What to try in Ushuaia: 12 dishes you can't leave without
Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world, and its cuisine is built from three streams: Argentine traditions (asado, empanadas, mate), gifts of the cold sea (crab, merluza negra, mussels), and Patagonian specifics (lamb on the cross, calafate berry). Spicy food isn't a thing here, no one likes to rush at the table, and meat almost always comes with red wine. This guide is a practical list of what to order, taste, and bring home.
1. Centolla — the king of Ushuaia's cuisine
Centolla (pronounced "sen-TO-sha" in Argentine Spanish) is the southern king crab caught in the waters of the Beagle Channel and Antarctica. The taste is more delicate than Kamchatka crab: the meat is slightly sweet with a faint nutty note, with almost none of the marine bitterness. This is Ushuaia's signature gastronomic brand — what gourmets fly to the end of the world for.
Season: officially July to November. The rest of the year you'll find crab on the menu, but it's either frozen or farmed — the flavor is noticeably less. The best months are August and September, when the crab is at full meat.
What to order:
- Centolla entera al natural — whole crab steamed, served with lemon and olive oil. Size 1.5–2 kg, price $60–90 for two.
- Cazuela de centolla — hot casserole with crab, cream, and cheese, $25–35.
- Empanada de centolla — pastry with crab filling, $6–8 each.
- Centolla al ajillo — crab meat sautéed with garlic and white wine, $30–40.
Where to eat it: Kaupé (premium, book a week ahead), Volver, María Lola, Tía Elvira, Kalma. At the Mercado Municipal — the freshest crab straight from the fishermen.
Tip: if you want an experience, not just dinner, go on a crab fishing tour with Magellania — you head out into the Beagle Channel with fishermen, haul the traps, pick your crab, and cook it on board. It's entertainment plus the freshest centolla of your life.
2. Cordero al palo — lamb on the cross
A Patagonian classic, a ritual and a spectacle at the same time. A young lamb (4–6 months, up to 8 kg) is crucified on an iron cross — the "cruz" — and slowly roasted for 4–6 hours over an open fire of hardwood (lenga, ñire). The meat caramelizes outside, stays pink and incredibly juicy inside. Salt is the only seasoning.
Where to try it: Estancia Harberton (combine with a tour of the pioneers' former homestead), Tolkeyen, Don Pipo, La Estancia on Av. San Martín. Price — $25–40 per person all-inclusive (meat without limit, sides, wine).
What to take as sides: baked potatoes, chimichurri (sauce of parsley, garlic, vinegar, and oil), tomato and onion salad.
3. Merluza negra — Patagonian toothfish
Merluza negra (Patagonian toothfish, English "Chilean sea bass") is a deepwater fish from the southern seas, with dense white meat and high healthy-fat content. Worldwide it's considered a delicacy that runs $60–80 a plate in New York restaurants, and in Ushuaia it's a local: $25–35.
How to order: grilled (a la plancha), with a lemon-cream sauce, with mashed potato or quinoa. At Kaupé they do it with a calafate sauce — that's a must.
Alternatives: abadejo (pollock), trucha (trout from Patagonian lakes, $20–28).
4. Empanadas — Patagonian pies
Empanadas are Argentine fast food, but in Ushuaia they have their own profile: alongside the classic fillings (beef, chicken, ham and cheese), local ones often appear:
- Empanada de cordero — lamb with onion and spices, $5–7
- Empanada de centolla — crab with cream, $6–8
- Empanada de cordero con ciruelas — lamb with prunes, a Patagonian specialty
Where: La Cantina Fueguina (downtown, cheap and authentic), El Almacén de Ramos Generales (with a historical-color slant), Bodegón Fueguino (large selection).
5. Calafate — the berry of return
Calafate (Berberis microphylla) is a small dark-blue berry, sour-sweet, similar to blueberry with a faint bitterness. It grows across Patagonia. An indigenous legend: "whoever tastes calafate will return to Patagonia." It's become a tourist meme, but go ahead, test it yourself.
In what form to try it:
- Helado de calafate — purple ice cream, on every corner, $3–5 a scoop. Best — at Helados Gadget on Av. San Martín.
- Mermelada de calafate — jam, a great gift home ($6–10 per 250 g jar).
- Licor de calafate — sweet liqueur, sometimes with honey added ($15–25 a bottle).
- Salsa de calafate — sauce for meat and fish in restaurants.
6. Mate — a ritual, not a drink
Mate isn't just an infusion of yerba mate leaves, it's Argentina's social code. Drunk through a metal straw, the "bombilla," from a gourd called a "calabaza." One vessel passes from hand to hand in a circle — refusing isn't an option, sharing mate is a sign of trust.
Etiquette rules:
- The first pour (the most bitter) is always drunk by the "cebador" — the one who prepares it.
- Don't stir the straw — it's considered rude.
- Don't say "gracias" until you're done drinking entirely: "thank you" means "no more for me."
- Pass the calabaza to the next person in the circle, don't break the order.
What to buy: yerba mate brands Rosamonte, Cruz de Malta, Taragüi ($4–8 per kilo), calabaza and bombilla — $15–40 at souvenir shops.
7. Asado — more than barbecue
Asado is Argentine barbecue, but if Russian shashlik is skewers with marinated pork, asado is the slow grilling on coals of several kinds of meat (beef ribs, chorizo sausages, morcilla blood sausage, lamb, offal) with no marinade. Just salt, coals, and time.
The order of serving: first achuras (offal), then morcilla and chorizo, then the main meat — ribs, ribeye, tenderloin. Accompanied by chimichurri, salami, bread.
Where to try it in Ushuaia: Parrilla La Estancia, Don Pipo, Tía Elvira. Price for "parrilla completa" for two — $50–70 with wine.
8. Yerba mate vs Russian tea — gastronomic diplomacy
For a Russian traveler, the analog for mate is the samovar: both drinks are about slowness, conversation, and being together. But there are differences. Mate is bitter, no sugar (though in northern Argentina they sweeten it), drunk through one shared straw — that's a physical intimacy you have to get used to. Tea in Russia — everyone has their own cup, hospitality through the abundance of treats. Mate is hospitality through a shared ritual.
9. Wines: Patagonian Pinot Noir and Mendoza Malbec
Argentina is the world's fifth wine region. In Ushuaia restaurants, watch for two things:
- Malbec from Mendoza — the country's flagship. Deep, velvety, perfect with lamb and beef. Brands: Catena Zapata, Trapiche, Norton ($15–40 a bottle in restaurants, $8–20 in the supermarket).
- Pinot Noir from Patagonia (Neuquén, Río Negro) — lighter, elegant, beautiful with fish and crab. Brands: Bodega Chacra, Humberto Canale, Fin del Mundo. A bottle of Fin del Mundo Reserva — $15–22.
- Torrontés — white from Salta, aromatic, for the aperitif.
10. Craft beer: Cerveza Beagle and the beer scene
There are several craft breweries in Ushuaia with a Patagonian slant:
- Cerveza Beagle — the best-known local brand, brews IPA, Stout, Ámbar. Its own pub on Av. San Martín, a pint $5–8.
- Beagle Brewing / Cape Horn — craft varieties using glacier water.
- Cervecería Fuegia — small batch, experimental varieties with calafate and Patagonian herbs.
Where to try it: Dublin Irish Pub, The Birra, Kuar (with a view of the channel).
11. Sweets: dulce de leche and Cabsha alfajores
Dulce de leche — boiled condensed milk, Argentina's national dessert. Eaten by the spoon, spread on toast, added to cakes and croissants. Best brands — La Serenísima, Havanna, Chimbote.
Alfajores — two biscuits glued together with a filling and often coated in chocolate. In Ushuaia look for the local brand Cabsha (from Bariloche) — with dulce de leche and dark chocolate, or Havanna — the national classic. Price — $1.50–3 each.
12. For vegetarians and vegans — what to eat
Argentina is a meat paradise, which means it isn't easy for a vegetarian, but it's possible. Several places in Ushuaia have plant-based options:
- Bodegón Fueguino — vegetarian empanadas (cheese, spinach, corn) and salads.
- Cuatro Estaciones — pasta, risotto, vegetable dishes.
- María Lola — vegetarian menu on request.
- In supermarkets it's easy to find tofu (but pricey, $8–12), falafel, nut butters.
Vegans should stock up on snacks: there are no dedicated cafés in town yet, but restaurants will accommodate.
What to take home — what's legal and what isn't
Legal to take:
- Mermelada de calafate, sauco, ruibarbo — jams, $6–10
- Yerba mate, bombilla, calabaza
- Wine and craft beer (up to 5 L per person, no declaration)
- Dulce de leche in jars, alfajores
- Dry lamb, smoked mutton (with factory packaging and certificate)
- Chocolate, Cabsha chocolates
Not allowed:
- Fresh or frozen crab — customs limits and cold-chain issues
- Fresh meat without packaging
- Plants, seeds, live calafate berries
Where to buy: the Laguna Negra store on Av. San Martín 513 — best Patagonian deli selection, vacuum packaging and gift sets available. Mercado Municipal — farmers' jams and fresh produce.
Your own crab, hands-on
If you want not just to try centolla, but to walk the whole path — from trap to plate — we recommend our crab fishing tour in the Beagle Channel. You head out with fishermen on a boat, help haul traps, pick out crabs, and the guide cooks them right on board: the crab boils in seawater from the channel, served with white wine and bread. The shortest "sea to table" path you can imagine — and the most honest way to understand why centolla is Ushuaia's pride.
To meet the city's gastronomic geography, our Ushuaia overview tour also works well — we'll take you to the right spots, tell you the backstory of the restaurants, and suggest what to order and what not to.
The main thing
Ushuaia's cuisine is crab, lamb, fish from icy water, and a handful of purple berries promising your return. Don't only eat at the tourist restaurants on the main street — walk a block off, prices drop by a third, the flavor stays the same. And make sure to try mate — better to share a calabaza with locals once than to see it drunk in movies a hundred times.