Restaurants in Northern Chile
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A
Tata's Pub
It doesn't look like much, but this long thin pub, with '80s music videos blaring, serves surprisingly good food: especially Chilean rabbit and goat dishes, as well as pizza and burgers.
reviewed
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B
Daniella II
Numero Dos is a plain-faced local favorite serving hearty portions of Chilean comfort food. The fresh seafood is especially tasty.
reviewed
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C
Mercado Centenario
This boxy market between Sargento Aldea and Latorre is the cheapest and fastest place for a no-frills set lunch. Upstairs cocinerías also offer varied seafood, and stalls offer fresh produce for self-caterers. You can buy coca leaves (CH$500 for a bag) and sex tonics in the roadside stalls. Coca leaves are great for treating altitude sickness (brew them up in a tea), while the sex tonics don’t work at all (believe us, we tried!).
reviewed
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D
La Casona
La Casona has been around for a long time. In its current incarnation, this rambling open-air restaurant has tip-top cuisine, focusing on international faves – try the veggie pasta, it’s excellent – with speedy service, a wine room up front and occasional live music. And then there’s those San Pedro stars blaring their cosmic orchestra overhead – can’t get much better than that.
reviewed
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Picadillo
One of Antofagasta’s best, this highly recommended restaurant has great service, an eclectic menu featuring steak and seafood, and although it’s a bit of a splurge, it’s well worth it. The only drawback is its location on busy Av Grecia; this said, the warm dark-wood interior invites you to stay awhile, and enjoy that fancy dinner you were talking about.
reviewed
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Tololo Pampa
A happening tablas joint. The hottest culinary trend to hit Chile since adding mayo to mussels, tablas are cutting boards adorned with anything from meats and cheeses to ceviche and sushi. Enjoy them on the open-air back patio with rough-hewn furniture and an outdoor fireplace. Come for drinks and late-night snacks.
reviewed
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E
Casino Español
Prepare for pattern overload: Moorish designs intertwine, compete and clash in this unabashedly decadent 1904 building. Expect tooth-bitten arches, a high dome, stained glass, checked tiles, suits of armor and…oh yeah, it has food, too, including Spanish, Italian and Chilean favorites. Service moves at a leisurely pace.
reviewed
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Boulevard
Laid-back streetside café without, and smooth Gallic restaurant within, this is the place to relax and let the world traipse by. On offer are delicious fondues, pizzas, crepes and enormous salads with zesty dressings. Service is hit or miss, but the fixed lunch is definitely worth it. There’s occasional live music.
reviewed
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G
Las Delicias de Carmen
Doña Carmen serves up some of the best empanadas in town. Or you can go for the set lunch, which features the town’s best salad and a tasty meat or pasta dish. The dining area is less rustic than that of many San Pedro eateries, giving it a bit of a cafeteria feel. Nevertheless, it is clean, honest and, well, good.
reviewed
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Govinda
Even nonvegetarians declare this diminutive Hare Krishna restaurant a winner. Hidden away in a quiet residential area, it feels much like eating in somebody’s living room. Imaginative three-course lunch menus (served on a single metal platter) include fresh organic produce and cost laughably little for the quality.
reviewed
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Posada Pueblo Taki
Along the highway just west of Copaquilla the Posada Pueblo Taki is a wind- and solar-powered roadside attraction. Stop for delicious freshly baked bread, hot drinks and a chat with its ‘happy-not-hippie’ resident couple. Tours are available. Any highway bus will drop you off and pick you up here.
reviewed
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I
Todo Natural
Healthy offerings include fresh wholemeal sandwiches, a lengthy salad list and numerous vegetarian choices in this cute little café with an open kitchen and small alfresco courtyard. The service is downright bad – guess speedy service just wouldn’t be natural – but the food is decent, making it worth a visit.
reviewed
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J
Algarrobo
Pretty cheap eats, especially considering its bees-knees location right on the plaza. The Algarrobo has the feel of an older eatery, the kind that dusty miners would have stopped at on their way to the salitre fields. There’s a large set menu, but we prefer the pita sandwiches, which are big enough to share.
reviewed
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K
La Estaka
A lively gathering point late into the night, La Estaka is also recommended for its juicy steaks, sinful dulce de leche (super-sweet condensed-milk spread) crepes, chicken curries and addictively good vegetarian options. It strives for a trendy, subterranean atmosphere and has a fireplace.
reviewed
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L
Puro Chile
A diminutive locally run restaurant just off Calle Caracoles, recommended for its authentic national cuisine (ajiaco, parrilladas, empanadas, cazuela and more) as well as more international dishes. Food is lovingly prepared, and dished up to a soundtrack of Chilean rock.
reviewed
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M
El Tercer Ojito
Recognizable by the huge lump of quartz outside, this informal New Age restaurant serves great vegetarian and carnivore-friendly dishes. Its international repertoire includes Peruvian dishes, curries and occasional sushi. Its pleasant patio sports cacti, murals and even a turtle in a bathtub.
reviewed
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Café Export
This is a funky cavelike spot with an intimate interior: low candlelit tables, roaring fire and prehistoric-style daubing on the walls. Despite off-putting touts hovering on its doorstep, and the loud music, it is hugely popular for strong coffee, homemade pasta and decent pizzas.
reviewed
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Fogata Bar
A welcome taste of San Pedro smack dap in the middle of rough-and-tumble Calama, this bar and restaurant serves up everything from pizzas to tacos in two storeys of hard-hewn earthy goodness. There’s a fogata (outdoor fireplace) in the corner and occasional live music.
reviewed
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O
M.Koo
Simple corner shop famous for its crumbly chumbeques (sweet regional biscuits), the recipe for which is guarded zealously. It also sells neatly wrapped in-season specials, such as humitas (corn tamales) and pastel de choclo (maize casserole) to go.
reviewed
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Ayllu
It’s pretty much like the other restaurants in town: fogatas, open-air dining and a smogasborg of international dishes. But the Ayllu separates itself with warm, friendly service. Seems the waiter’s GTI (Gringo Tolerance Indicator) is higher than in most places.
reviewed
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Q
Club Croata
Decorated with the Croatian coat of arms and dog-eared posters of the country’s distant coastline, this restaurant serves some wonderful Chilean favorites, including pastel de choclo (maize casserole). It’s one of the best traditionally styled eateries in town.
reviewed
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R
Restaurant La Bomba
Pass the shiny red engine to reach this unpretentious café in the local fire station. If you can’t find it, listen for its deafening siren at noon. There’s nothing particularly spectacular about the food, which focuses on Chilean fare, but you can’t beat the setting.
reviewed
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S
Maracuyá
To treat yourself to a superb seafood meal complete with bow-tie service and sea view, head to this villa-style restaurant, downtown next to Playa El Laucho. Enjoy the salty air mingled with scents of flowering vines and relax to a soundtrack of waves booming below.
reviewed
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T
Quitor
A large, thatched establishment frequented by locals, Chilean tourists and gringos alike, this small eatery right next to the bus stop has simple but filling meals and an efficient get-it-on-the-table attitude. Save money by going with the smaller set meal.
reviewed
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U
CKunna
This is an excellent, if touristy, restaurant that gives traditional Atacameño ingredients a contemporary twist. It’s housed in a renovated adobe building with a beautiful courtyard to relax in. It also has takeaway service and a welcoming bar.
reviewed
