Gala Tango Show with Optional Dinner in Buenos Aires

Before our trip, we did a lot of research into which tango place to go to. I'm very glad we picked this one. There's definitely a little industry around tango shows for tourists, comparable to the flamenco business in Madrid and Seville. Lots of options to choose from. Gala Tango gave us what I'd hoped for--excellent wine, a very good dinner, and plenty of tango. Highly recommend. We opted for the wine tasting beforehand. The sommelier was outstanding, impressive even to my long-time wine aficionado boyfriend. For us this was a far better choice than the mini-lesson in tango dancing. The food at the dinner was really good, exceeded expectations. Argentinian classics. I wouldn't say it's Michelin star quality, but it was like dinner at a high-ish end resort (I had braced myself for something more like dinner at a professional association's annual banquet--fortunately, what Gala Tango served was much better than that). Service during dinner was great. Loved the performance! The musicians are talented, the dancers amazing. I lost track of how many numbers they did. Vocal numbers filled the intervals when the dancers were changing costumes. I definitely felt like I saw all the tango I'd hoped for and left wanting to keep listening to tango music. The only part that puzzled me was the show's final number: "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" sung by the entire cast. Right, so, not an Argentinian song, but one written by a British composer and later performed on screen by an American pop star. Not to mention that I can't figure out how today's Argentinians feel about Eva Peron (maybe "it's complicated" is the right answer?). If there was irony behind this Evita capstone, I didn't pick up on it. So, my jaw dropped, but evidently this is what the show's creators think the audience--mostly from English-dominant countries--want. Logistics were fine in that the promised transportation showed up on time at our hotel in Palermo. We were on that van for a long time as it picked up guests at other hotels (use the bathroom before getting on the van). I liked seeing different parts of Buenos Aires during the ride, but after the show we opted to call an Uber.

Intimate setting. Fabulous tango dancers, musicians and other performers. Service at the table was impeccable. Highly recommend.

The tour loses a star because the dinner was disappointing: for a city that's famous for its steaks, the steaks served with dinner were mostly tough/overdone (not just our personal view but one that was shared by many of those sitting around us). The show itself was fun, with various small groups of dancers performing the Tango, interspersed with songs that were well known to Argentinians, who sang along, but were unfamiliar to foreigners.