4 Best Restaurants in Patagonia, Argentina

Entering this café on the waterfront puts you in mind of a general store from the earliest frontier years of Ushuaia, which is why locals call it the viejo almacén (old grocery store). Burgers and picada platters are uninspiring; choose fresh-baked bread or scrumptious lemon croissants instead, and try the submarino—a mug of hot milk in which you plunge a bar of dark chocolate (goes well with a panini). As you walk from room to room admiring the relics (like the hand-cranked Victrola phonograph), the hubbub around the bar reminds you that a warehouse like this was not just a store to pick up supplies; it was also a place for isolated pioneers to socialize and gather all the latest news from the port.

Legend has it that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid once stayed here—search long enough and you might find them among the old photos cluttering the walls. This cavernous old confitería (café) was founded in 1895, and became Chubut's first hotel in 1926. The hotel's rooms are too shabby to recommend, but a toasted sandwich and a coffee or beer here is tantamount to a trip back in time.