Restaurants in The Lakes District
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Fogón de Cotelé
Reviews are mixed as to whether it’s still the best steak in town, but the experience at this intimate quincho-designed steakhouse with just seven tables surrounding an open hearth is priceless. Watching the owner methodically slow-cook your chosen weight of bife chorizo evokes Picasso in his prime. Just down the road in Pelluco, it can easily be reached by colectivo or buses from the terminal marked Chamiza (CH$300). Reservations are a good idea, especially Thursday through Sunday.
reviewed
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La Maga
There is a parrilla for every budget on Fresia between Gerónimo de Alderete and the plaza, but this Uruguayan steakhouse stands out for its bife de chorizo and house-cut fries. It’s not the cheapest, but there’s a consensus it’s the best with bang-on service to boot.
reviewed
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Trawen
Like everywhere else in town, there’s an outfitter element to this innovative and wonderfully casual deli that churns out some of Pucón’s most interesting flavor combinations: ravioli with Roquefort and roasted apples, Antarctic krill empanadas. It’s kind of a writer hangout, too.
reviewed
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La Olla
Serving the best seafood in town, this place packs in locals and tourists alike. The ceviche caribeño, with salmon and congrio, is a meal in itself, as is the caldillo (broth). Don't pass up the cilantro (coriander) and garlic bread spread.
reviewed
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The Travellers
Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Indian, Italian – it’s a passport for your palette at this resto-bar that is Ground Zero for foreigners. The walls are lined with classic B+W pop culture pinups and postcards from amigos the world over, and the music is equally all over the map (Shania Twain to Tom Jones?). German and English traveler advice is available, and so are half-priced drinks at the lengthy Happy Hour (6:30pm to 9:30pm). These guys know their stuff – they knew we wrote for a guidebook within seconds.
reviewed
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Govinda
Though this intimate restaurant owned by a Spanish expatriate suffers from perpetual identity crises (first Italian, this Chilean-Spanish fusion with Indian accents, now changing to straight-up Spanish tapas and downsizing the prices), there remains one constant worth visiting for: the roasted eggplant in a house-made ricotta, tomato and yogurt sauce, an innovative dish that sends your palette dancing after mucho travel in southern Chile. The artisanal homebrew is also excellent.
reviewed
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Cassís
This sleek café is swamped for breakfast and onces (afternoon tea), but it also does multigrain sandwiches, chocolate fondue, pizza, an endless array of coffees and an entirely too tempting cornucopia of deserts (it’s also a chocolatería). If you don’t eat here, stop by for the decadent Crepe Cassìs, a milk caramel crepe buried under scoops of chocolate and dulce de leche ice cream and a caramel brownie.
reviewed
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Tablón del Ancla
This soccer-fueled, caricature-walled bar-restaurant on prime Plaza de Armas real estate has a great bunless hamburger de lo pobre (hold the eggs), but insanity surrounds the parilla mixta, a mountain of mixed grilled meats served in a flame-contained bucket that feeds you, four friends and your unborn child for CH$18,500. They throw in pisco sours, too, just in case you need something to wash it all down.
reviewed
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Tradiciones Zuny
Temuco’s best-kept secret is an underground local’s haunt specializing in the fresh, simple food of the countryside served out of an indigenous-themed home. There’s no menu – a typical meal here might include salad, beef cazuela (stew), pumpkin and quinoa, plus whole-wheat sopaipillas (traditional fried dough), bread and avocado juice (try it!), all for around CH$2000. You’re welcome.
reviewed
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El Balcón
This stylish, all-wood urban café is a little too hip for Muerto Montt. Chilax tunes stream overhead as contemporary spins on classic dishes like humitas del mar (corn cooked in tusks with king crab and shrimp) and revolutionary sopaipillas (fried batter bread) with spicy ají and eggless mayonnaise delight the palettes of the artistic and culturally inclined crowd that gathers here.
reviewed
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Luna China
This bi-level ‘Cantonese’ restaurant in an elegant residence on Alemania does a shockingly good Mongolian beef (not Cantonese) and other Chinese specialties such as Peking Duck (not Cantonese) amid Bruce Lee lookalike statuettes and typically beige decor. Someone actually returned to ask how everything was a few minutes after delivering the starter – a miracle in Sur Chico.
reviewed
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Imperial 605
This historic house above the costanera is dressed in sexy reds, saucy blacks and hardwood ceilings, upping the style ante in town. The food follows suit – lentil burgers with curry and grilled goat cheese, pork medallions in red wine reduction with mushroom and fava bean risotto – taking Puerto Varas to new culinary heights without sacrificing flavor for fashion.
reviewed
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Hole-in-the-Wall Lunch Counters
Heading to Angelmó's plethora of hole-in-the-wall lunch counters is as much of a cultural experience as a culinary one - though it can be pretty touristy in high season. Anything with seafood is your best bet, including curanto (meat, potato and seafood stew). Chilotito Marino stands out from the crowd and Caleta Angelmó is another recommended spot.
reviewed
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Jairo's
Enjoy the sounds of the kitschy organ player as you dine at the city's top seafood restaurant. The intimate and formal dining room offers delectable dishes including ostiones a la crema (scallops in cream sauce) and a cocktail of erizos (sea urchins). Follow it up with the catch of the day in Jairo's sauce of shrimp, mushrooms, tarragon and chives.
reviewed
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Mediterráneo
With a great outdoor deck this place cooks up tapas, Italians dishes and, surprisingly, a variety of other Mediterranean dishes, including some vegetarian options. The pasta dishes are particularly good and plentiful and it is one of the few places that you'll find prosciutto. It's a popular and enjoyable spot, though slightly more expensive than others.
reviewed
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La Calesa
With excellent views out over the water (two tables are outside), this intimate restaurant in a multiroom mansion serves Peruvian staples like garlic-roasted chicken and an excellent lomo saltado. The pisco sours are memorable as is the suspiro, a Peruvian desert made from manjar and meringue and laced with pisco.
reviewed
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Balzac
Touch up provincial Chilean cuisine with some French culinary accents and you have Balzac. Order from the expansive (and expensive) wine list and sample congrio in a cream sauce, Caesar salads, baked scallops in parmesan, grilled salmon and beef bourguignon. Appropriate for a place named Balzac, it attracts a swanky crowd.
reviewed
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Merlín
Redefining Chilean cuisine, Merlín conjures such originals as smoked scallops with peach, tomato and basil and seared salmon with a hint of papaya. Try the filet mignon with oysters and glazed green onions. Whatever your choice, a frambuesa sour, made with home-distilled raspberry wine, is a fine way to start the experience.
reviewed
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Gohan Sushi
This trendy sushi spot offers some innovative rolls (shrimp pil-pil, avocado and onions) and a soundtrack to get your hips shaking. The two Happy Hour pisco sours for CH$1700 make for a nice chaser. If you stay within these walls, Temuco suddenly starts to feel a little Temucool. Prices are discounted at lunch.
reviewed
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Café Dane’s
This local favorite sums up the hybrid history of the region within its walls: küchen and empanadas, Alpen architecture and Spanish menus, apfelstrudel (apple strudel) and conger eel. It’s one of the few open early on Sunday. Try the empanada de horno (beef, egg, onions and olives), the town’s best (CH$1400).
reviewed
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El Rey del Marisco
There’s a perfect balance of whimsical aquatic art and colorful tablecloths at this don’t-miss seafooder. There are 29 types of fish and the chef has worked all over Chile. Start with the near-perfect pisco sours and shellfish empanadas, move on to congrio, salmon, trout, lenguado or corvina prepared numerous ways.
reviewed
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Viva Perú
Start with the yuquitos (fried mandioca) and move on to the falling-off-the-bone, cilantro-heavy lamb stew at this smart Peruvian that serves slushy pisco sours made with Peruvian pisco. Chilenos can’t handle the aji rocoto salsa served here, but it should satiate your spice-neglected taste buds.
reviewed
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La Última Frontera
This bohemian café is the kind of place Valdivia needs more of, hidden away in a restored mansion among a battalion of trees and cutting-edge art. Creative sandwiches, fresh juices and a chill vibe day and night courtesy of the town’s hip artistic front make it a must-stop. If they had rooms, you’d never need to leave.
reviewed
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Sirocco
Divine contemporary Patagonian specialties such as Magellanic lamb and native rabbit are worth forking over the pesos for a special night out at this high-end haute restaurant in a large house accented with local art. The puré rustico are the best mashed potatoes this side of grandma’s house.
reviewed
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Restaurant Kiel
If you've been missing your yacht club back home head to Kiel, where you can dine in style around a roaring fireplace and enjoy views of the lake. Try the baked trout stuffed with veggies and crabmeat or the lomo yachting, a choice pork chop with grilled tomatoes and cheese served with Arabian rice.
reviewed
