I’m going to admit it from the start: this article ruined my diet and my budget for the month.
For three weeks, I traveled across Buenos Aires trying the 15 most famous choripanes in the city. Legendary street carts, neighborhood parrillas, Instagram-famous spots, and chef-driven concepts. I spent $120,000 ARS (about $120 USD) on choripanes. I gained 4 pounds. And now I can tell you, with culinary authority and a fully expanded waistband, which one is the best.
But before the list, a disclaimer: this ranking is honest. I paid for every single choripán out of my own pocket. Nobody invited me. Nobody comped me. If a famous spot ended up last, it’s because it disappointed me. If a cart with no Instagram presence landed in the top 3, it’s because it crushed it.
Here we go. From #15 to #1.
How each choripán was scored
To make the ranking fair, I rated each choripán across 4 criteria, out of 10:
- Chorizo (40% weight): flavor, juiciness, seasoning, meat quality
- Bread (25% weight): crispy exterior, soft interior, freshness
- Chimichurri/sauces (20% weight): balance, herb freshness, not oily
- Experience (15% weight): serving temperature, service, atmosphere
Final score out of 10. Spots that served lukewarm food or stale bread lost automatic points.
#15 — La Cabrera (Palermo)
Price: $11,500 ARS (~$11.50 USD) Score: 6.2/10
Let’s start with an uncomfortable truth: La Cabrera is not for choripán. It’s one of the most famous parrillas in the world, its steaks are legendary, but its choripán is… correct. Nothing more.
The chorizo is well-made, the presentation is impeccable, the chimichurri is competent. But for $11,500 ARS, you expect magic. And this is just a well-executed choripán in an expensive place.
What it lacks: soul. You eat it and think “that was fine.” That, in a ranking of the 15 most famous, leaves you last.
Verdict: if you go to La Cabrera, order steak. Get your choripán somewhere else.
#14 — Don Julio (Palermo)
Price: $9,800 ARS (~$9.80 USD) Score: 6.8/10
Don Julio ranks among the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Its asado is religion. But its choripán appetizer, while well above average, doesn’t justify the price.
The chorizo comes from a small producer (excellent), the bread is good country-style bread, the chimichurri is elegant. But there’s something too refined about the whole thing. It’s missing the grease, the dripping, the imperfection that defines a choripán.
Pro tip: if you go to Don Julio, order the entraña (skirt steak), not the choripán.
#13 — Pony Line (Four Seasons, Recoleta)
Price: $12,000 ARS (~$12 USD) Score: 7.0/10
The most expensive choripán in the ranking. Is it worth $12,000 ARS? If you’re paying for the Four Seasons experience with craft cocktails, yes. If you just want a choripán, no.
The good: truffled chorizo, brioche bun, chimichurri with mint. It’s a genuine gourmet choripán.
The bad: you forget it’s a choripán. It’s something else. A good something else, but not what you came looking for if you Googled “choripán Buenos Aires.”
#12 — El Boliche de Roberto (San Telmo)
Price: $5,800 ARS (~$5.80 USD) Score: 7.2/10
Legendary spot. A tango bar with walls full of history and waiters who probably saw Borges drink here. The choripán fits this atmosphere perfectly: rustic, honest, no pretensions.
Good chorizo (not exceptional), crispy French bread, standard chimichurri. What elevates the experience is where you eat it. Sitting at a wooden table that’s 80 years old, listening to a bandoneón.
Verdict: you come for the atmosphere, you stay for the choripán.
#11 — La Estancia (Microcentro)
Price: $7,200 ARS (~$7.20 USD) Score: 7.4/10
La Estancia is a classic tourist parrilla on Lavalle Street. Sounds like a tourist trap, but the choripán is better than you’d expect.
Thick chorizo, well-seasoned. Generous bread. Chimichurri with personality (more vinegar than average). The problem: sometimes they serve it lukewarm when there’s a crowd.
If you catch it freshly grilled, it climbs to the top 8. If you get one that was sitting around, it stays where it is.
#10 — Costanera Sur Cart (across from the Ecological Reserve)
Price: $4,500 ARS (~$4.50 USD) Score: 7.5/10
Here’s where it starts getting good. The carts on Costanera Sur are legendary, and this one (the corner with Brasil Street) is among the best.
Thick chorizo, juice that drips down, bread that’s crispy outside and airy inside. Homemade chimichurri that actually tastes like real parsley. You eat it standing up, looking at the river, with grease all over your hands. That is choripán.
At $4,500 ARS, it’s a steal (in the good way). The ranking would be unfair if this didn’t make it.
Pro tip: show up between 1 and 2 PM. That’s when the rotation is fastest and everything is fresh.
#9 — Parrilla La Brigada (San Telmo)
Price: $7,800 ARS (~$7.80 USD) Score: 7.8/10
La Brigada is serious parrilla territory. They have choripán as an appetizer and they do it right. Country chorizo, bread heated on the plancha, chimichurri with strong oregano.
What it’s missing to climb: heft. It’s an “elegant” choripán when sometimes you want a beast of one. But the execution is flawless.
#8 — Choripán Carrito Floresta (Av. Avellaneda y Helguera)
Price: $4,800 ARS (~$4.80 USD) Score: 8.0/10
Historic cart. Been there over 30 years. The weekend lines are intense. Why? Because the owner does everything: the chorizo comes from a cousin who’s a butcher, the bread is delivered fresh every hour, his wife makes the chimichurri.
It’s the classic Argentine choripán formula: family business, in-house ingredients, no shortcuts. And you can taste it.
#7 — La Parolaccia del Mare (Puerto Madero)
Price: $9,500 ARS (~$9.50 USD) Score: 8.1/10
Surprise: an Italian restaurant with one of the best choripanes in the city. The explanation: the chef is Uruguayan and brought the Río de la Plata version with a homemade chorizo bun (that dense, flat bread that only they know how to make).
The chorizo is excellent, but it’s the bread that sets it apart. Crispy outside, almost like a cracker, soft inside. So good that you start to understand that the bread matters as much as the chorizo.
#6 — El Desnivel (San Telmo)
Price: $6,500 ARS (~$6.50 USD) Score: 8.3/10
A neighborhood parrilla that became famous without losing its identity. Locals complain (“it was better before the tourists came”), but the choripán is still what it always was: hefty, flavorful, no posing.
A 1-pound chorizo (cut butterflied), crispy bread, chimichurri loaded with herbs. Served hot, with visible grease. The way it should be.
#5 — Nuestra Parrilla (Costanera Sur)
Price: $5,900 ARS (~$5.90 USD) Score: 8.6/10
Costanera regulars know: this is the cart-restaurant where you order the choripán. It’s not the most famous, but the people who know come here.
Country chorizo (they buy from a supplier in Mercedes, Buenos Aires province), sourdough bread, chimichurri with roasted garlic (rare and delicious). The detail that sets them apart: the chorizo is butterflied right before serving, so it arrives hot and crispy.
At $5,900 ARS, in terms of price-to-quality ratio: probably #1.
#4 — Parrilla Peña (Almagro)
Price: $6,200 ARS (~$6.20 USD) Score: 8.8/10
A no-pretension neighborhood parrilla. Family-style. Long shared tables. Choripán as a mandatory starter.
What they do differently: the chorizo is made by the owner, every Monday, with his grandfather’s recipe from Tandil. The bread comes from the local bakery (not industrial). The chimichurri has good ground chili.
You eat it and understand that choripán is a simple dish but simplicity isn’t easy. There are decades of craft in every bite.
#3 — La Mar y Tierra (La Boca)
Price: $5,500 ARS (~$5.50 USD) Score: 9.0/10
La Boca has a bad culinary reputation (deservedly — there are a lot of tourist traps). But La Mar y Tierra is the exception that proves the rule.
The choripán they make is classic, no reinventing the wheel, but every component is at maximum. Chorizo from a Uruguayan supplier in Colonia. Freshly baked bread. Chimichurri prepared three times a day.
The secret the owner shared with me: “the trick is to not have any tricks.” Good meat, right fire, exact timing.
#2 — Carnicería Pichuco (Villa Crespo)
Price: $5,200 ARS (~$5.20 USD) Score: 9.2/10
A butcher shop that makes choripán on weekends. Saturdays and Sundays only, 11 AM to 4 PM. They serve through a sidewalk window. The line wraps around the corner.
Why so good? Because the chorizo is made by them, that same morning. From the block to the grill in 4 hours. No freshness can compete with that.
The bread is from the bakery next door (a neighborhood deal). The chimichurri is classic, but flawless. The difference is brutal: the chorizo has a flavor you only get when it’s same-day made.
If I had to pick the choripán with the best quantity-quality-price ratio, this is it.
#1 — Chori (Palermo)
Price: $7,500 ARS (~$7.50 USD) Score: 9.5/10
The winner. And it doesn’t surprise me: this place was created specifically to reinvent the choripán without betraying it.
Why it wins:
- Chorizo: they have three varieties from in-house producers. The “classic” hits the perfect spice, juicy, with ideal cooking point.
- Bread: sourdough, crispy, airy. Made on-site every 4 hours.
- Chimichurri: three versions (green, red, spicy). The green one has parsley, garlic, ground chili, and a touch of mint that changes everything.
- Experience: modern space, fast service, served at a real 158°F (yes, I measured it — I’m a nerd).
What sets Chori apart is that it respects the choripán tradition while elevating it without breaking it. It’s not pretentious chef food. It’s a 21st-century Argentine choripán made with the discipline of a 3-Michelin restaurant.
At $7,500 ARS, it’s not cheap, but it’s exactly what it’s worth. Anyone who says otherwise hasn’t tried it.
The full ranking
| Rank | Place | Price (ARS / USD) | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 #1 | Chori (Palermo) | $7,500 / ~$7.50 | 9.5 |
| 🥈 #2 | Carnicería Pichuco (Villa Crespo) | $5,200 / ~$5.20 | 9.2 |
| 🥉 #3 | La Mar y Tierra (La Boca) | $5,500 / ~$5.50 | 9.0 |
| #4 | Parrilla Peña (Almagro) | $6,200 / ~$6.20 | 8.8 |
| #5 | Nuestra Parrilla (Costanera Sur) | $5,900 / ~$5.90 | 8.6 |
| #6 | El Desnivel (San Telmo) | $6,500 / ~$6.50 | 8.3 |
| #7 | La Parolaccia del Mare | $9,500 / ~$9.50 | 8.1 |
| #8 | Carrito Floresta | $4,800 / ~$4.80 | 8.0 |
| #9 | La Brigada (San Telmo) | $7,800 / ~$7.80 | 7.8 |
| #10 | Costanera Sur Cart | $4,500 / ~$4.50 | 7.5 |
| #11 | La Estancia (Microcentro) | $7,200 / ~$7.20 | 7.4 |
| #12 | El Boliche de Roberto | $5,800 / ~$5.80 | 7.2 |
| #13 | Pony Line (Four Seasons) | $12,000 / ~$12 | 7.0 |
| #14 | Don Julio (Palermo) | $9,800 / ~$9.80 | 6.8 |
| #15 | La Cabrera (Palermo) | $11,500 / ~$11.50 | 6.2 |
Lessons I didn’t expect
After eating 15 choripanes in 3 weeks, I learned things that changed how I see this dish:
1. Price doesn’t guarantee quality. The top three cost between $5,200 and $7,500 ARS. The bottom three were between $9,800 and $12,000 ARS. Paying more isn’t eating better.
2. The bread is 50% of the choripán. I underestimated it my whole life. A perfect chorizo on mediocre bread is a mediocre choripán. A good chorizo on excellent bread is magic.
3. Chorizo freshness is noticeable. Pichuco (#2) wins for this reason. Same-day chorizo beats prestigious frozen brand chorizo every single time.
4. Carts compete head-to-head with expensive parrillas. Costanera Sur, Floresta, La Boca have offerings that rank high. The difference with a $10,000 ARS restaurant is sometimes just the tablecloth.
5. Temperature kills or saves. A perfect choripán that arrives lukewarm ends up mid-ranking. A mediocre choripán that arrives sizzling climbs up. Temperature is invisible but decisive.
If you can only go to one
- You have $5 USD: Carnicería Pichuco (Villa Crespo, Saturday/Sunday only) or the Costanera Sur Cart
- You have $7 USD: Chori (Palermo) — no question
- You have $10+ USD: La Parolaccia del Mare or Pony Line (you’re paying for experience, not just choripán)
- You’re a tourist and want a photo: El Desnivel (San Telmo) or La Mar y Tierra (La Boca)
- You want an authentic Argentine experience: Parrilla Peña (Almagro)
What I learned: how to spot a good choripán when traveling
If you have to evaluate a new choripán (a trip, a place you don’t know), check these 4 things:
- Is there a line? Not the line of tourists with cameras — the line of office workers at 1 PM and construction workers at noon. Those people know.
- How does the chorizo look on the grill? It should be firm, glossy, with visible fat. Not shrunken or gray.
- How does the bread smell? If it smells like a bakery, it’s fresh. If it doesn’t smell like anything, it came out of a bag.
- Is the chimichurri bright green? If it’s brown or has oil floating on top, it’s old.
To dive deeper
If you want to know more about choripán in Buenos Aires:
- How much does a choripán cost by neighborhood in 2026 — updated price guide
- The best choripán street carts in Buenos Aires — the carts in detail
- Choripán spots open 24 hours — for late-night emergencies
- Common mistakes when making choripán — if you want to cook it at home
Next edition of this ranking: April 2027. If you have a place you think should be on the list, hit me up.
In the meantime, go to Chori. Or to Pichuco. Or to anyone in the top 5. Your taste buds will thank you (and your scale will hate you).