Don Victoriano (formerly El Gato Negro)
Cosy cafe and spice shop that takes visitors on a journey through time and space
El Gato Negro, now renamed Don Victoriano in honour of its founder, is worth a visit for the aroma alone. This cosy cafe and spice shop on Avenida Corrientes is famous for its jars of spices and teas imported from around the world, as well as its period decoration.
It was founded in 1927 by the Spaniard Victoriano López Robredo, who named his business El Gato Negro (The Black Cat) after a cafe in Madrid. Robredo fell in love with spices during his time living abroad in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), Singapore and the Philippines, as the employee of a British company.
