2 Best Restaurants in Castro, Chiloé

With a fresh, creative approach to traditional Chilote cuisine, this restaurant is a nice change of pace in the island's restaurant scene—and, most importantly, it serves up really good food. El Mercadito is in a restored house overlooking the waterfront in the historic Pedro Montt barrio. Exciting dishes include "Mi Borrachito," a spicy conger eel stew with choritos and fried native potatoes, and "Bombas de Jaiva," a breaded, fried appetizer stuffed with chupe de jaiba, a typical crab stew in Chiloé. Be sure to start your meal off with an icy pisco sour.

Co-owned by the authors of an award-winning cookbook about Chiloé cuisine, Travesia is a wonderful way to experience Chiloé dishes that are prepared with inventive, modern twists by a young team of chefs. A favorite is the out-of-this-world chancho ahumado (smoked pork), which is served with a delightful sauce made of local murta berries together with potatoes (a star ingredient here---Chiloé hosts 90% of the world's known potato varieties).