10

Tres Monos

Buenos Aires

• The Best Bar in South America 2025, sponsored by Torres Brandy

A dark and divey rock bar showcasing Argentina's liquid larder

Straddling the corner of a leafy street in the cosmopolitan Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Tres Monos is the small indie bar that makes a big impact. In Argentina, bars have tended towards the classical, glamorous side of cocktails, while Tres Monos went the other way. The name translates to Three Monkeys and, orchestrated by its trio of owners – Sebastian Atienza, Charly Aguinsky and Gus Vocke – there is plenty of monkeying around.

The scene here is dark, lit barely by neon, soundtracked by rock and scrawled in graffiti – a theme that now extends to a larger space out back named El Garage. But, of course, one doesn't get recognised as one of Argentina's best bars by dive vibes alone – this is a bar with brains.

If you care to ask over the bar and the roaring music, you'll find that this is an Argentinian bar that speaks the native language. Great thought and energy has gone into local sourcing, with the bar even partnering with producers to create its own-label products – such as a bourbon-style whiskey with local grains, liqueurs, sake and wines, including sauvignon blanc and pét-nat sparkling. You're in a dive, so it's perfectly fine to keep things simple and order a glass of any of the aforementioned, but cocktails are very much in its wheelhouse too. The latest menu features Julep de D10S, a mix of Tres Monos house Licor del Norte (a liqueur of three Argentinian herbs), amaros, strawberry miso and grapefruit.

And there's a decent chance that the person serving you has also graduated from the bar's own La Escuelita academy, which trains those from disadvantaged barrios in hospitality skills. Just another way in which this dive bar runs deeper.

Contact