Santiago, Chile

[Mrs. P]

Also, didn't do it this trip, but if you are going South I have 2 recommendations

Bellavista for onces (afternoon tea) outside of Frutillar. It is a B&B type of place, up on a hill off the road. It has a beautiful dining room, and the onces are spectacular.

Blazac in Puerto Montt for a classy and yummy dinner - Chilean classics that apply French techniques. Truly a stand-out kind of place. Also remember to pick up some smoked salmon at the market by the water.

[Schneier]

We had a great couple of days: delicious food, fascinating markets, interesting sights. Here are the basics that I wish someone told me before we left:

"Most of Santiago's sights are in the old city: the barrio called Santiago. Everything is close, and you can see everything in a day. Most interesting are the Iglesia de San Francisco, the Cathedral de Santiago, and the Museo Precolombino.

"Take the Metro downtown. It's cheap, and the cleanest Metro you'll ever see. The most convenient stops are Plaza de Armas and Universidad de Chile.

"Get a hotel in the Providencia neighborhood. It's an easy Metro ride downtown, and it's where the best restaurants and the good nightlife are. We stayed at the Sheraton, but there are a bunch of other good hotels in the area."

Why is it so hard to find a compact useful description like that?

[Schneier]

Dinner #1 was at Aqui esta Coco (La Conception 236, +56 2 235 8649). It's billed as the best seafood restaurant in Santiago, and we're not surprised. Delicious fresh fish. And an English menu.

To start we had the ceviche mixto, with corvena (Chilean sea bass), squid, octopus, and prawns, marinated in lemon juice, and served with onions, coriander, and chili pepers. We would have liked more chili peppers, but that's a personal preference. We also had the caldillo de congrio: conger eel soup. Amazingly rich broth, tasty eel, with potatoes and spices.

As a main, I got the merluza austral: filet of hake, covered with baby eels and shoestring potatoes. (Yes, you could tell one from the other.) Perfect piece of fish, tasty eels -- eat them quick so you don't see the eyes -- and a good sauce. Ask for rice instead of potatoes, though.

K ordered the stuffed trout: a grilled fillet rolled around a mound of king crab in a Thermador sauce. This dish was fantastic. We also ordered a side of veggies, two Pisco sours, and a half-bottle of Chilean wine. Total cost: 40,000 pesos or $80 U.S.

[Schneier]

Dinner #2: Astrid y Gaston (Antonio-Bellet 201, +56 2 650 9125). This is a world-class restaurant: by far, the best in Santiago. It's actually the Chilean outpost of a Peruvian restaurant. Gaston is Peruvian, and has a Spanish-language cooking show, and restaurants in Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, and Venezuela. (Astrid is his German wife.) Our waiter said that he's opening up one in Miami, and I would recommend it sight unseen. All the chefs train at the main restaurant in Lima, but the menus are all different because of local ingredients and tastes.

The menu is a unique kind of celebrity-chef fusion: all the dishes literally burst with flavor. To start we shared grilled foie gras and mango brochette. Imagine a triangle of French toast with a piece of foie gras, mango, and the flavors of Pisco and assorted herbs. Absolutely stunning.

We then shared two mains. First was the Angler's Parrotfish, described on the menu as "Intercontinental fusion of South American-Southeast Asian flavorings with tamarind and ginger. Roughly mashed yucca with Spanish sausage. Creole paw-paw sauce." It was so amazingly good that I didn't want to trade.

The other main was roast duck breast on a mashed lucuma fruit, potato pie, and a paw-pay and mandarin sauce. (Lucuma is a local fruit that I had been looking for in the market earlier.) The whole dish was fantastic: great flavors, both interesting separately and together.

There were a bunch of interesting desserts, but we settled on sushi. Gaston couldn't possibly be the first chef to have invented dessert sushi, but I had never seen it before. The quince sushi was a thin wrapper of membrillo, filled with maracuya fruit sherbet. On the side was a sweet quinoa dish: basically rice pudding made with quinoa instead of rice. The chocolate sushi was three small rolls: white chocolate with pralines, chocolate with pistachio, and chocolate with raspberry.

Astrid y Gaston is billed as the most expensive restaurant meal in Santiago. Our total bill for two, including wine, was 50,000 pesos ($100 U.S.) including tip.

[Schneier]

As good as the dinners were, the highlight of this visit was Mercado Central. This is the downtown fish market. Yes, it's touristy, but the colorful and chaotic market is filled with locals too. The locals buy fish from the various vendors, and both locals and tourists eat at the many restaurants. These are all small restaurants, many of them very small. They all have hustlers outside, trying to entice you to eat there. But they pester the locals, too, and they accept a polite "no" for an answer.

We chose a restaurant basically at random: Marisqueria "Pilas Blanca." (It's in the SE corner of the market, if you want to find it.) It was filled with locals, and the hustler was nicer than most. We ordered a bunch of things. First came the piures, a rust-brown barnacle-like creature, chopped up and served cold in a sea-flavored broth with onions and lemons. It tasted very much of the sea, and was a bit gritty, but I liked it. Then we got a bowl of machos: chopped pieces of squarish clam served cold with lemon juice, onions, and cilantro. We also got a plate on conger eel with a caper cream sauce, and a bowl of steamed clams called choros. Everything was fresh and delicious, and the whole meal -- including three Cokes -- cost 15,000 pesos ($30 U.S).

Mercado Central is fun, but here's the real secret: Go North out of the market and over the bridge. There is a chain of other markets, much more interesting and much more authentic. (For example: far fewer tourists, a lot more dogs.) There are meat markets, produce markets, everything markets. No one asks for a tip if you take their picture, and lots of people are buying up the organ meats. (K and I were looking over one display case of organ meats. I recognized everything except one item, and Karen didn't know the Spanish on the sign. She asked, and there was some back and forth between her and the guy as she figured out what he was saying. Beef testicles. Funny all around.)

We went back the next day and had lunch at a random restaurant. I wanted some specific Chilean dishes. Paastelera de chocio is a baked dish of ground corn (choclo), meat, chicken, onions, grapes, and pumpkin. Traditionally they're cooked and served in a clay bowl, but this one came in a tin-foil pan. We also had cazuela, a traditional soup with rice, potato, pumpkin, cilantro, and chicken broth. Ours came with goat meat. And humitas, which are a kind of choclo tamale. Everything was good to very good, and the total cost for lunch was 6000 pesos ($12 U.S).

[akur23]

As good as the dinners were, the highlight of this visit was Mercado Central.  This is the downtown fish market. 

We were there in 2000, and had a lovely lunch in one of the open area sit downs.

[LoveToEatATL]

Dinner #1 was at Aqui esta Coco (La Conception 236, +56 2 235 8649).  It's billed as the best seafood restaurant in Santiago, and we're not surprised.  Delicious fresh fish.  And an English menu.

To start we had the ceviche mixto, with corvena (Chilean sea bass), squid, octopus, and prawns, marinated in lemon juice, and served with onions, coriander, and chili pepers.  We would have liked more chili peppers, but that's a personal preference.  We also had the caldillo de congrio: conger eel soup.  Amazingly rich broth, tasty eel, with potatoes and spices.

As a main, I got the merluza austral: filet of hake, covered with baby eels and shoestring potatoes.  (Yes, you could tell one from the other.)  Perfect piece of fish, tasty eels -- eat them quick so you don't see the eyes -- and a good sauce.  Ask for rice instead of potatoes, though.

K ordered the stuffed trout: a grilled fillet rolled around a mound of king crab in a Thermador sauce.  This dish was fantastic.  We also ordered a side of veggies, two Pisco sours, and a half-bottle of Chilean wine.  Total cost: 40,000 pesos or $80 U.S.

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We just got back from 2 weeks in Santiago and Buenos Aires. We also went to Astrid y Gaston. It was really really good. Except for the sand in my pirococo (?).

Also exceptional was Aqua. We met chef Chris and he was just a doll. We had planned to go on our last night back but were delayed and couldn't make it.

Of the two, I would choose Aqua over G&A. But they are both good.

Went to the Mercado and had shrimp. It was ok - couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

[ASM NY]

Making my way down to Santiago for the first time ever in a week. Mercado Central, Astrid & Gaston and Agua are all in the program. Is there any new place that is worth visiting since the last post on this thread?

[godito]

Arley, this messages comes to you late, probably, but a lot of new exciting things are happening in Santiago, as a new culinary boom is exploding.

Mercado Central is a good tourist spot. Not su much a market anymore, but the fish is fresh and the food is usually tasty. There0s a place there, called Donde Augusto... that's where you might want to go.

Astrid y Gaston is a must, although it's a peruvian chain now also available in Bogota, Mexico City, Quito and Caracas. Still, great food.

There are many other places you might want to check out. For traditional chilean cuisine, you might want to try Caramaño, in the lovely Barrio Bellavista. Really good.

If you're looking for something fancier, there's a few restaurants that are worth a visit: Puerto Fuy and El Europeo are two of my favorites.

Now, if you're looking for a modern tasting menu that still tastes good, you can check Sukalde, Taula d'Art and Makandal.

There's a couple of newcomers that are worth a visit: C (as in Cristopher Carpentier, the Chef) and Emilio (as in Emilio Pescheira, the chef) are side by side venues. Good food and cool atmosphere.

Another talked about newcomer (one I haven't visited) is Opera. It's a two story building. The restaurant is downstairs and the top floor (with a nice balcony) is Catedral... a really good bar (been there several times)

Now, for a trully local experience, head to El Hoyo or La Piojera. Both are hole-in-the-wall establishments that have been operating forever. Very typical.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Bumping this thread up as the last response is almost a year old... heading to Chile and Argentina at the end of the month and looking for up-to-date rec's!

[godito]

Carolyn, well, I'm still living in Chile, and working on opening a restaurant myself. It will not be ready by the end of the month, however, so this is not a self-promoting response.

I can give you many ideas on where to go, from the upscale, to the touristy (but worth knowing) and the typical (where knowledge of spanish, or going with a local is a must)

Also, will you be staying only in Santiago?

btw... my last response is only a couple of months old. But I do have other suggestions if you want them (from places to get a good drink to places to eat good ice cream)

[Carolyn Tillie]

Carolyn, well, I'm still living in Chile, and working on opening a restaurant myself. It will not be ready by the end of the month, however, so this is not a self-promoting response.

I can give you many ideas on where to go, from the upscale, to the touristy (but worth knowing) and the typical (where knowledge of spanish, or going with a local is a must)

Also, will you be staying only in Santiago?

btw... my last response is only a couple of months old. But I do have other suggestions if you want them (from places to get a good drink to places to eat good ice cream)

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Thank you, Godito! What kind of restaurant are you opening and when is its planned opening date? We don't care about self-promoting here -- we love the inside track!

Right now, K and I have to head to Panama for at least four or five days and are just considering extending the business trip into some pleasure. Having come from the wine industry, we are looking into flying into Santiago for four or five days and then taking the driving trip over to Mendoza to explore wineries around there. My boyfriend speaks fluent Spanish so we are good to travel anywhere you recommend.

Maybe we can buy you a drink inbetween your restaurant-building! Would love a chance to meet and I'll PM you when we get our flights confirmed.

[godito]

The restaurant is ehat in the US one might call Nuevo Latino, except that makes no sense here in Chile. It's latin american flavors in a "highend-ish" restaurant. I expect to open up in March.

I would love a drink when you make it down here. Just let me know.

As for restaurants, then, most of my favorites are in my post above. However, I can still recommend a few other places.

If you like wines and are willing to pay the prize, then the best spot is the wine bar at the Ritz Carlton. They have (they don't just say they do) one wine for every day of the year. Of course the place is called Wine 365

Their formal restaurant is also excellent, as you might expect. It's called Adra.

Similarly good are all the restaurants at the Hyatt. But then again, why would you come all the way to Chile to eat at the Hotel?

If your boyfriend (or you) can read spanish, this is a great webpage full of restaurant recommendations. In the menu to the right you will see the restaurants divided by region. Providencia is by far the coolest. Av. Italia is the area where I'm opening up my place, and most of the reviews there are a good starting point.

Other than that, if you have any questions, please write here or PM me.

Oh, btw, some wineries around this region are closeby, like a couple of hours away. Don't know if you plan to rent a car... but it might be cool to check out.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Godito, thanks so much! Yes, we are planning on renting a convertible to drive over the Andes to head to Mendoza for several days worth of winery touring. And the BF is fluent in Spanish and a handful of other romance languages so we are good to go there!

Right now, it looks as though we'll be arriving in Santiago on January 29th although that is still to be confirmed. Do you have any special hotel recs that would put us in a special hot-spot of Santiago?

Can't wait to meet you!

[godito]

I'm affraid I can't recommend many hotels. Most of the ones I know are the ones my friends stay at when they are on business, and I have no idea on how much they cost. However, like I said, my favorite neighborhood is Providencia. This one is near the subway. To the north is Providencia avenue, and to the south some really cool streets to walk around. You can check it.

As for you having a car, you can do some traveling around wine country. Depending on how much time you've got, you can take a whole day trip (to a nicer wine region) or you can choose to have luch at a winery closer to Santiago.

Let me know and I can make some recommendations. Cheers!