5 Best Restaurants in Cafayate, The Northwest

Good food and great music roll together at this peña, located in a traditional 19th-century casona which brings in both locals and visitors. Start with tiny empanadas and lashings of spicy llajua tomato sauce then follow up with pizza. Once the live music starts, the conversation stops flowing. 

Facing the main plaza, this big barn of a restaurant serves regional specialties (like baked rabbit and cabrito al horno), as well as pastas and classic Argentine steaks. Expect generous portions, a bustling atmosphere, live folk music, and wines from the owner's Bodega Río Colorado, just a block away.

For wine-tasting with a difference, stop at Heladería Miranda in Cafayate. In 1994, at the age of 60, Ricardo Miranda decided that he wasn't going to succeed as a painter. So he turned his creative energy to making wine sorbets, taking two years to perfect the recipe. Sweet yet tangy Torrontés arguably makes sense as a sorbet; the Cabernet makes a good match for his fruit-flavored ice creams. All are made organically on the premises. 

A 100-year-old converted school building houses one of Cafayate's more ambitious restaurants. Overseen by the friendly owner Matías, it has three dining rooms themed after the Nanni, Domingo Hermanos, and Etchart bodegas, with wine displays and special cutlery. The decoration is from all around the world, but the food is strictly local—llama, quinoa, rabbit, kid, and Andean potatoes feature prominently on the menu. A convivial wine bar stays open late to serve vino from every bodega in town. There's live music and dancing some weekends.

This place makes the list for its music rather than its food—though the barbecued meats and empanadas are good deals. Singers, musicians, and sometimes dancers bring Peña y Parrillada de la Plaza to life each night.