South America has two cities — Lima and Buenos Aires — that legitimately compete for the title of continent's best food city. Lima has ceviche, pisco, and two of the world's top 10 restaurants. Buenos Aires has steak, Malbec, and a cafe culture that channels Paris through an Argentine filter.
I've spent meaningful time eating my way through both. Here's the head-to-head.
Lima's cuisine is defined by fusion — indigenous Peruvian ingredients (aji peppers, lucuma, quinoa) mixed with Japanese (Nikkei cuisine), Chinese (Chifa), Italian, and Spanish influences. The result is one of the most complex food scenes in the world.
Ceviche is the foundation: raw fish, lime juice, aji amarillo, red onion. But Lima goes far beyond it. Anticuchos (beef heart skewers, $5-8 PEN) from street vendors. Lomo saltado (stir-fried beef with fries — the Chifa influence). Tiradito (Nikkei — sashimi-style fish with aji sauce). And the tasting menus at Central and Maido are legitimate pinnacles of global gastronomy.
Buenos Aires' food is defined by three things: beef, wine, and Italian influence (Argentina has the largest Italian diaspora outside Italy). Asado (grilled meat) is a religion. A parilla restaurant serves cuts of beef — entraña (skirt steak), ojo de bife (ribeye), vacio (flank) — grilled over open flames. Empanadas ($100-200 ARS each) are the perfect street food. And the Italian connection gives Buenos Aires exceptional pasta, pizza, and gelato.
| Category | Lima | Buenos Aires |
|---|---|---|
| Signature dish | Ceviche | Asado (grilled beef) |
| Signature drink | Pisco sour | Malbec wine |
| Fine dining | Central (#1 world), Maido (#5) | Don Julio (#14 world) |
| Street food | Anticuchos ($5-8 PEN) | Empanadas ($100-200 ARS) |
| Budget meal | Ceviche at Surquillo Market ($12-18 PEN) | Parrilla lunch ($3,000-5,000 ARS) |
Food verdict: Lima for complexity and innovation. Buenos Aires for primal satisfaction.
Lima is a Pacific coast city. Cliffs. Ocean. Garua fog from May through November. The Miraflores malecon has surfers and paragliders. Barranco has colonial colors and street art. The Historic Center has grand plazas and catacombs.
Buenos Aires is a European city in South America. Wide boulevards (Avenida 9 de Julio is the widest in the world — 14 lanes). Belle Epoque architecture. Tango halls. Outdoor cafe culture where people sit for hours over a single coffee.
Atmosphere verdict: Buenos Aires for romance and architecture. Lima for coastal drama.
Both cities are affordable by international standards, but Argentina's currency situation makes Buenos Aires extraordinarily cheap for visitors who bring US dollars in cash and use the "blue dollar" parallel exchange rate (30-50% better than official bank rates).
| Expense | Lima | Buenos Aires |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-range dinner | $30-60 PEN ($8-16 USD) | $8,000-15,000 ARS ($9-18 USD at blue rate) |
| Hotel (mid-range) | $200-400 PEN ($55-110 USD) | $30,000-60,000 ARS ($35-70 USD at blue rate) |
| Museum | $15-30 PEN ($4-8 USD) | Often free |
| Wine/beer | $15-25 PEN ($4-7 USD) | $2,000-4,000 ARS ($2-5 USD) |
Budget verdict: Buenos Aires at the blue rate is cheaper. Lima is great value regardless of exchange rate games.
Lima: No functional tourist metro. Uber, Beat, and inDrive are essential. Traffic is chaotic. A ride from Miraflores to Barranco: $8-12 PEN. To the Historic Center: $15-25 PEN.
Buenos Aires: Excellent Subte (metro), $160 ARS per ride. Covers most tourist areas. Walking is easy — the city is flat and gridded. Uber works despite technically operating in a legal grey area.
Transport verdict: Buenos Aires.
Lima: Stay in Miraflores or Barranco. Both are safe day and night. The Historic Center is fine by day but use taxis after dark. Keep phones in pockets.
Buenos Aires: San Telmo, Palermo, Recoleta, and Belgrano are safe. Watch for petty theft in La Boca (tourist area) and Retiro bus station area. Both cities are manageable with standard precautions.
Safety verdict: Roughly equal. Both require awareness, neither is dangerous in tourist zones.
Choose Lima if you:
Choose Buenos Aires if you:
Lima's nightlife centers on Barranco. Ayahuasca Bar in a restored mansion ($25-35 PEN cocktails), penas with live Peruvian folk music ($20-30 PEN cover), and late-night ceviche (wait — no, ceviche is lunch only). The scene peaks Thursday through Saturday. It's intimate, artsy, and manageable.
Buenos Aires has one of the world's great nightlife cultures. Tango shows in San Telmo ($50-100 USD for dinner shows at Cafe Tortoni or El Viejo Almacen). The Palermo and San Telmo bar scenes run until 4-5AM. And milongas — traditional tango dance halls — are open most nights for $1,000-3,000 ARS, where you can watch (or try) social tango.
Nightlife verdict: Buenos Aires for sheer energy and tango. Lima for intimate bohemian evenings.
Lima has paragliding off Miraflores cliffs ($80-120 USD), pre-Incan pyramid visits in the middle of neighborhoods (Huaca Pucllana, $15 PEN night tour), and cooking classes focused on ceviche and Peruvian cuisine ($60-120 USD).
Buenos Aires has tango lessons ($20-40 USD for group classes), asado cooking experiences at estancias, and the stunning Recoleta Cemetery (free — where Evita Peron is buried, among ornate mausoleums that are works of art).
Unique experiences verdict: Both offer things you can't get anywhere else. Pick your passion.
Or do both. They're a 3.5-hour flight apart. And eating your way across both cities in one trip is the kind of culinary marathon that South America was made for. For more on Lima, read our complete Lima guide. If Patagonia is on your radar from Buenos Aires, read our Patagonia trekking journal.
