de leche is a hit with us.
That is the definition of decadent. Yeah? Yeah. You know what, I don't know what we're going to do when we leave Argentina. Like when we can't get dulce de leche desserts anymore. I'm going to be very deprived and very sad boy. We'll have to stuff jars in our suitcases. That is what we'll do.
Okay, and now last but not least where is that pionono? Let's get a bite. Wow, you're really making me go on a roll here. No, help? I've had the croissants and I had the sandwich. Show us how it is done.
Alright.
Mmmmm.
Let's get a look at that. Come show us. There you go.
I was too busy biting into it. Yeah, let us appreciate the beauty. Anyway, again, dulce de leche layer upon layer. Swirling layers. It is good.
It is time to go now. Say bye Sam. Bye buddy. It has been a good experience. You do need to clean your teeth though. Yeah, he does. But anyways, let's talk about the price of that meal. Yeah, so it was just over 200 Pesos. So you're looking at roughly 13-14 US dollars. Fantastic value. All of the things we had were really high quality including the sandwich, the croissants, the cakes and all of the pastries. And good quality coffee on top that too. Everything was good. Everything was good. Come here.
This is part of our Travel in Argentina series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Argentine culture, Argentine cuisine, Argentine food, Argentinian food & Argentinian cuisine.
Proudly presented by: &
All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).
Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network