Pura Vida

We had a great lunch at Pura Vida. We arrived without a reservation and were welcomed to a table immediately. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was delicious!!! We had some empanadas plus the Lamb Pie and the Beef Stew served in a pumpkin. Very tasty and generous portions. Home made bread was an added bonus. Would definitely recommend this place.

If comfort food had a destination, it would be Pura Vida. This cozy and colorful restaurant in El Calafate serves up hearty meals that feel like a warm hug after a long day. The vibrant atmosphere, with its eclectic decor and relaxed vibe, sets the tone for an unforgettable dining experience. The food? Absolutely spectacular. We started with their fresh homemade bread and a flavorful bean spread that paired beautifully with a glass of red wine. For the mains, the stuffed pumpkin was filled with tender beef and melted cheese—rich, indulgent, and packed with flavor. The lamb stew, baked in a golden bread dome, was a standout—perfectly seasoned and comforting. Portions were generous enough that we had leftovers for another meal the next day! It’s worth noting that Pura Vida leans on the pricier side, but the quality and experience are well worth it. Try to reserve ahead—we were lucky to get a table for two by walking in, but we had to wait about 20 minutes. Thankfully, there’s a seating area where we enjoyed a well-made Pisco Sour to pass the time, which honestly made the wait enjoyable! Pura Vida is a must-visit in El Calafate for authentic, hearty dishes with a local twist. Highly recommended!

We ordered the salad and the lamb pie. Both were great, but the lamb pie was the best dish we had in Argentina so far. Additionally, they served us a local bread accompanied by a typical dip made of black lentils. For a desert we had the chocolate brownies with berries and ice cream. In conclusion, all food was great, as well as the service. Highly recommended !

This is a very neat restaurant with cool decorations and a good selection of food. The vegetarian lasagna was really hot when I first got it but it was really good and filling. The complimentary bread and dip were also really good. I‘m hoping to recreate the dip on my own! It was pretty busy when we got there for dinner so it might be better to have a reservation

Visited Pura Vida in El Calafate and it was worth the wait! We arrived around 9 PM and had about a 30-minute wait, but passed the time with a delicious El Calafate Sour cocktail. The restaurant has a cozy, zen vibe that immediately made us feel relaxed. For dinner, we ordered their specials – the meat stew served in a gourd was hearty and absolutely delicious, and the potato pie was equally satisfying. Highly recommend this spot for anyone looking for a memorable meal in El Calafate!

Such a cute restaurant with a nice view and outdoor patio. Many vegetarian/vegan options available as well. I had Argentine Carbonada (not vegeterian/vegan) and fresh lemonade, and they were very delicious! Also the bread was amazing. Portion were quite large. The staff were friendly.

Okay. This was easily one of the best meals we’ve ever had. Seriously. Like ever. Incredibly fresh, natural, complex - every bite slightly different, yet insanely perfect. Stop reading and go if you’re anywhere near El Calafate. I’ve had a lot of great meals in my time, and a few really exceptional ones. I love natural, complex, flavorful foods that just gel well together. I’ll start by saying the complimentary starter bread was some of the best I’ve ever eaten, and both of our dishes I’d easily rank in my top 3-4 dishes ever. Yes, ever. They were that good. The bread, Pan Casero Con Lentejas a la Vinagreta (homemade bread with lentils in vinaigrette) was baked to perfection. Slight crusty on the outside and beautifully fluffy in the inside. I had the Argentine Carbonada - “Beef stew with sweet potato, carrot, corn and peach served in cabutia pumpkin and gratin with parmesan cheese”. Every bite was different, complex, fresh, and deliciously perfect. My fiancé had the Country Chicken Pie - “Bittersweet spicy chicken topped with puff pastry, egg, golden raisins & green olives”. The pastry crust was perfection, more like a pie lattice, and the filling was insane I don’t care if you don’t like olives, raisins, or whatever. Don’t knock this til ya try it. I ate several bites of hers and didn’t know which one was best. So all in all, one of the best meals ever and another day well lived. Pura Vida indeed!

Absolutely delicious! We had the lamb pie (sweet potato topping) and Guanaco pie (with puff pastry on top in the photos). It was one of the best meals we've had whilst travelling for 3 months so far. Our meal was around 63,000 pesos for two beers and two pies.

Great food, good service! We liked the beef stew, rich in flavors, gnocchi with saffron and cream will be something you never tried ! Trust you should order Malbec to wash the food with!

Excellent place - really cool trendy decor and a definite upscale hipster vibe. Honestly kind of just a cool place to hang out in. But then you can also get a delicious meal and wine. There's something about this place that makes wine just feel right. Maybe it's all the reds? I had a cazuela de guanaco - which was really just hearty and delicious. Also kind of beautiful in its presentation. High marks.

Pura Vida takes a twist in rustic Argentine cooking by modernizing the flavors. Expect a great stew inside a pumpkin. Expect empanadas that taste fresh and savory. Even expect good cocktails! There aren't bad orders in the menu and portions are generous. Getting a table might be tough so try for a reservation if possible. If not, they offer a shared table inside that you can use by yourself or with a small group. Indoor and outdoor patio seating is available. Parking is limited but street parking does exist.

Busy restaurant and small, but good food. the cannoli was very good with the rose sauce and the stew. the green lasagna was goood but not as good as it says it is. would recommend!! Gnocchi sauce was delicious and the pasta itself was yummy, but is an expensive restaurant.

Food was delicious and they were able to accommodate gluten free options! Definitely recommend .

Great place - yummy, high quality homemade food, great ambiance and prompt service. I would highly recommend this restaurant to fellow travelers.

The rec for healthy food in El Calafate from our host. This is definitely catering to the tourist however it is quirky in a hipster/om kind of way. I tried the meat stew in the pumpkin. Definitely a heavier meal on the sweeter side. The pumpkin itself is very good. I didn't enjoy the meat as much itself. The lasagna is actually like a puff pastry but heavier and has jamón. The lamb stew is hearty but tastes mostly of mushroom cream. I actually liked that but my friend who ate it was neutral about it and wanted more lamb flavor. This place is cozy and inviting like someone's living room and the people are nice here which I can't say the same for other places in town.

Delicious food, great ambiance, excellent service !!! I wish I was there again for dinner

Great place for homemade stews and bread. A nice change from steaks and lamb. Affordable wines. The carbonara is popular and served in a bowl made of pumpkin squash. It's sweet and heavy and a little overwhelming. I loved the meat stew - hearty savory and satisfying. But I'm sure you can't go wrong. You can always opt to pay extra for a pumpkin bowl. Pura Vida is pretty far off the center of town but make sure you go early or have a reservation because it fills up fast!

I specifically looked for places with vegetarian options since I am not big into meat. They do have acceptable vegetarian options that are tasty and overall good. Nothing out of ordinary. The total cost for my meal was 2K ARS (one glass of wine, dinner, water, etc.). Very good decorations and seating. It is kind of popular and saw several reserved tables, which were not filled even after I left. The serving staff was good too.

Went here for lunch from a recommendation from a local and it was a great spot! A lot of great food options to choose from from healthy to heartier foods. The server was nice and the inside had fun decorations. There were large seating areas and smaller areas to choose from as well as outdoor seating with some great views of the scenery.

I wanted to like this place but my experience didn't live up to expectations. Decent service, yummy bread while you wait, and good food for the most part. Unfortunately for me, I accidentally ordered something with meat (I'm a veggie eater) and they wouldn't remake something for me without meat.. so my boyfriend and I just split his entree and mine sat untouched. It was my mistake, that's for sure, but the handling of it ruined the experience. Interior is cute, well decorated.

Definitely one of the best restaurants in El Calafate! I highly recommend this restaurant for a great family meal. They are pretty good about dietary restrictions, and even have quite a few dishes that are vegetarian/vegan friendly. It's basically a nice place to sit down for a casual dinner of comfort food. We ordered tomato soup to start out and it was simply heavenly! I know their bread is absolutely delicious, but don't fill up on it because whatever you ordered for you entree with be twice as delicious and twice as massive as you expect. I ordered a lamb stew for dinner and it was just phenomenal. It was basically a stew baked with a thick bread crust over it. My mouth is still watering from remembering the perfectly seasoned lamb. My only recommendation? It is simply too much food for one person. I think you are better off ordering one entree for every two people in your party and sharing. You'll enjoy the food much more and it won't feel overwhelming. The other thing I would recommend about this place - get here early. Customers start to line up an hour before it opens and they do not take reservations. But, if you get here 30 minutes before opening, you can usually get a great table. However, if you wait until the restaurant actually opens, you'll be waiting all night for a table.

The restaurant is a little on the quirky side, but definitely worth dining at. Casual dining even though $$$ signs. I had the lamb pie and lamb stew. Probably the best cooked lamb I've ever had in my life. It beats Le Cinq inside the George V (Four Seasons Paris), for a fraction of the cost.

A great find in El Calafate! We stopped in for dinner after browsing reviews and looking at their menu and weren't disappointed. There is dining on two floors, with very cool artsy decor and comfortable seating. The serving staff was everywhere, flying around like bees with everyone taking care of everything. The menu was impressive, with lots of Argentine specialties and traditional dishes. We had a trio of empanadas to start off, then split a lamb pie due to the huge portion sizes. To finish off, we had a very decadent dulce de leche and a dessert featuring Malbec poached pairs, one of the most amazing dishes I've tasted. We had a great time dining here; Pura Vida is, in my opinion, the best restaurant in El Calafate.

Fantastic food and service! Our waitress was super helpful and spoke great English for us since our Spanish is not stellar. I would recommend the pumpkin soup!!

I often write a sentence or two about the atmosphere of the restaurant, but this is perhaps the South American epicenter of the hipsters and counterculture. There are funky colorful lights, walls, and painting with cool chairs and cushions. Bohemian is a word that comes to mind also. The Beetles played four songs in the hour I was there. Enough about that, the lamb is a cut above, both in the form of lamb stew and lamb pie. You won't go wrong if you order that. They also have a solid tomato soup. Come hungry because portions are fairly big, half the people I saw leave before us ordered doggie bags. Like many other Argentinian restaurants, they don't open until the advanced hour of 7:30.

Friendly place, local food - lamb stew, "meat" stew, chicken pie, etc. We had the meat stew, which is served in a pumpkin, and it was delicious. Unless you're extremely hungry you should share one main dish because the food is rich and the portions are very large. If you like to sample local fare when you travel you should definitely check Pura Vida out.

This place is really cute, I got the lamb stew in Calabasas and it was delicious. The bread was delicious, the wine pour was...extremely generous :) portions also generous. The staff was sweet. I would go back!

We had an amazing meal at Pura Vida, perfect selection of soups, stews, and pastas after a long, cold day. The staff was great and the ambience was excellent. Among our group we tried the pumpkin stew, lentil guiso, lamb ravioli, and gnoccis. The portions were generous, but we all had clean plates at the end. Highly recommend!

We are a family of three, one with a gluten-free requirement. We chose this restaurant based on Yelp reviews and proximity to our hotel. It was fantastic! The portions were large enough to share, the help was very friendly and bilingual (great English and Spanish), and the food was delicious! Such terrific flavors, especially compared to the bland cuisine of Buenos Aires. Prior to receiving our entrees, they brought out warm bread and warm, delicious gluten free rolls made from yucca flour. The decor is colorful and eclectic, and the music was a delightful blend of ages and genres. Price was very good for the area and considering the size of the entrees. Highly recommend!

CHOOSE this restaurant - ignore biased hotel recommendations - it's the full package: great food, service and environment.

Cool funky interior. Huge tasty portions of stews. Great presentation for food. Feels very reasonable for the price