Chile Forum

El Parrón is open, but I think the management has changed. I haven't been there since.

A few places I have tried lately are El Mesón de la Patagonia in Lo Barnechea and La Copa Feliz in La Reina (Echeñique/Tobalaba). We just went to La Copa Feliz last night for the first time ever after living neaby for years and really liked it. They have a 25% discount for Club de Lectores de El Mercurio.

xxx

My wife and I had a delicious lunch, with our friend from Olmue, yesterday at Las Tortolas restaurant in Limache.
http://www.lastortolas.cl

John, we will definitely have to check out Las Tórtolas next time we are in that area, we were pretty underwhelmed by the food options in Olmué.

For Brazilian, in Santiago, I like Muqueca on Miguel Claro.

gringalais wrote:John, we will definitely have to check out Las Tórtolas next time we are in that area, we were pretty underwhelmed by the food options in Olmué.

Apparently one of the best restaurants for "typical Chilean food" is on the way to Olmue called "No me olvides" I've been told about this place from about 6 different people and saw it on Flor del Pais. It *looked* amazing at least.. the food is mega portioned so go very hungry.

carica wrote:

gringalais wrote:John, we will definitely have to check out Las Tórtolas next time we are in that area, we were pretty underwhelmed by the food options in Olmué.

Apparently one of the best restaurants for "typical Chilean food" is on the way to Olmue called "No me olvides" I've been told about this place from about 6 different people and saw it on Flor del Pais. It *looked* amazing at least.. the food is mega portioned so go very hungry.

Kind of funny that you would mention that, carica, our main issue with the food there is that everyone served "typical Chilean food". if you get bored with pastel de choclo, humitas and empanadas and want something else, there isn't much. Also, it was strange that we left the place we were staying at about 8:30 to find a place to eat, and we went to 3-4 places where the kitchen had already closed. We ended up having some mediocre pasta at a restaurant in a purple building on the plaza. I think they ran out of food and had to go buy more because a guy came out of the kitchen and left the restaurant, then came back 10 minutes later with a bag from the supermarket in hand. We had to wait a long time for our food.

We were thinking maybe since a lot of people rent cabañas they just have dinner there, meaning the options for dinner are slim.

I recently discovered a "gem" of a restaurant in Vina. It is called La Cuisine (mainly Continental cuisine but some Chilean specialities too) and is located on 6 Norte, between 3 and 4 Poniente. The owner/chef Patricio Gonzalez, who speaks good English, honed his culinary skills during his many years of working in restaurants in the U.S.(e.g.,Martha's Vineyard, Mass.). La Cuisine has a charming French ambiance (with lot's of artwork on the walls) and appears to have a loyal customer base. It's probably a good idea to make a reservation in advance (Tele: 2330042) as the restaurant only has eight tables.

We recently had among the best meals ever, at Alfresco in/on Los Condes. It is basically Peruvian seafood and the preparation and service was fantastic. I had a Tuna steak " a las cinco pimentas" which was amazing, My husband wanted mariscos and the waiter recomended Corvina in a Brandy and wine reduction smothered in creamy shellfish swauce with yellow peppers, really good! My son ordered a standout and very different seviche with a spinach cilantro sauce that also was a standout. BTW it was anything but bland

We also had a nice meal at Dona Tinas in Lo Barnechea that serves all the typical Chilean stuff but very well prepared in a nice atmospere.

So what is Peruvian food like? I noticed that a Peruvian restaurant has opened up in Temuco. It is on San Martin across from the Oxford bicycle shop.

Peruvian food is really good and spicier than typical Chilean. They do great things with seafood, like seviche. Potatos and Quinoa are also staples. Try it!

My husband and I were just in Puerto Varas and an old school friend of his just opened up a restaurant there so we went to check it out. It is called Divino Mesón. There is no set menu, he prepares different things every day depending on what is in season and what he feels like making. The kitchen is open so you can watch him make the food and he explains what he is preparing. It is a tasting menu, where you order by the number of courses, the mininum is 4 courses, which costs 15,000 and includes wine and pisco sour. Additional courses are 5,000 each. The food was delicious and the experience was great too, he prefers people sit up at the bar so he can converse and so the customers can talk to each other too.

I would highly recommend it, and not just because my husband's friend is the chef. It was one of the best meals out I have eaten. He is looking into opening a second restaurant here in Santiago.