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Menus cover the bases of international cuisines, but don't miss the local bounty—seafood delivered directly from the Pacific Ocean. One local favorite is caldillo de congrio, the hearty fish stew celebrated by poet Pablo Neruda in his "Oda al Caldillo de Congrio." (The lines of the poem are, in fact, the recipe.) A pisco sour—a cocktail of grape brandy, egg white, and lemon juice—is a great aperitif for any meal, especially when accompanied by a plate of machas a la parmesana, small razor clams served au gratin, baked in lemon juice or with white wine, butter, and grated cheese.
Tempted to try heartier Chilean fare? Pull up a stool at one of the counters at Vega Central and enjoy a traditional pastel de choclo, pie filled with ground beef, chicken, olives, and a boiled egg, topped with mashed corn. Craving seafood? Head to the Mercado Central, where fresh fish is brought in each morning. Want a memorable meal? Trendy restaurants are opening every day in neighborhoods like Bellavista, where hip Santiaguinos come to check out the latest hot spots.
In the neighborhood of Vitacura, a 20- to 30-minute taxi ride from the city center, a complex of restaurants called Borde Río attracts an upscale crowd, but other reservations-only restaurants worth a look are on Alonso de Córdova and Nueva Costanera. El Golf, an area including Avenida El Bosque Norte and Avenida Isidora Goyenechea in Las Condes, has numerous restaurants and cafés. The emphasis is on creative cuisine, so familiar favorites are given a Chilean twist. This is one of the few neighborhoods where you can stroll between restaurants until you find exactly what you want.
Santiaguinos dine a little later than you might expect. Most fancy restaurants don't open for lunch until 1. (You may startle the cleaning staff if you rattle the doors at noon.) Dinner begins at 7:30 or 8, although most places don't get crowded until after 9. Many eateries close for a few hours before dinner and on Sunday night. People do dress smartly for dinner, but a coat and tie are rarely necessary. Avoid shorts, sneakers, and athletic gear, and you should be fine in most places.
With a sleek design that calls to mind Los Angeles as much as Tokyo, this Nikkei restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental is one of Santiago's most stylish eateries. Comprising a sushi bar and two tatami rooms (no shoes allowed, but slippers are provided) with sliding screens for privacy, Matsuri also has two grill tables. Reservations are a must on weekends.
Where better than to sample fresh Chilean seafood and eat where the locals eat than at Santiago's fish market? Bustling and loud, the market has an ambience you'll want to soak up, whether you visit Donde Augusto and La Joya del Pacífico in the center or at a smaller, less touristy, and cheaper spot such as Marisol or Francisca. The tables may be rickety, but the fish couldn't be fresher and cheaper or the service friendlier. Credit cards are accepted at larger restaurants. The mercado and its restaurants close at 5 pm.
Sporting views over Parque Bicentenario, this is a great spot for a leisurely lunch or a generous pisco sour as the sun sets between the hills in summer. The eclectic menu brings together some of the best of Chilean and Peruvian cuisine, with an emphasis on fish, as well as plateada, a slow-cooked cut of beef on a bed of mashed potatoes and basil.
This unassuming French restaurant with a slightly haphazard decor has service as friendly as the food is good. Join the regulars at the wooden bar for a steaming bowl of onion soup and beef Bourguignon with French fries (made from real potatoes) in winter, or a glass of wine at one of the pavement tables in summer.
Taking inspiration from ancestral dishes made in all the regions of Chile, there's a historical theme at Peumayén, where every meal starts with a colorful "bread basket," a slate plate with examples from the north to the south of Chile. Entrées designed for sharing include guanaco meat; horse meat, lamb, fish, and the much-celebrated potato continue the ancestral theme. The restaurant interior is part romantic, part rustic, and there's an agreeable plant-filled courtyard for outside dining in warmer months.
Hereford beef burgers, onion rings, and three kinds of veggie burgers all share space at this American-style restaurant owned by a French expatriate. These are some of the best burgers in the city, with patties made from meat, mushroom, chickpea, quinoa, or shrimp.
The decor here is fun, if a bit over-the-top. Tables are fanciful, with designs made from pistachio nuts, red peppers, and beans; and bright mosaic floors and dozens of silver lanterns create a sensual ambience and conjure up an exotic atmosphere for dishes taking origin from Africa and Asia, such as the flavorful Szechuan shrimp and Indonesian satay.
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