Roma Abasto is a classic cafe made new.

Now with a younger vibe and updated menu (think more upscale empanadas and pizza), the decor and menu items remain authentic and largely unchanged.

This is the sort of change I like to see as these old bars “renew” themselves versus Café Le Caravelle in Microcentro that completely modernized their decor into a bar with zero personality. A boring blank slate forgetting what made them great.

Bar Roma, on the other hand, offers the best of both worlds – reliably excellent food of a new hip restaurant plus the history and personality of a century old Porteño cafe.

They have vermouth specials for an evening copetin (happy hour) and excellent weekday lunch specials for those on a budget.