Other entertainment in Chile
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Estadio Nacional
On the whole, Chileans are a pretty calm lot – until they step foot in a soccer stadium, that is. Mad screaming and dancing (or cursing, weeping and hair-tearing) accompanies international games, the most dramatic of which are against local rivals like Peru or Argentina, when ‘Chi-Chi-Chi-Lay-Lay-Lay’ reverberates through the Estadio Nacional. Tickets can be bought at the stadium or from the Feria del Disco. Equally impassioned are the hinchas (fans) of Santiago’s first-division soccer teams, of which Colo Colo, Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica are the most popular.
reviewed
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Kaweshkar Lounge
This newcomer prides itself on indie cool: the retro furniture and industrial vogue vibe would be right at home in New York’s East Village. Music is one-part Blur, one part Velvet Underground (DJs visit from Santiago in summer). There’s food, too. The menu features several vegetarian choices and some edgy entrees for Chiloé (salmon crepes with béchamel!).
reviewed
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A
Boule Bar
Old Rolling Stone covers and other musical propaganda dot this multi-roomed bar lit with candles and featuring several tables and a bar rack made from tree bark. The perfect-volume music jumps from, ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ to hip-hop. It’s a good spot to carry on late into the evening with a crowd that appreciates a smart soundtrack.
reviewed
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Club Hípico de Santiago
The main racetrack in Santiago is the grand Club Hípico de Santiago, where views of the Andes compete for your attention with the action on the turf. It was once the preserve of Chile’s elite, but the CH$200 minimum bet means it’s now very egalitarian indeed. Races take place here every Friday and on alternate Mondays.
reviewed
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B
Bar Constitución
The coolest nightspot of the moment has no sign outside: find a huge gray sliding door with a long queue of trendies and you’re in the right place. Live bands and DJs play nightly – the bar’s eclectic (but infallible) tastes include electroclash, garage, nu-folk, house and more, so check the website to see if the night’s program suits.
reviewed
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Teatro de los Sueños
For a peek inside Antofagasta’s underground art scene, visit the funky art cooperative Teatro de los Sueños, which has occasional live shows and does ‘art actions’ to protest everything from feminocide (a real problem in Chile) to littering (another real problem). The dream train at the end of the alley leads the way.
reviewed
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C
La Taberna
This dark and elegant subterranean bar, with polished wood fixtures and cozy nooks reminiscent of an old-fashioned ship, is a classic old-boys’ club. The rooms fill with cigar smoke later in the evening, but the opportunity to sip pisco sours in the classy Sara Braun Mansion shouldn’t be missed.
reviewed
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D
Lumière
This restaurant/bar offers an extensive cocktail and beer list under the watchful eye of classic cinematic scenes. The four-sided bar in the center of the room makes a nice spot to plant yourself. They serve the usual fare (mains CH$2500 to CH$5500), plus popcorn, just like the movies.
reviewed
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E
El Clan
The name’s short for ‘El Clandestino,’ a throwback from this small club’s undercover days (there’s still no sign outside). A small crew of resident DJs keep the 20-something crowds going – expect anything from ’80s to house, R&B, funk or techno. Cheap beer and pisco is your fuel.
reviewed
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F
Garage
As the name suggests, Garage, attached to the Copec station, caters to an artsy, less fishy crowd, staying up later than it should and hosting everything from impromptu jazz sessions to all-out Colombian Cumbia shakedowns. The crowds start gathering here around 11pm.
reviewed
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BouleBar
One of Osorno’s few hip spots, though not quite as cool as its sister bar in Puerto Montt. Still, pickings are slim, so drinks here are obligatory, if for no other reason then to toast to its former history as the town’s oldest surviving Germanic structure. Probst!
reviewed
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G
Eurohappy
Over 400 types of beer – including local artisanal and microbrewery options – are expertly poured by Santiago’s only beer sommelier. Sip your selection out on the pavement or head for the candlelit vermillion-and-white interior to strike a pose on 1950s furniture.
reviewed
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H
Bar Yellow
Truly magic mixology has made this small but achingly cool bar the hands-down favorite among cocktail quaffers. Give yourself a wake-up call with a Breakfast Martini (marmalade is involved) or let loose with a Golden Shower (we’ll let you find out what’s in it).
reviewed
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Exodo
Bar staff here dress like wannabe members of Scissor Sisters and scare you into submission with dirty looks (or maybe it’s just the eyeliner). A cornerstone of the Valpo gay scene, Exodo’s good-value cocktails keep both gay and straight regulars returning.
reviewed
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Santo Remedio
Strictly speaking, this low-lighted, high-ceilinged old house is a restaurant, and an aphrodisiac one at that. But it’s the bar action people really come for: powerful, well-mixed cocktails and regular live DJs keep the 30-something crowds happy.
reviewed
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J
Centro Cultural Gran Circo Teatro
Santiago’s best-known street theater troupe was given this run-down house by the government in 2008. Avant-garde theater and circus performances are the group’s specialty – it was behind La Negra Ester, one of Chile’s most famous plays.
reviewed
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K
El Gremio
With its crimson walls, sofas and low tables, there’s something pleasingly intimate about this bar, which is half-hidden down a narrow alley. The huge cocktail list ranges from creative martinis to girly concoctions such as vanilla daiquiris.
reviewed
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Sofa
Yes, there are plenty of sunken couches to slump into. But that’s not all: at this effortlessly cool club you stand your drinks – chilled in an old bathtub – on retro cabinets and then groove to funk, soul, hip-hop, R&B or breakbeats.
reviewed
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Entre 3
If you want to see if your guide is plastered the night before he takes you up the volcano, grab a pitcher of suds here. It’s the divier choice, but its new rooftop patio nets views with brews not otherwise available on Av O’Higgins.
reviewed
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Ocio Restobar
This orange-glowing lounge has an array of two-for-one cocktails during its extensive Hora Feliz (Happy Hour) and a DJ spins everything from house to hip-hop nightly. There’s also pizza and tapas when you get the munchies.
reviewed
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Pisco Sour
For sunset cocktails, hit this stylish bar in the Hotel Indigo complex, with gaping views of the mountain-clad sound. Innovations on the bar’s namesake drink shouldn’t be missed: try the Nippon pisco sour (spiked with green tea).
reviewed
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M
Olijoe Pub
Leather booths and mosaic tabletops lend pretension, but this is your usual pub with good beer and bad service. Mix it up with the house special, Glaciar – a mix of pisco, horchata (cinnamon rice milk), milk and curaçao.
reviewed
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Portal Valdivia
When it opens in 2010, this striking, twin-towered casino, hotel and shopping complex – Valdivia’s most architecturally-interesting building – will house US$72 million worth of entertainment options for visitors and locals alike.
reviewed
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Teatro Caupolicán
From Jarvis Cocker and Brett Anderson to the Hives, the choicest international gigs happen here. Latin American rockers who’ve trod the boards include far-out Mexicans Café Tacuba, and Oscar-winning Uruguayan Jorge Drexler.
reviewed
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O
Grancentral
A slick, low-lighted bar when the night begins, Grancentral heats up to club temperature sometime after midnight. DJs vary, but dub, freestyle and house are often on the menu. There’s a huge roof terrace to cool off on.
reviewed
