Restaurants in Middle Chile
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Natura
Fresh, natural ingredients are creatively combined into salads or simple grilled fish and chicken dishes.
reviewed
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A
Verde Que Te Quiero Verde
One of Concepción's few genuinely good restaurants. It serves inspiring and inexpensive vegetarian food, while its service is spot on and reliable. Choose from a range of healthy dishes, including green lasagna and hearty sandwiches. There are also some inventive juices (apple and mint). Upstairs out the back, a gallery and artists' studios are sometimes open for visits.
reviewed
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Zuca Restobar
The hippest of the many restaurants on this street, Zuca’s small but intriguing menu includes squid-ink fettuccini with razor clams and squid or grilled fish on mashed potatoes infused with merkén (a Mapuche spice mix made of smoked chilli and coriander seeds). Pastel stucco walls and old movie posters strike just the right side of kitsch.
reviewed
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Sublime
Spidery chrome light fittings, stripped pine floors and upholstered red leatherette booths with unusual donut-shaped tables are an unusual way to kit out a traditional townhouse. But Conce’s coolest eatery is all about unexpected combinations: mains could include kingklip in a hazelnut crust or steak served in pear sauce.
reviewed
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Las Viejas Cochinas
Talca’s best-known restaurant is a huge, clattering, low-roofed canteen out of town alongside the Río Claro. Dour waiters take forever to bring out the house specialty, pollo mariscal (chicken in a brandy and seafood sauce), but it’s worth the wait. Fresh fried fish is a quicker, and equally tasty, option.
reviewed
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El Chiringuito
Everyone who’s anyone in Zapallar makes a point of lunch at El Chiringuito, where terrace tables look out over the rocks and hungry pelicans fishing for their dinner. Yours is almost as fresh: locally caught kingklip, sea bass and sole are what it does best, dressed in whatever sauce you choose.
reviewed
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Vivace
Surprisingly attentive service marks this as the dining location of choice in central Talca. Its interior is fresh and tasteful, as is its Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Try the rabbit grilled with onion and carrots. Vegetarians are well catered for, especially with the lovely Tortellini al Roquefort.
reviewed
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La Casita de Barreales
Local foodies are unanimous: the subtle Peruvian ceviches and chaufas (a Peruvian take on Chinese-style fried rice) here are the most exciting thing to arrive on Santa Cruz’s tables in years. The secret is definitely out – the warmly lit adobe house fills up quickly on weekends so try to book.
reviewed
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Mercado Central
Pint-sized cocinerías (greasy-spoon cafés) abound in this atmospheric setting; the paila marina seafood stew is the big specialty. You can't miss row upon row of the longaniza (sausage), a Chillán specialty, dangling from the surrounding butchers' stalls.
reviewed
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D
Fuente Alemana
If you arrive late, tired and hungry on a Sunday night, head here. Staple Chilean favorites, including salads and large meat dishes, are served in the upstairs diner until late daily. There's also a selection of sandwiches and küchen (sweet, German-style pastries) to snack on downstairs.
reviewed
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Fina Estampa
Starched tablecloths, fiercely folded napkins and deferential bow-tied waiters bring old-time elegance to this Peruvian restaurant. Ceviches, ají de gallina (chicken in a spicy yellow-pepper sauce) and other classics are perfectly executed, as is grilled seasonal fish.
reviewed
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Gran Azul
The huge ultramarine dining room at Gran Azul fills up quickly in summer – classic Chilean seafood is the attraction. On the sand below, the same owners operate a cheaper, outdoor bar called Banana which does empanadas, burgers and drinks.
reviewed
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E
Cocinerías del Mercado Central
The dinky eateries at the market specialize in local classics such as chupe (a rich fish stew) or paila marina. The longaniza (spicy salami) adorning the surrounding butchers’ stalls also appears regularly in the grease-slicked but filling fare.
reviewed
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Locos de Asar
Don’t bother with salad: limp lettuce leaves are the chef’s way of telling you to focus on the meat. He’s right: as well as perfectly grilled Temuco rib-eyes, there are intriguing starters such as sweetbreads in port and creamy criadillas (um…mountain oysters).
reviewed
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Café Haití
Make sure you go upstairs for the lovely seating area overlooking the street - perfect for taking in the bustle of the plaza. Downstairs is the slightly sleazy café con piernas (café with legs) version where the waitresses wander round in miniskirts.
reviewed
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Donde Paulo
A plain brick house with only a small sign outside feels like Talca’s best-kept secret as you enter. But the packed tables inside let you know that word long got out about the rich, homey plateada (stewed beef), chicken stew and fried fish served here.
reviewed
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La Cava de Don Miguel
A century-old family recipe book inspired the menu at this hushed, candlelit restaurant in the old estancia house at Viu Manent winery. Outside, a sizzling grill provides the hunks of barbecued beef and chicken served at tables on the shaded terrace.
reviewed
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Fuego Divino
Stylish restaurants are thin on the ground in Chillán – perhaps that’s why the gleaming black tables here are always booked up at weekends. Or maybe it’s because the expertly barbecued prime cuts of Temuco beef taste so damn good. The perfect posh night out.
reviewed
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G
Café Oliver
There are few frills in this branch of a small regional chain of cafés, but you get reasonable sandwiches at a palatable price. It's small and smoking is allowed, which may bother some. It functions more as a bar later in the evening.
reviewed
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H
Rubén Tapia
One of the top places in Talca, this has a more ambitious range than most, including green curry and Thai prawns. Its distinctive decor has elegant flourishes - a grandfather clock and a towering red-wine collection line the reception.
reviewed
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Rancho de Julio
Cow is the name of the game at this ever-popular Argentine restaurant, which specializes in grilled-meat fests. Even the space itself smacks of the barn, both in terms of size and decoration. A few pasta dishes cater to noncarnivores.
reviewed
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Centro Español Chillán
Cheerful bow-tied waiters dish out fine Spanish cuisine at this elegantly curved restaurant looking onto the central Plaza de Armas. Paella is the house specialty, but the chefs turn out a pretty mean longaniza dish, too.
reviewed
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Alma Campesina
A classy take on country is the idea at this cavernous restaurant, where simple steaks, ribs and grilled fish are served at rustic wooden tables. It’s above a shop of the same name – the stairs are round the side of the building.
reviewed
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J
Arcoiris Vegetariano
Praise be – a decent vegetarian restaurant in provincial Chile. Filling lentil-and-bulgur-style set lunches are served at the back, while a café upfront does sandwiches and cakes, all to the tune of wind-chime and whale music.
reviewed
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K
Chela’s
The TV blares in this cheap, corner café, which serves up mountainous portions of chorillana (a pile of fries and onions with bits of sausage) and steaks that are perfect for throwing cholesterol counts to the wind.
reviewed
