A Rainy Day in Buenos Aires: What Do Argentinians Eat When It Rains?

After a long stretch without much rain, London is finally wet again.

It made us think of Buenos Aires.

Rain changes the rhythm of a city. The streets become quieter, people slow down, and food suddenly becomes a little more important. You look for something warm, something comforting, something that can be enjoyed without rushing.

In Buenos Aires, rainy weather has its own food traditions. There are stews simmering in kitchens, hot coffee in old cafés, mate shared around the table—and, perhaps most famously, tortas fritas being fried at home.

Because in Argentina, food has always been about more than hunger. It is about connection, discovery and unity.

Tortas Fritas: The Food of a Rainy Day

If there is one food particularly associated with rain in Argentina, it is the torta frita.

Made from a simple dough of flour, water, salt and fat, the dough is rolled out, shaped into small discs and fried until golden. They are crisp around the edges, soft in the middle and traditionally served warm.

There is a long-standing Argentine custom of making tortas fritas on rainy afternoons. The exact reason for the tradition is difficult to pin down, but the combination makes perfect sense: rain outside, something hot cooking in the kitchen and a pot of mate ready to share.

Some people eat them with sugar. Others prefer them plain. There are countless family versions, and everyone seems to have an opinion about how a proper torta frita should be made.

Empanadas: The Ultimate Argentine Comfort Food

Rain is also a good excuse for empanadas.

Perhaps that's because empanadas are already part of the rhythm of everyday Argentine life. They are easy to share, easy to carry and filled with everything from beef and chicken to cheese, spinach and corn.

In Buenos Aires, they can be found everywhere—from neighbourhood bakeries and cafés to food shops and street food counters.

And when the weather turns grey, a freshly baked, golden empanada is difficult to resist.

At PORTENA, this is at the heart of what we do: bringing the flavours and spirit of Argentine street food from Buenos Aires to London.

Milanesa: The Comfort Food Classic

Few dishes feel more like home in Argentina than milanesa.

Thinly sliced beef, coated in breadcrumbs and fried or baked until crisp, the milanesa is a staple of Argentine home cooking. Add tomato sauce, ham and melted cheese and you have milanesa a la napolitana—one of the country's great comfort foods.

Served with chips, mashed potatoes or salad, it is the kind of food that doesn't need an occasion.

Sometimes a rainy day is occasion enough.

Guisos and Other Hearty Dishes

When temperatures drop and the rain settles in, Argentine kitchens also turn towards guisos—slow-cooked, hearty dishes made with ingredients such as meat, potatoes, vegetables, beans, lentils or pasta.

Every household has its own version.

These are dishes born from practicality and generosity: inexpensive ingredients cooked slowly to produce something rich, filling and made to feed a family.

They are not glamorous dishes. They don't need to be.

They are the food of home.

Mate: Rain, Conversation and Time

And then there is mate.

More than a drink, mate is a social ritual in Argentina. A small gourd filled with yerba mate is passed from person to person, with each person taking a turn before passing it back to the cebador, the person preparing and serving the mate.

On a rainy afternoon, there is something particularly fitting about it.

You sit down. You talk. Someone puts the kettle on. The rain continues outside.

There is no need to hurry.

Food, Weather and Memory

Perhaps that's why rainy days can bring back such strong memories of food.

The sound of rain against a window. The smell of something frying. The warmth of the kitchen. A table with family or friends around it.

In Argentina, many food traditions grew from exactly these simple moments.

And although London is a long way from Buenos Aires, those feelings are universal.

Today, as the rain returns to London, we find ourselves thinking about the food, the rituals and the small pleasures that make a rainy day feel different.

A hot empanada. A plate of milanesa. A freshly made torta frita. A round of mate.

Sometimes, that's all you need.

From Buenos Aires to the Streets of London.The Art of Flavour Unfolding.

References

Aguirre, P. (2017). Una Historia Social de la Comida. Lugar Editorial, Buenos Aires.

Archetti, E. P. (1997). Guerreros y campesinos: El fútbol y el asado en la Argentina. Editorial Sudamericana.

Ministerio de Turismo y Deportes de la Nación Argentina. Materials on Argentine gastronomy and culinary traditions.

Academia Argentina de Gastronomía. Publications on Argentine gastronomic heritage.

Barsky, O. & Barsky, M. (2017). La Cocina Argentina: Historia y Tradición. Editorial Catálogos.