Finally, on Thursday, July 20, the historic Pabellón El Águila café located in the Ecopark opened its doors as “Águila Pabellón”, a new restaurant that adds to the wide gastronomic offer of Palermo. . The restaurant He already registered 3000 reservations in his agenda. This first week it will open only at night and from August it will operate from Monday to Monday, from 8 in the morning until closing.
In 2019, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the City had reported the validity of the public tender for the concession of the Palermo building for 15 years. However, the group that took it agreed to keep it for a decade.
With a investment of $700 million, the building was renovated inside and out. “It was in very bad shape so we completely restore it; from the façade to the internal part and the terraces overlooking the wooded garden, respecting heritage and the existing construction”, details Pedro Díaz Flores, shareholder and director of the Abridor gastronomic group that has bakeries, pizzerias, restaurants, among other proposals in the Federal Capital, and is the company in charge of the new venture and the recovery of the building.
The architecture, design, interior design, restoration and enhancement work is in charge of the architect Diana Lisman, who is part of the Abridor team and is the one who carries out all its projects.
The property of 562 m² built with Art Nouveau style will have parking spaces sitting for 325 people between the two interior floors and the terraces on the ground floor and the first floor. From these, you can see the gangs and peacocks that walk loose through the Ecopark
“The restaurant has two private places. On the one hand, a quarry in the underground with walls covered in flagstone in which you can make a reservation for four people. For the other, a lounge on the first floor for 12 diners with bathroom and own service”, assures Díaz Flores.
The director of the gastronomic group adds that the top floor is decorated with a wainscoting (cladding), furniture and mirrors that they bought at one of the auctions held by the Hotel Plaza.
In addition to recovering the function that it knew how to serve, the Abridor group inverted the order of the original name (Pabellón El Águila for Águila Pabellón) to pay tribute to the history of the place.
In an Argentina that was taking its first steps, was founded in 1888 ex Zoological Garden of Buenos Aires within the limits of the Federal Capital. Emblematic, it received millions of visits until its closure in 2016 when the plans to transform into an Ecopark began.
Throughout the 128 years that it was open, different entertainment and service proposals worked in it. One of them was the Pabellón El Águila confectionery, whose significance gave the property in which it was located the title of historical heritage.
“Was one of the first sweet shops in Buenos Aires to open, when Sarmiento street was not yet developed and the café was entered with carriages from the back of the property”, Díaz Flores recreates the scene.
Over time, the building where the confectionery was located left behind the aroma of coffee and explored new functions. The building became the restaurant of the zoo, later it was abandoned for a time and in the last time it was active it functioned as a Center for Art and Nature, administered by the University of Tres de Febrero.
