6 Best Restaurants in The Central Coast, Chile

This cutesy cafe is Valpo's yummiest breakfast, brunch, or lunch spot with homemade sourdough breads, sweet treats, silky lattes, fresh kombuchas, and health-focused bites. Sit in the brick-red bakery to watch the action or at a table on the tree-shaded street out front.

If you were to ask a local to take you to a traditional restaurant, chances are you would wind up here. Now operated by the third generation of the same family, this small establishment will take you back in time with its long wooden bar, older gentlemen playing dominoes, and very traditional Chilean fare. The star dish is the causeo de patas (cow feet cut into squares and cooked till the fat melts away, mixed with onions, chili, beans, and vinegar and served cold), an adventurous dish that is much tastier than it sounds.

This trendy café with exposed brick walls, colorful murals, and hardwood floors is one of the best reasons to leave the hills for the flatland of Barrio Puerto. In addition to a fine array of coffees and baked goods, you'll also find soups, salads, and sandwiches that offer superb value for money. The dark interior is also a great place to flip open a laptop and answer a few emails.

This eccentric restaurant is a Valparaíso institution thanks to its legendary status for inventing the chorillana (thinly sliced beef with fried onions and eggs served atop French fries), a dish that is meant to be eaten communally. There's no menu—choose either a plate of chorillana for two or three, or carne mechada (stewed beef) with a side of French fries, rice, or tomato salad. Glass cases filled with dusty trinkets surround tables covered with plastic cloths in a cramped, dark dining room. You may have to share a table. The restaurant is at the end of a bleak corridor off Calle Condell.

This long-running bakery on the road up to Cerro Alegre prepares more than 80 different varieties of empanadas, including surprising combos like cheese, salmon, and capers or cheese, mango, and pineapple. The dough is crispy, the service is friendly, and the line out front moves fast.

Seemingly dangling from the edge of Cerro Concepción, the bright yellow Hotel Brighton and its restaurant have an amazing view from the black-and-white-tiled terrace. The limited menu specializes in seafood, with such standards as ostiones a la parmesana (scallops on the half shell with Parmesan), as well as pizzas and burgers. It's also a great place to stop for a break to have a pisco sour or once (afternoon tea) on the terrace.