El Imparcial, Spanish restaurant in Monserrat district, Buenos Aires, Argentina
El Imparcial is a Spanish restaurant in the Monserrat neighborhood of Buenos Aires, serving seafood, meats, and regional dishes rooted in Spanish cooking. The space is divided into several dining rooms spread across a historic building, giving it the feel of a large, multi-room tavern.
The restaurant opened in 1860, making it one of the oldest eating establishments in Buenos Aires still in operation. It has stayed open continuously near the National Congress building, surviving the many changes the surrounding neighborhood went through over the centuries.
El Imparcial reflects the wave of Spanish immigration that shaped Buenos Aires cooking, and you can taste that connection in dishes like octopus or rice with seafood. The dining rooms have a lived-in feel, with regulars and tourists sitting side by side in a space that has not changed its identity over the decades.
The restaurant is open in the evenings and stays open later on Fridays and Saturdays, so it suits both early and late diners. Booking ahead is a good idea, especially on weekends, as the dining rooms tend to fill up.
The building still holds original architectural details from the 19th century that were in place when the restaurant first opened, from the ceiling moldings to the tiled floors. Dining there means eating inside a space that has looked roughly the same for well over a century.
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