There's something suspicious about the reviews for Buenos Aires Restaurant in Shawnee. They're…read moreeither glowing five-star praises or scathing one-star warnings. My experience leans toward the latter, though I'm giving it two stars solely because our server was kind and genuinely tried his best.
I initially asked for a cocktail menu, having seen several drinks featured on their Facebook page. The waiter informed me they don't have a bar, had just gotten their liquor license, and could only make a drink if I provided a recipe. That was a red flag. He ended up calling the owner, who texted over a few recipes. At that point, we settled for sangria because I didn't feel comfortable letting someone wing a cocktail from memory.
Then came the next blow: they were out of all steak items and all desserts. This was frustrating, especially after ordering a pitcher of sangria under the assumption we'd be enjoying a full meal.
We ordered the "Taste of Argentina" to sample a variety. The first dish to arrive was an empanada and it was passable, but the filling was slightly cold, clearly reheated, likely in an air fryer. That was fine. Next came a plate with a basic ham and cheese sandwich, a small salad, and potato salad. The sandwich was generic, something you'd expect from a deli cooler, though the salad was fresh.
The second plate was, frankly, inedible. Everything tasted like it had just come out of a microwave. The pizza was soggy, the chicken with cheese was flavorless, and another meat-and-cheese item had a strange, off-putting taste and again, cold in the center. The only remotely decent thing was a sausage sandwich, which was just okay.
What baffles me is that it wasn't even busy. It was just one other table occupied, so there's really no excuse for this low level of quality. For a $40 sampler plate and a $40 pitcher of sangria, we received maybe $5 worth of food, both in taste and presentation.
I won't be returning, and frankly, I'm confused by the flood of five-star reviews. Based on our experience, they do not reflect reality.