World City Guide

Restaurants

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 flavour. 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)

Gastronomic

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 modelled 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. Specialities 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 centre 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 speciality 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: $$.