Danés

Danés has been on the restaurant scene in Santiago for quite a few years. It is one of many “fuentes de soda” in Santiago that specialize in serving Santiago’s infamous churrasco, lomito and chacarero sandwiches piled high with condiments and the city’s most emblematic food, the completo (a loaded hot dog). Sometime shortly prior to my arrival in Santiago in 2011, the restaurant began churning out burgers as well.

The original restaurant in Vitacura has two floors. The tables are up on the second floor. It has a bar to belly up to on the first floor with the griddle on the back wall, manned by capable cooks wearing little Danés hats within plain view of the bar.

This layout, and the friendly waitress roaming around behind the counter, reminded me of the many diners I’ve frequented over the years back in Texas. The place has a comfortable feel. I saw a bottle of Cholula-brand hot sauce sitting next to the salt and the squeeze bottles of Salsa Golf and Ketchup.

And the flagship burger in this joint comes “standard” with jalapenos. Now that’s my kind of joint. The Danés burger is the hamburger equivalent of a Chilean “completo”, piled high with mayonnaise, bacon bits, tomatoes and jalapenos. I’m pretty sure avocado puree is available on request.

After a few bites it was clear this one wasn’t going to be at the top of our list, though. The burger patty was way too lean, slightly overcooked and way under seasoned. The burger was good ... but not great. The cheese was a real slice of mantecosa, not the fake stuff some restaurants have been throwing on their burgers. The bun? Another ho-hum slice of pan frica that did little to enhance the taste of the burger. And the fries, although crisp and hot, having been recently pulled from the fryer, were the frozen bagged variety. This was a pretty boring burger. Lot’s of altitude, but not much attitude.

The traditional sandwiches are about like every other sandwich at the local fuentes de sodas … short on seasoning and heavy on bland pulverized ingredients oozing out the side. Died in the wool Santiaguinos love these sandwiches. But I think they’re more hype than substance.

Now, the hot dogs, including the loaded completo, are bit more impressive. You can order them about any way you want. I favor the one with caramelized onions, bacon bits, and mushrooms.

And although Danés is best known for their sandwiches, burgers and dogs, the salads on the menu stand head and shoulders above those sandwiches, which is no small feat considering how tall those burgers are.

The salads are loaded with lots of unique ingredients and delicious salad dressings.

And make sure you save room for dessert. Danés has some of the best churros in town, served up with chocolate syrup and manjar (dulce de leche).

Danés now has multiple locations including a large stylishly decorated location in Alto Las Condes. Some of the locations are small and have limited seating and menus.

Service is good and the waitresses are friendly. But the menu prices are a bit steep.

Danés is a good, comfortable neighborhood restaurant with better than acceptable service. And although the sandwiches and burgers are bit boring, the hot dogs deserve praise, as do the salads.