Restaurant Spotlight: BAGA
One of the most fun nights out in Buenos Aires that you can have.
Over the last few years, I have been several times to BAGA, located within the Palermo racetrack. This place is a must if you want to go to dinner and possibly to a bar or a club afterward. What is convenient is that you won’t need to go to a different location. Over a slow progression, the restaurant gradually turns into a nightclub, and suddenly, waiters are dancing on the tops of the tables. I suggest making a reservation for around 9:30 pm or 10 pm. The evening starts very low-key. You are in what seems to be a hip, trendy, fine-dining restaurant. The music gets gradually louder until you finally realize there is a DJ in the middle of the restaurant. At some point between 11:45 pm and 1 am, it turns into a full-on party. Whatever you do, don’t leave early!
[VIDEO: TF] A saxophone player entertains the crowd over house music from the DJ. This was around when the restaurant had heated up a bit but wasn’t a full-on disco yet:
This place is very tacky, so you have to go into it with a fun attitude as if you were in Las Vegas. It is excellent people-watching. You will likely encounter a few bachelorette parties, older men dressed in trendy clothes, and younger ladies with various cosmetic work. It is a place to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
What keeps BAGA from being full-on tacky is the high quality of their DJs. They aren’t spinning trendy, EDM-type electronic music or, worse, Reggaeton. Every time I have been, it has been well-selected house music with great energy build-ups into drops and seamless transitions. This will be mixed in with some classic rock-type songs when the waiters do some special type of act (usually involving bringing out shots of liquor for specific tables that ask for it.) Every once in a while, there might be a more aggressive dubstep-style song, but it is usually associated with a specific act performed by a waiter. These waiter performances happen around three times and last a few minutes. The rest of the time, people dance on their chairs, tables, and booths. The waiters will encourage this and get people up to dance.
[VIDEO: TF] Waiters performing a Guns N Roses themed bit for a bachelorette party:
[VIDEO: TF] A waiter dressed as the Joker sharing around a bottle. This type of music isn’t the norm:
The food was always good enough. But the kitchen was recently taken over by Dante Liporace, the chef behind Uptown, Trade Sky Bar, Mercado de Liniers and Airport Palermo. He was also the chef at the Casa Rosada under the Macri administration. I haven’t been yet, but I can only assume the gastronomic options are much better than before. But that isn’t the reason to come here.
[VIDEO] The restaurant after turning into a nightclub:
My suggestion: Go with some friends or a date who knows nothing about the restaurant. They will think it is just a hip, fancy, fine-dining restaurant. By the night's end, they will be dancing on top of the table!
BAGA
Hipódromo de Palermo, Av. del Libertador 4101
Open only on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Nights. 8:30 PM–2 AM.
Reservations are highly recommended.
Awesome! We really have to come back to BA