How does a Londoner survive in Buenos Aires?
London's 1920s Café in Retiro, Buenos Aires and other English Treats
Aug 24, 2009
Known worldwide for being the European capital of South America, Buenos Aires is undoubtedly influenced by Spain, Italy and France, but, influences on food, customs and culture rarely stretch as far as to cover the habits of the English.
Having said that, the rather grandiose coffee shop located inside Retiro's busy train station, amongst some of BA's thickest dirt and grime, is one of the few exceptions to this rule. It is arguably an example of a one-stop portal back to 1920s London.
1920s London style café in Retiro's Train Station in the heart of Buenos Aires
Visually beautiful, this café literally calls out for a woman to draw a pair of make-shift stockings onto her legs using eye liner. It begs that she wears a small, city girl's hat with matching purse and leather gloves, or that she sports a well-cut dress revealing a shapely hour-glass figure, made popular only by icons gone by. Today's comfy jeans and puffer jackets are screaming to be left at home and expectations of hearing air raid sirens at any point hang in the air.
Understanding why there is a coffee shop with such a strong English feel in the heart of Buenos Aires is not as interesting or exciting as the fact that it exists. Impossible to miss, the café is located within the train station itself and so big that it´s never busy.
Some much needed quiet time is easily spent within this discreet homage to London's past where, in the words of Charles Dickens (to really work the English theme thoroughly), 'They do things differently.´ Indeed, the comfort for any Londoner is to be found slumped upon a Dickensian-style armchair away from the hustle and bustle of Retiro's Spanish speaking streets; a comfort created from a few tiny reminders of home.
Tea, Fish and Chips and other glimpses of London to be found in Buenos Aires
Following on in the same vain, other glimpses of good-old London Town can be found in BA when the search is done properly. For example, a traditional English Pub (The Gibraltar, found on Perú 895, in San Telmo) serves battered cod and chips, always shows the premiership league on the weekends and serves a good range of pints on tap.
Equally, desperate and gasping tea lovers, in need of that special brew of Earl Grey, can find an endless supply of steaming cuppas at Tea Connection (one outlet located at Puerto Madero on Olga Cossettini 1545). Their tea list goes on for ever and without a doubt covers all those important basic English tastes.
Lastly, when the sun goes down and the night is in full swing, BA's river, something about the way it's lit and all that surrounds it, has a little of The Thames about it to bring a tear to the Londoner's eye.
Ways of bringing far away shores closer to aching hearts is not easy. However, with a little help from others who have been there and survived, they're not impossible. BA has its charms and Argentine habits make life richer, but every Londoner needs to know that London doesn't ever have to be nor is ever entirely lost in its shadow.
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