Mendoza's restaurant scene is shaped by the city's wine culture — most good restaurants have serious wine lists, and the pairing of Argentine food with local Malbec is taken seriously. The staples are what you'd expect: grilled beef, empanadas, locro (a hearty Andean stew), and abundant fresh produce from the irrigated valleys around the city.
Calle Arístides Villanueva is the main restaurant strip, lined with everything from casual pavement cafés to wine bars with long lists of regional producers. It runs west of the centre and is the natural place to end up on any evening. Prices are reasonable by international standards even in the better establishments, partly because the exchange rate and local economy make fine dining here affordable for visitors.
Bodega restaurants offer some of the best food in the Mendoza region — lunch among the vines with four or five matched courses, each accompanied by the estate's own wines. Several bodegas in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley operate restaurants that have become destinations in their own right. Book ahead, especially in harvest season.
Empanadas mendocinas are the local street food — filled with beef, onion, hard-boiled egg, and olives, baked rather than fried, and eaten by the bagful. Most small restaurants and bakeries sell them cheaply. The olive oil produced in the Mendoza valleys is excellent and widely available.