Hidden on Jorge Newberry at the end of Baez, a new concept in positive-onda eating makes this café-ice cream hybrid a special new edition to Las Cañitas. An inventive health-focused menu and homemade natural ice cream, Guardiola’s brightly colored spot with a killer ambiance that has it all: ideal for breakfast, lunch, merienda, WiFi work sessions and massive helado binging.

Guardiola! (with an exclamation point and no relation to the Spanish fútbol coach) is all about being au-naturel, offering healthy and nutritious dishes to feed mind-body-spirit-stomach-tastebuds. It’s one of the few cafés in the city with fast WiFi, ample plugs, good food, drinks and friendly service. It’s also probably one of the only cafés where the staff won’t give a cara de culo stink eye to work-squatters, and instead will bring free ice cream samples. #Winning.Guardiola offers a breakfast menu, available all day long that comes with coffee or tea, with dishes like tostadas on homemade bread with jam/ddl/manteca/queso cream deal, homemade granola with natural yogurt and fruit, pancakes and chive cream cheesed bagel topped with farm fresh eggs. Eggs were nice and fluffy and bagel was one of the better versions I’ve had in this country. For lunch, you can choose from a variety of salads, sandwiches and wraps. I was a huge fan of the spinach/arugula salad with quinoa, roasted butternut squash, toasted almonds, goat cheese in a citrus vinaigrette. Fresh, nutty, earthy, a salad filled with substance and satisfaction.Quinoa burger packed with a whole load of sprouts and sliced avocado had all the makings of being a great sandwich, but would be better without the splooge of cream cheese. Cream cheese belongs on bagels, not sandwiches. I’d also prefer the sandwich on whole wheat bread so I can at least pretend that I’m being healthier (or at least a choice between the two). A bit out of character for a spot that offers high quality produce, the iceberg lettuce was brown. So brown that there were barely any healthy pieces other than the perfectly green lettuce garnish on the side. Still an awesome take on a veggie burger. And yes, there’s a choice between carrot sticks or potatoes, I pathetically ordered the sticks.Avocado licuado, thank you very much. Palta is the bomb, and it’s kinda weirdly fattytasty in shake form. They also make tasty juices and lemonades that are served in cute lil’ bottles with wooden stoppers.Moving on to my favorite part of the day. The good shit: ICE CREAM. Guardiola offers some of the best ice cream in Buenos Aires. A bigger plus for all natural without any artificial colors or preservatives. Woop woop.They have a surprising number of flavors for being made in-house, both traditional and a bit more experimental. My favorite flavor by far is the maracuyá a la crema, the passion fruit and cream is all bright and tangy, with crunchy specks of seeds. Hellzyez. Bananas quemadas, green tea, bittersweet chocolate and dulce de leche were all pretty bomb as well.The dulce de leche is rich, creamy, without being insanely sweet. I even sprinkled a bit of salt on top since that’s what fancy people do.Normally I’m not the biggest fan of signs with positive thinking texts. I actually prefer to be negative the majority of time. But in this case the cool design works.

Prices are comparable with other Las Cañitas cafés, a bit on the expensive side, 40s for breakfasts, 40s-50s salads, sandwiches and wraps. It would be better if they offered a lunch special, perhaps a drink-main-coffee-ice cream combo, but they do offer a specials 2×1 promo on ice cream and they are offering a 2×1 promotion on breakfast during February.

Guardiola!
Jorge Newbery 1967, Las Cañitas
Tel. 4778.0033
Café Hours: Mon – Fri: 9am – 8pm, Sat: 10am – 8pm
Ice cream delivered until late
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