4 Best Restaurants in The Central Coast, Chile

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.

Serpentine bamboo tunnels connect rooms through La Canasta, and slabs of wood suspended by chains serve as tables, creating a scene that could be straight from The Hobbit. A small menu changes regularly but includes dishes such as cordero a la ciruela (lamb with plum sauce) and corvinaqueso de cabra (sea bass with goat cheese).

With its trendy decor and swanky seafront setting, Mar Central looks a lot more expensive than it actually is. Instead, it eschews the heavily marked-up seafood dishes of other spots nearby by offering fish tacos, crab sandwiches, octopus fried rice, and other casual fair, alongside killer cocktails like the Elqui Mule (a twist on the traditional Moscow Mule with pisco from the Elqui Valley).

Echoing the colors of the fishing boats below, this seafood restaurant is painted vivid shades of yellow, green, and red. The restaurant's proximity to the caleta (cove) means the fish on your plate was probably pulled from the water early that morning. Attentive servers will help you choose from the good wine selection.