Arica
One of Arica's best restaurants serves up excellent grilled meat and seafood dishes amid wood paneling and an old-fashioned ambience. Service is generally…
Must-see restaurants in Chile
Valparaíso
Extremely flavorful and very filling set breakfasts or lunches make this funky 10-table cafe the best value in town. There are also delicious cakes,…
Chiloé
A family-run treasure, El Chejo offers honest food prepared with love by a family that fawns over its patrons. There's no menu – you get what's good that…
Sur Chico
Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Indian, Italian – it's a passport for your palate at this gay-friendly restobar that is ground zero for foreigners. The food isn't…
Puerto Varas
Evoking the rainy-day cafes of the American Pacific Northwest, this charming spot run by an adorable Seattleite dishes up scrumptious house-produced bread…
Pucón
This time-honored favorite does some of Pucón's best gastronomic work for the price, boasting innovative flavor combinations and fresh-baked everything…
Puerto Varas
This little, unassuming Chiloé-inspired eatery is Puerto Varas' secret gourmet cocinería (kitchen). It's a two-man, eight-table show among aqua clapboard…
Chiloé
This cozy, traditional, fireplace-heated restaurant on Lago Cucao beckons hungry adventurers with an artsy, hardwood-heavy dining room gussied up with…
The Lakes District
The most famous restaurant on the lake is 6km outside Puerto Octay on the road to Frutillar, and packs in the crowds for the main attraction, succulent…
Chiloé
Tucked behind the crafts market, this collection of stalls – run by grandmotherly types who dish up curanto and cazuela, pound out milcao (potato bread)…
Northern Patagonia
This cheerful button-sized cafe redeems the local dining scene with its thin-crust pizza, homemade gnocchi and steak with morel-mushroom sauce. It's just…
Sur Chico
Temuco's best-kept secret is an underground locals' haunt specializing in the fresh, simple food of the countryside served out of an indigenous-themed…
Chiloé
Simple El Medan has no menu – you get what's procured fresh at the fish market across the street. Think cazuela, fried fish, paila marina (seafood stew),…
Northern Patagonia
Apron-clad señoras in tiny kitchens serve up piping-hot seafood empanadas, fish platters and fresh paila marina (shellfish soup). Come early for lunch…
Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
Surrender to some melt-in-your-mouth seafood empanadas prepared mamma-style in this no-frills den.
Chiloé
Two locals (a historian and a chef) are behind Castro's most authentic restaurant. Its lengthy menu features resurrected island recipes transformed into…
Chiloé
There's a whole lotta culinary love coming out of this divey sandwich joint near the municipal bus terminal. You choose your base (chicken, beef, pork,…
Coyhaique
Fusing Patagonian lore with a sophisticated palate and reasonable prices, Mamma Gaucha could please the fussiest road warrior. Cane ceilings and…
Pucón
Israeli transplant Tal makes everything from scratch – often with ingredients straight from the motherland – at this fantastic, cash-only Middle Eastern…
Elqui Valley
An enchanted setting for a meal, El Bosque ('the forest') lives up to its name with outdoor tables surrounded by greenery beside a gurgling river — indeed…
San Pedro de Atacama
About 500m east of the plaza, you'll find San Pedro's best bakery. Run by a talented young Frenchman, Franchuteria has beautifully baked goods, including…
Middle Chile
It's just 1km out of town, but this warm Italian restaurant really makes you feel like you're in the heart of wine country – especially when you're…
La Serena
Tucked away in a residential neighborhood 1.5km south of the plaza, Lemongrass has a loyal local following for its delicious pan-Asian cooking – a rarity…
Elqui Valley
Don't miss lunch at this restaurant 5km southeast of Vicuña, where a group of women discovered a groundbreaking way to cook with sunrays instead of hard…
Iquique
This small rock-music-loving joint dishes up sizzling gourmet burgers and frothy craft brews to a postsurf crowd near the beach. The draw: delectable…
The Lakes District
Don't let the name evoke garden gnomes and lederhosen – this is a dead-serious steakhouse tucked just enough inland from the lake that most folks don't…
Santiago
This is one of Santiago's more innovative dining experiences. The name means 'French Barbershop,' and that's exactly what this elegant corner building,…
Elqui Valley
In an airy upstairs space across from the plaza, Govinda's serves up delicious and hearty vegetarian fare, with a menu that changes daily. Spaghetti with…
La Serena
One of La Serena's best restaurants, Donde el Guatón has a covered courtyard with beautifully tiled floors and an aesthetic of rustic elegance – a fine…
Norte Chico
Across from the waterfront, this popular spot serves up some of the best grilled fish in town. There's a happy buzz to the place, with locals and out-of…
Arica
Across the street from Playa Chinchorro, Rayú has earned a strong following for its creative menu that fuses Italian and Peruvian dishes. The upscale,…
San Pedro de Atacama
Great breakfasts, delicious cakes and empanadas, brick-oven pizzas (choose your own toppings) and different dishes daily are churned out at this light…
Elqui Valley
For a memorable night out, head to this polished restaurant on the main road leading south of town. Grab a fireside seat in the courtyard and linger over…
Middle Chile
Even most Chileans can't make heads or tails of La Sazón's wild menu of hyperlocal dishes, which draw inspiration from Mapuche ingredients and cooking…
Elqui Valley
Amid lush foliage beside the gurgling Rio Cochiguaz, this entirely outdoor spot has the most enchanting setting for kilometers around. Start with ceviche…
Middle Chile
Everyone who’s anyone in Zapallar makes a point of lunching at El Chiringuito, where terrace tables look out over the rocks and hungry pelicans fishing…
San Pedro de Atacama
A high-ceilinged dining room with dark wood paneling and an adobe fireplace in the middle, classic La Casona serves up sizzling parrilladas (mix of…
San Pedro de Atacama
One of several ice-cream shops on the main street, Babalú serves up rich flavors you won't find at home. Try ice creams made from desert fruits like…
Coyhaique
For wonderful, drawn-out lunches by the woodstove. Highlights include appetizers like baked razor clams with bubbling cheese or smoked salmon mixed with…
Norte Chico
The best-loved dining spot in town is this laid-back, art-filled dining room right on the main street. The wide-ranging menu features Thai-style seafood…
