Best Palermo Cafés: Porota Cocina de Herencia

POROTA IS NOW CLOSED – 2015.

This tiny kiosco-sized café may be small, but you’d be surprised to see the wide selection of deliciousness that comes out of Porota’s cozy kitchen.  Sandwiches, tartas, awesome lunch specials, creamy soups, salads, muffins, cupcakes, breads, scones, cakes, fresh *real* fruit juices – there’s very little that Porota doesn’t offer.  Go for breakfast, lunch or merienda and grab a seat on tree-lined Gorriti, noshing away while watching cyclists zoom by.

There are only a few small tables inside and a handful outside (if your butt is bony, you may find the chairs uncomfortable..mine isn’t, so I was golden..), so if you go at peak hours expect to wait.  Like many PoHo cafés (yeah, I abbreved it), there’s a cute, kitschy decor, handwritten menu on chalkboards and a semi-open kitchen where you can watch the chef at work.  Unlike other P.Holly cafés (ahem, Olsen ho’s across the street) the staff at Porota is totally buena onda – helpful, friendly, smiley, a real delight.

The bombass bondiola is the best sandwich on the menu. Served on homemade rosemary bread, the pork shoulder must have been slow roasting for hours (or the little piggies must have gotten meat tenderizing massages) because it was as tender as can be.  Other than the porky goodness, the sandwich has grilled calabaza, cheese, fresh tomatoes, pesto and is served with perfectly crisp, golden brown po-tatas.  A bit small for my greedy liking, this sandwich runs in the mid-upper AR$30’s.  Fun fact: this is also a favorite sandwich of the infamous Cultural Concierge of Buenos Aires.

Next up: the jamón crudo sandwich served with lots of rúcula and BUTTAH.  Not my choice of a sandwich – I’m not into jamón crudo. BUT my eating companion surely enjoyed it, although he did mention there was too much arugula and butter (if that’s even possible), and that he probably would choose something else next time.

Wash it all down with a fresh mint and ginger lemonade, and you’ll be pretty happy. It’s hard to find actual iced teas, lemonades, and juices that don’t make all your teeth fall out, made from canned fruit nonsense – but Porota offers a numbers of frothy, icy glasses of liquid refreshment. ANND Look! The drink matches my cell phone cover.

This tarta de verduras grilladas is what inspired me to try Porota in the first place.  During an online menu and food photo stalking session, I spotted this grilled vegetable tarta and became obsessed even before I tried it. While I still haven’t actually eaten that version (Dear Porota: please put the tarta de verduras grilladas back on the menu), I have tasted a few other tartas from Porota, and they were all fannnnntastic.  Boy, do I love me a good tarta.

Porota – Cocina de Herencia
Gorriti 5881, Palermo Hollywood
Tel. 4770-9234
Monday – Friday: 9.30am – 7.30pm, Saturday: 11am – 6pm

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