La Pampa Parrilla: an Argentina Steakhouse Chain

I’m a big fan of Argentina steakhouses and Medellín has several including the La Pampa Parrilla, which is a chain of four Argentina steakhouses.

La Pampa is very popular and it’s one of the highest rated restaurants in the city on TripAdvisor.

In the U.S., we’d call La Pampa a steakhouse, but here in South America it’s known as a parilla, a restaurant where grilled meats are served.

This chain of restaurants caters to a more sophisticated, adult clientele. Each of the four restaurant’s interiors offers an intimate atmosphere suitable for any occasion, from business lunches to a night out with friends, or a romantic dinner date.

The restaurant chain has four locations:

• In Provenza about five blocks from Parque Lleres
• In Laureles near the Primer Parque de Laureles
• On Avenida Las Palmas near the Carulla grocery store
• At Mall Interplaza on Carrera 30

Over the past few years I have been to all four of the La Pampa restaurant locations but most frequently have gone to the Provenza location.

On the weekends, these popular steakhouses can sometimes get busy so I would recommend calling for a reservation. The restaurants also tend to have live music on the weekends.

Our Recent Experience at La Pampa

We recently were in the mood for steaks for dinner and decided to go to La Pampa since we hadn’t been there for a while.

We went to the Povenza location and made a reservation since we were going on a Friday night. We ended up with a table on the second floor where the salad bar and kitchen are located.

Our reservation was for 7:30 pm and by 8:30 pm the restaurant was pretty full.

My Colombian wife decided on the imported New York steak, which was perfectly cooked and cost 58,500 pesos ($19.68).

I had the ojo de bife (rib eye), which is a typical cut to grill in Argentina. The cost was 34,500 pesos ($11.61).

My steak was also perfectly cooked, and I appreciated every minute of it, as it was tasty with a good flavor and fairly tender texture. I also tried my wife’s New York steak and her imported steak was even better.

My impression is that the Povenza location of La Pampa is very popular with locals and expats and the restaurant had live music on the first floor while we were there.

For two of us for dinner, not including alcohol since we weren’t drinking, but including tip, the total was 124,000 pesos ($41.69).

The Menu at La Pampa

The menu at the restaurants primarily includes meats since it’s a steakhouse chain. The imported New York steaks cost 58,500 pesos and the imported Entraña Argentina cut (skirt steak) costs 87,500 pesos.

They have several other non-imported steaks including Churrasco, Baby Beef, Bife de Chorizo (sirloin) and Ojo de Bife (rib-eye), which cost 34,500 pesos each.

Note the steaks don’t come with sides but they have several options for sides including French fries, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes and onion rings. Unfortunately no vegetable options other than yuca.

The restaurant also has BBQ ribs that cost 34,800 pesos, pork that costs 31,500 pesos, veal that costs 32,500 pesos and chicken breasts that costs 29,500 pesos.

The menu also includes salmon for 41,900 pesos, a few pasta options for 24,900 pesos each and hamburgers for 16,500 pesos.

Appetizers range in price from 10,900 pesos to 20,500 pesos. I recommend the traditional Argentina sausage. La Pampa also has a salad bar.

The restaurant has a decent selection of wines as well as your typical rum, whisky and aguardiente. The restaurant serves many types of beers ranging in price from 4,900 to 7,500 pesos as well as natural juices and sodas.

How to Get There

La Pampa has four restaurants in Medellín with the same menu in each. The four La Pampa restaurant addresses and phone numbers are as follows:

• Provenza – Carrera 33 # 8a – 11 (311-5993)
• Laureles – Carrera 75 No. 40 – 10 (366-7304)
• Vía Las Palmas Km2 (312-3909) cerca Carulla
• Mall Interplaza – Carrera 30 # 10c – 228 (266-9663)

The Provenza restaurant is located only about five blocks from Parque Lleres in El Poblado.

To get to the Provenza La Pampa restaurant from Parque Lleres you can walk from Parque Lleres to Calle 10 and then walk east about four blocks to Carrera 33 and take a right. The restaurant will be on the right side of the street.

By taxi simply give one of the La Pampa restaurant addresses above to the taxi driver.

The Bottom Line

I’m a fan of Argentinian steak restaurants having eaten at several in Buenos Aires.

So I’m happy that Medellín has the La Pampa chain of Argentina steakhouses as well as Bariloche Parrilla, which is another good Argentina steakhouse.

If you are in the mood for a quality Argentinian style steak from the grill, combined with attentive service head to one of the La Pampa restaurants.