Oct 10, 2010
By Dominick DalSanto
Staff Writer & Editor in Chief
American Expat Since 2008
As an American living in Buenos Aires, I for the most part find myself completely comfortable going without certain things I was used to having back in the States. However, it is quite refreshing to have a small taste of an American coffee house, when i visit my local Buenos Aires Starbucks from time to time. 
With 23 locations in the Greater Buenos Aires area and growing, its not all that hard to find a location near you when you live here(Click here for the Starbucks Argentina site, where you can find a locations throughout the city). Even though this city is certainly not lacking in cafes (Cafe culture is an integral part of “The Porteno” way) Starbucks offers a slightly different atmosphere than the traditional BA cafe, along with catering to a different demographic. Most Argentines can figure out the Starbucks way of doing things. However it is view by many young Portenos as a hip, cool place to hang out, and as such they along with foreigners make up the majority of the customers.
So should you find yourself for a little touch of home, and you want to head over to the local BA Starbucks, here are a few things that you should keep in mind before heading over to enjoy some great Seattle Style coffee.
1. Don’t expect to get a bargain on your Latte just because its in Pesos.
Despite most foreign money going quite far here, your Latte will cost you almost the same in BA as it does back home. A medium Latte will run you 16.00 Pesos
2. Be ready for a long line and for a packed house.
This is very true if you go during peak hours, and to the more popular ones (Florida, Alto Palermo, Etc…). You might also find it a bit hard to find a place to sit. This is mainly because the idea of taking coffee to go is virtually nonexistent here in Argentina and therefore almost everyone who comes in to buy something, ends up staying. My friend Jessica (Born and raised in BA) explained it very nicely once when she said “For us [Portenos] its not about the coffee. The coffee is just an excuse. Its the excuse to get together with your friend and talk for hours on end.”
3. Consider coming up with a new Argentine name.
Most of the employees do great, working with the language barrier that often comes with the people who visit. But if you have a name that is difficult to say in Spanish, (My friend Xerxes, can tell you all about it) be prepared to explain it, and discuss it with several people. And in the end you will still end up with no one knowing how to say it, and you might miss your order. A popular game among me and my friends to to invent a different name every time we go to “The Bucks”.
4. The internet connection could be a bit better
While the internet is free and usually works fine, I personally have a few problems from time to time. I have a Macbook, and for some reason anything that is Mac based (Mail, iChat, etc) seems to be unable to connect. Also you have to go through the Fibertel (the company that provides the connection) page about every 20 min to reset the connection. You can reset it as often as you want, and as many times as you want all day.
Conclusion
A great home to get a touch of home, meet many young, interesting locals, Expats, and Fellow travelers, and get a relatively quite place to work, Starbucks in Buenos Aires is a must stop over for anyone here.
My current favorite location is found at the Alto Palermo shopping center. It is a bit larger than the average BA Starbucks, and it includes a vast outdoor seating section as well.
