A bit touristy, but the first time it’s very worth it. That’s my Café de los Angelitos tango show review in one sentence, and honestly, you could stop reading right here. But if you want to know what they serve, how long the show runs and why the history of this house beats any tango story acted out on stage, read on.
Trip ABC: Buenos Aires
🏨 Where to stay
- Alvear Palace Hotel: Grand French-style palace on Avenida Alvear, Recoleta’s most elegant street.
- Magnolia Hotel Boutique: Three blocks from Plaza Armenia, surrounded by Palermo Soho’s best restaurants.
- Home Hotel: Palermo Hollywood design hotel with a garden pool and a much-loved weekend brunch.
✈️ Getting there: Flights to Buenos Aires on Kiwi.com, rental car with DiscoverCars
🎟 What to do: Tours and tickets (GetYourGuide)
🛡 Travel insurance: Heymondo, 5% off for Museumist readers
These are partner links: if you book through them, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
We went on Saturday, 27 June 2026, the second day of our Buenos Aires trip. The morning went to Palermo cafés, the afternoon to Recoleta and La Boca, and by evening we had made it to the Balvanera neighborhood, to the corner of Avenida Rivadavia and Rincón. A white corner building stands there, and next to its door is a sign with two words that say it all: dinner and show.
It did not stay a quiet evening. That same night Argentina was playing at the World Cup. More on that at the end.
The café that opened in 1890 and rose again in 2007
Before the show, it’s worth knowing where you’re sitting, because Café de los Angelitos is not a theater dressed up as a café. It really is one of the oldest cafés in Buenos Aires.
According to the city’s tourism portal, an Italian named Batista Fazio opened Bar Rivadavia on this corner around 1890. The clientele was a shady crowd, and the Balvanera police commissioner started jokingly calling them “real little angels”, verdaderos angelitos. The name stuck. A century later the irony is still up there on the facade.
The most famous regular was Carlos Gardel, the biggest star tango ever had. He and José Razzano had their own table here as a duo from 1912 until the early 1930s. According to the city’s tourism portal, Mauricio Goddart, artistic director of the Odeón record label, hired the duo in 1917 right here in this café. In 1944 Razzano and Cátulo Castillo wrote a tango simply called “Café de los Angelitos”, and Alberto Marino recorded it with Aníbal Troilo’s orchestra. According to Canal 26, it is the only Bar Notable in Buenos Aires with a tango named after it.
Then it went the way it usually goes with old cafés. In the early 1990s (sources say 1992 or 1993) the doors closed and the building fell apart so badly that it got a demolition order. The café was rebuilt and reopened on 19 June 2007, and since then there has been a tango dinner show here every single day. The official website calls it one of the city’s Bar Notable cafés, and the walls hold more than 135 original photographs.
Dinner first, then the show
The evening runs in a fixed order: first a three-course dinner, then the show. On our Saturday we were already at the table around seven, and the dancers came on stage a little after nine. The room is built for exactly this: set tables in front of the stage, a red curtain and tableware with gold trim.
Humita, bondiola and flan
You get a choice from the menu for every course. For a starter I had a northern Argentine corn and cheese soup, listed on the menu as humita norteña: a creamy soup of corn and cheese with a spicy sauce on the side. Very tasty.
The main course was pork. According to the menu it’s bondiola braseada, slow-braised pork shoulder in a honey, white wine and ginger sauce, with baked sweet potato and pears on the side. The menu also had a quinoa and prawn timbale and pumpkin ravioli, so there is a real choice for people who don’t eat meat too.
Dessert was dulce de leche, or to be precise, a classic egg flan with dulce de leche and whipped cream. The menu also has pavlova and a dulce de leche mousse. Everything was very tasty.
Drinks are included in the package. According to the menu on the website, they pour Bodegas Salentein Portillo red and white wine, beer, mineral water and soft drinks. The menu comes in three languages (Spanish, English, Portuguese), and that alone tells you who sits at these tables.
The show: long, but a lot of fun
The show is fairly long. That’s not a complaint, just a warning for anyone who has spent the whole day walking the city and now has a full stomach. The official schedule gives the show 1.2 hours. But it’s a lot of fun.
There are more than 20 artists on stage: six dancing couples, two singers and a live orchestra with piano, bandoneon, guitar, double bass and violin. The show tells the story of tango from its beginnings to the present day. The dancers and singers are top class.
Is the Café de los Angelitos tango show touristy?
A bit, yes. A menu in three languages and a bus transfer from the hotels tell you this is made for visitors, not for porteños. Locals go dancing at a milonga.
But on your first time in Buenos Aires it’s very worth it. In one evening you get the history of tango, a live orchestra and top-class dancers in the house where Gardel himself sat. If you want to see tango once more in a completely different setting, we saw it again a few days later at Estancia Santa Susana, where locals danced after the asado.
If you want to eat somewhere else before or after, check out my friend Dani’s tips in our Buenos Aires restaurant story.
After the show: Argentina, Jordan and Messi
After the show we went to watch football. Argentina was playing its last World Cup group match against Jordan, at 11 pm Buenos Aires time. We headed to Plaza Seeber in Palermo, where the city ran the Buenos Aires Fan Fest with a big screen during the World Cup. It was packed, but everything was organized really well, and sweetly too.
Argentina won 3-1. Messi came on as a substitute in the 60th minute and scored from a free kick in the 80th. That made him the first player to score in seven consecutive World Cup finals matches. Argentina won all three of its group games. I write about the whole trip and what Buenos Aires looks like during the World Cup in my Buenos Aires winter travel guide.
Practical info
- Address: Av. Rivadavia 2100 (corner of Rincón), Balvanera, Buenos Aires.
- Schedule (official website, November 2026): transfer pickup 7:30 pm, dinner 8 pm, show 9:45 pm, end 11 pm. The show lasts 1.2 hours. On our Saturday, 27 June 2026, the evening started earlier, so double-check the time on your ticket.
- Packages: “Cena & Show” (three-course dinner, drinks, show) or “Solo Show” (drinks and show). You can add a transfer to either one.
- Prices (November 2026): according to Tangol, show 71 USD, show with transfer 82 USD, dinner and show 110 USD, with transfer 116 USD, VIP dinner and show 187 to 189 USD. On GetYourGuide, tickets start at 72 USD (show and drinks) and 85 USD (show, dinner optional). Prices change often, so check when you book.
- Food and drinks: 3 to 4 choices per course, vegetarian included. Drinks: Salentein Portillo wine, beer, water, soft drinks (website menu, 2025).
- Dress code: “elegant sporty” according to Tangol, meaning smart casual.
- Tips: not included.
- On stage: six dancing couples, two singers, a five-piece orchestra, more than 20 artists in total.
- Phone: 4952 2320, info@cafedelosangelitos.com.
- Where to stay: our place was in Palermo, and from there it was easiest to get around in the evenings. See hotels in Palermo or, for example, The Glu Boutique Hotel in Palermo Soho.
- Internet: to order a taxi or a ride through an app at night, you need mobile data. If you’re coming from Europe, Argentina is outside the EU, so an eSIM makes sense: Saily eSIM.
- Tickets: Café de los Angelitos tickets on GetYourGuide.
Frequently asked questions
According to the official website, the show itself lasts 1.2 hours. With dinner, plan for about three hours: dinner starts at 8 pm, the show at 9:45 pm and the evening ends around 11 pm.
Three courses, each with several choices. We had humita norteña (corn and cheese soup), slow-braised pork with sweet potato and pear, and flan with dulce de leche. The menu also has fish, Angus beef, empanadas and vegetarian ravioli.
In November 2026, the show alone cost 71 USD through Tangol and dinner with the show 110 USD without a transfer. On GetYourGuide, prices start at 72 USD. Prices change often.
Yes. According to the menu, the package includes wine, beer, water and soft drinks. Tips are not included.
It’s a show made for tourists, but it’s not a trap. The dancers, singers and orchestra are top class, and the house itself is one of the most historic cafés in Buenos Aires. On a first trip to Buenos Aires it’s very worth it.
Gardel and José Razzano had their own table at the café from 1912 until the early 1930s, and according to the city’s tourism portal, the duo signed with the Odeón record label here in 1917.
I was invited to Café de los Angelitos as a guest. The opinions are my own.
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