Like any capital city, Santiago has a wide variety of restaurants serving many types of cuisine. Cheap local dishes are as easy to find as classy meals of an international flavor. Quality meats are readily available, as are fish and seafood fresh from the Pacific. Chilean wines are excellent and generally a lot cheaper than European varieties. Price indicators give an idea of cost for a three course meal, excluding wine.
The restaurants below have been classed into four different pricing categories:
$ (up to US$10)
$$ (US$10 to US$20)
$$$ (US$20 to US$40)
$$$$ (over US$40)
Gourmet Bristol The
Bristol restaurant has a refined atmosphere and caters for Santiago’s elite. Under the direction of executive chef Guillermo Rodriguez, the restaurant is the only hotel in the country to be awarded three gold medals by the Chilean Gastronomy Association. Cuisine is a modern take on traditional Chilean and dishes include Easter Island tuna with red wine and coriander risotto, and wild boar with baked quince chestnut sauce and Huacatay pesto.
Hotel Plaza San Francisco, Avenida Bernado O’Higgins 816 (Alameda)
Tel: (2) 360 4445.
Website:
www.plazasanfrancisco.cl Price: $$$$.
Camino Real This is one of the city’s best restaurants and it is scenically located on St Cristobal hill. The fantastic view is perhaps the biggest draw, but this doesn’t detract from the quality food conjured up by top chef Ximena Celis. Treats include fillet steak with red wine sauce or salmon and caviar bellinis. There’s also an excellent choice of wines, many from the vineyard of the same name.
Parque Metropolitano
Tel: (2) 232 3381.
Price: $$$$.
Sommelier Part restaurant, part wine bar:
Sommelier matches all its dishes perfectly with the finest vinos. This exclusive diner in Bellavista is an experience in itself. Atmosphere is relaxed and as elegant as a place modeled on a wine cellar can be. The chef prepares international fare, including confit of duck or saffron risotto with shellfish.
Dardignac 0163
Tel: (2) 732 0034
or 732 5548.
Price: $$$.
Business Anakena Part of the Hyatt Regency Santiago hotel complex,
Anakena is a smart Thai restaurant and grill. It is a great venue for business lunches, where diners are surrounded by lush gardens, fringed with palm trees. If Italian food is preferred, then the hotel’s
Crostini restaurant would be the natural choice.
Avenida Kennedy 4601
Tel: (2) 218 1234.
Website:
www.santiago.regency.hyatt.com Price: $$$.
Les Assassins This traditional French restaurant apparently got its name from the ’men with daggers’ who hung around during Chile’s darker days.
Les Assassins today is full of rustic charm with chequered table cloths and authentic French posters. Diners can enjoy standard dishes such as
coq au vin, pepper steak or pancakes stuffed with mushrooms and shrimps in a white sauce.
Merced 297
Tel: (2) 638 4280.
Price: $$.
La Terraza La Terraza is a fine dining experience located in the InterContinental Santiago hotel. It’s an informal and convenient dining room serving international food, with an Italian bias. The chef prides himself on sourcing the freshest local ingredients, including a wide choice of fish and meats.
Luz 2920
Tel: (2) 394 2000.
Website:
www.ichotelsgroup.com Price: $$$.
Trendy Etniko This hip Japanese restaurant is impeccably furnished and attracts a young, wealthy crowd. The ambient music adds to the calm, relaxed atmosphere at
Etniko, which serves ultra-fresh sushi and stir-fry dishes, with some international choices. This place is so cool that it doesn’t even need a sign above the door.
Constitucion 172
Tel: (2) 732 0119.
Website:
www.etniko.cl Price: $$$.
FZM - Fulano Zutano Mengano Located in the heart of Santiago,
FZM is a smart restaurant serving international dishes. The vibe of the place is enhanced by the works of modern art lining the walls. Specialties include ’devil’ steak (peppered and spiced), Spanish style salmon and mushroom flan.
Agustinas 1352
Tel: (2) 290 5700.
Price: $$.
Zanzibar Exotic dishes are served at this exotic restaurant. Decked out like a Bedouin tent, this is a fun place for friends to meet and eat before they head out to the bars and clubs. As it is located in Vitacura, it is a bit of a trek from the city center but it is worth it to witness the chef’s world food creations.
Monseñor Escribá de Balaguer 6400
Tel: (2) 218 0118.
Website:
www.zanzibar.cl Price: $$.
Budget Don Simón Don Simón is a cheap and cheerful place in lively Bellavista. The restaurant offers basic staples such as a filling Chilean stew known as cazuela. The attentive staff also serve meats dishes
’a la pobre’, which means they come with a large portion of fried potatoes with an egg on top.
Pío Nono 261
Tel (2) 777 0274.
Price: $.
Izakaya Yoko This Japanese canteen is an eternally popular diner for hungry city workers at lunchtime and party people during the evening. The best value dishes on the menu are the enormous bowls of noodle soups. But it is also a great place to try some quality sushi without breaking the bank.
Merced 456
Tel: (2) 632 1954.
Price: $.
Venezia Apparently the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda used to frequent this place when he lived around the corner.
Venezia is an old-fashioned family picada, which serves traditional Chilean dishes at low prices.
Pío Nono 200
Tel: (2) 737 0900.
Price: $.
Personal recommendations A Pinch of Pancho This North American style restaurant is the creation of television chef Pancho Toro and his brother Carlos. Customers can expect a relaxed environment and hearty dishes, such as New England chowder, grilled lamb chops with honey mustard sauce and BBQ spare ribs.
General del Canto 45
Tel: (2) 235 1700.
Price: $$.
Donde Agusto Located in the Mercado Central,
Donde Agusto is one of the best-loved seafood restaurants in Santiago. It is best experienced at Sunday lunchtime when Santiguan families dine in the elegant restaurant as a weekend treat. Visitors should remember that this is Chilean seafood and the menu has many exotic fruits of the sea and dishes that may not be found at home, such as the national specialty conger eel.
Mercado Central
Tel: (2) 672 2829.
Price: $$.
El Huerto El Huerto is generally regarded as the best vegetarian restaurant in Santiago. Its Providencia location means it is popular day and night with customers who are either committed vegetarians or just want a break from the relentless meat fest of the Chilean diet. The salads are particularly good, while the simple cooked dishes are deliciously wholesome.
Orrego Luco 054
Tel: (2) 233 2690.
Web:
www.elhuerto.cl Price: $$.
Nightlife:Most of Santiago’s popular after-hour venues are located outside the downtown area. The Bellavista district is regarded as the city’s artistic quarter and is home to many of its more popular bars, restaurants and discos. Its main drag is the Calle Pio Nono, a lively but tacky strip through the heart of the area, and the street of choice for large gangs of local youths out on the town. Less hectic and more comfortable bars can be found on Calle Constitución - the next street across. Bellavista is widely regarded as having gone downhill in recent years and it is fair to say the district no longer deserves its reputation as the epicenter of Santiago bohemia, having succumbed to the commercialization of its image. It is still worth a visit, however, at least for the experience of watching young Santiago at play. A redeeming feature of the area is its eccentric street theater, which often continues until dawn.
Another lively area of theme pubs, clubs, restaurants and live music venues is the area around Avenida Suecia in Providencia, popular with city workers, tourists and ex-pats alike. Meanwhile, the tidy middle-class district of Nuñoa is gaining in popularity as a place for a night out among young sophisticates and students disaffected by the kitsch of Bellavista. The best bars offering a much quieter scene are to be found around the Plaza Nuñoa. More upmarket venues can be found in the El Bosque Norte and Las Condes areas of the city. Santiago’s jetset and people in the know head to Paseo San Damián, off Avenida Las Condes.
Chile’s legal drinking age is 18 years - a rule strictly adhered to in most establishments. There are no licensing hours in operation and most establishments stay open until around 0700. A reasonable-sized beer costs at least Ch$1000 but is more likely to cost double this figure. Admission to nightclubs runs from free to very expensive but the norm tends to be between Ch$3,000 and Ch$15,000. Dress code is generally casual, although there are smarter places.
Bars: Boomerang Pub, Calle General Holley 2285, is a loud and lively Oz-style bar in Providencia that offers live music and dancing on most nights. Just down the road is a trendy new bar called
Lakshmi, Avenida Suecia 0132. A long-established institution among homesick Brits is the
Phonebox Pub, Avenida Providencia 1652 (website:
www.phoneboxpub.com), where Chilean lager is served in pint glasses. The exclusive area of Las Condes has many fashionable places, including
Barabú, Avenida Las Condes 8962, and
Zitrik Pub, Avenida Las Condes 7701.
Kapot Bar, Avenida Irarrázaval 689, is one the latest hotspots in Nuñoa with cocktails and dancing ’til dawn. In the city center try
La Chiminea, Pasaje Principe de Gales 90, a Bohemian favorite since the 1950s.
Casinos: The only serious gambling facilities are to be found in the millionaires’ playground of Viña del Mar. The best-known such establishment is the
Casino Viña del Mar, Avenida San Martin 199 (tel: (32) 500 600; website:
www.casino.cl). This establishment operates a formal dress code and a minimum age of 18 years. Foreign visitors are required to show their passports to be admitted.
Clubs: One of city’s current favorites is
Organiko (website:
www.organiko.cl), Avenida Manuel Montt 442, which plays a mix of electronica, house and trance in a modern minimalist setting.
Subterraneo (website:
www.subterraneo.cl), Paseo Orrego Luco 46, is another trendy club in Providencia featuring some of the city’s finest DJs.
Blondie, Avenida Bernardo O’Higgins (Alameda) 2879 (website:
www.blondie.cl), has become something of a Santiago institution, offering various themed nights covering ’old wave’ favorites and modern indie. Those looking for more of a Latin experience should head to one of the
salsotecas, such as
Arriba de la Bola (website:
www.arribadelabola.cl) on Calle General Holley 171, for live music and dancing to salsa, merengue and other Latin American rhythms, like cumbia.
Live Music: Most bars or pubs offer music of some description, including the
Boomerang Pub, Calle General Holley 2285, which has live acts most nights.
Ilé Habana, Calle Bucarest 85, has a nightly live salsa show with a Cuban band and after-dinner dancing. Jazz fans should make the pilgrimage to the
Santiago Jazz Club (website:
www.clubdejazz.cl), Avenida José Pedro Alessandri 85, in Nuñoa, for international artists and local jam sessions. In Bellavista, try the Spanish-influenced
Tablao, Calle Constitución 110, where tableside shows sometimes feature flamenco guitar and dancing. Visiting superstars usually play their gigs at the
Estadio Nacional (National Stadium), Avenida Grecia 2001, or the Teatro Municipal, Calle Agustinas 749.
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