3 Best Restaurants in Coyhaique, The Southern Coast

This "Italo-Patagon" pizzeria in the heart of Patagonia mixes the best of Italian cuisine with local ingredients and cooking methods. There is the excellent clay-oven-baked pizza (the one with cordero meat is a running favorite), heaping salads, and inventive plates like grilled Camembert smothered in calafate (a local berry) sauce and homemade panzotti pasta stuffed with crab. If you're a beer lover, try the diverse microbrews made by Mamma Gaucha's sister company, Cerveza La Tropera. The restaurant is popular, but the wait is worth it. 

Organic, fresh, regional produce stars in the indulgent Chilean-international fusion dishes at DaGus Restaurant. The menu is constantly changing, but standouts include pasta dishes and sandwiches like the "Terrible Pollo," a large grilled chicken affair with pesto, tomato, arugula, olives, and melted cheese. 

This restaurant is run by the González family—the mother cooks, her husband and son serve—and they all exude a genuine warmth to everyone who walks in the door. There's plenty of traditional Chilean fare on the menu, including Patagonian cordero (roasted lamb), their standout centolla (king crab) and langostino (lobster), and the hearty filete casona—roast beef with bacon, mushrooms, and potatoes. The design is orderly and pleasant, with fresh flowers in a vase on tables covered with white linen.