One of the things we have missed a lot while traveling South America in a camper is a variety of international foods. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE trying all of the local cuisine in Argentina and Chile, but there are only so many empanadas, pizzas, pastas and steaks you can eat.
When we got to Mendoza, Argentina we were super excited to find some really delicious restaurants highlighting cuisine from around the world. You may be on a short trip and not far from some of your favorite Asian or Indian cuisine, but if you have a craving there are 3 awesome international restaurants we wanted to share with the best ethnic food in Mendoza Argentina.
Mumbai Masala $$$
Finding this restaurant next door to our Airbnb was an absolute treat. It's not the cheapest restaurant in the city but having some delicious Indian food next door was hard to resist. It's a good sized space with indoor and outdoor seating right across from Plaza Italia at San Lorenzo 656. There's also a great parking lot for any type of vehicle, especially overlanders one block before the restaurant where we parked the entire time we were there.
They had all of the indian classics and we enjoyed them all. We even got enough spice to make Jordan sweat, which is always a sign he is happy with the spice.
The Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, Biryani, Corn Pakoras, Samosas, Vindaloo and more were all great and highly recommend them for a lunch or dinner if you're craving some authentic Indian food. Being in Mendoza, they also offer a lot of wines to choose from at good prices, so don't think you'll miss out on that part of the Argentine experience.
We are both suckers for great Thai food. Even before we spent time traveling Thailand we've always had a passion for the coconut curries, pad thais, Tom kha gai soup and anything Thai. So we were PUMPED when we found out there was some good Thai food in Mendoza.
They're right in the heart of the city on the walking street, Peotonal Sarmiento 65 (they also have a location in Cordoba). There are a handful of tables inside the restaurant where they've created the interior to look like you're hanging around Bangkok.
Sometimes finding ingredients or international items in Argentina can be tough, so they even sell some things like a big bottle of Sriracha we picked up so we can add some spice to our camper cooked meals.
We found all of the standard Thai dishes were great, so you can't go wrong ordering any of your favorites. Each dish they'll give you an option for the level of spice you want from none/suave to super spice. Great green & massaman curry, pad thai was yummy, fried rice and spring rolls. Don't worry, this wasn't all in one sitting, we went back multiple times.
One of the foods we've fallen in love with on our travels was Venezuelan food. Many Venezolanos have had to leave their homeland due to the political and economic conditions they face, so we've met many folks from Venezuela in different South American countries. 2 of the first people we spent a bit of time with in Santiago, Chile when we arrived were from Venezuela and they were super awesome people. Our mechanic Gonzalo and his wife even took us into their home and taught us how to make the Venezuelan classic Arepas.
We found La Cocina de Nelson in Mendoza and pinned it on our list as a must try. Not only was the food super affordable it was delicious. We had a few kinds of arepas on our different visits with things like chicken, cheese, beans & avocado, braised beef and more. All of them were delightful.
We'd also heard about the famous Patacon for awhile but hadn't tried one until now. This is basically a sandwich, but they use smashed, fried green plantains (tostones) to replace the bread and yummmm it was delicious, piled high with meat and cheese...it was a full meal by itself. There was no way we could eat this with our hands and had to fork & knife it. Definitely a great dish to try!
We highly recommend trying one of these at some point in time as the international restaurants in Mendoza have some great options from Thai, Indian, Venezuelan, Asian and a lot more that are delicious and very budget friendly.
