Lusitano

Barrio Italia is known for tattoos and beer drinking Bohemians. Not for quaint Portuguese restaurants serving classic Portuguese dishes utilizing ingredients like Bacalao (salt cod) and XXXXX. Tucked into the open space between two buildings on Condell in the heart of Barrio Italia is Lusitano, self-described as a restaurant of Portuguese inspiration. (Jazz music and Portuguese crooners.)

If it’s raining, the seating options are limited. The majority of the tables are situated in a large courtyard in the center of the space. There are two covered dining areas. One is adjacent to the bar at the back of the restaurant seating about 10 to 12 diners. Over that dining area adjoining the bar is rooftop (open-air) dining area seating another 15 or so diners. The other indoor dining room is located at the front of the restaurant, seating approximately another 20 to 25 diners. The large courtyard between the two has a dozen or more tables seating another fifty or so diners.

The restaurant is usually busy in the evenings. Reservations are recommended. They can be made online using Restorando.com

The décor is simple but attractive with lots of lush foliage in the garden area providing a comfortable, natural setting for your dining experience. There are large pieces of abstract art and posters depicting scenes from Portugal, all done in good taste.

Every table is set with white porcelain and heavy, attractive tableware. It’s a pleasant atmosphere that’s even more memorable on a cool spring evening.

The only thing out of place in this otherwise understated sophistication is the paper napkins, which seemed oddly out of place. White cloth napkins would have been the icing on the cake.

Regrettably, the most unique and Portuguese thing on the menu, the Bacalao (with two different preparations on the menu) was not available on the evening I dined at Lusitano.

But the centolla au gratin (crab casserole) was a suitable replacement and the dish was full of the crab meat in a creamy sauce, topped with cheese, then charred under the broiler.

I was disappointed with the dessert. Chilean restaurants seem to have difficulty breaking old habits. I see the same old worn-out desserts at almost every restaurant, none of which were all that spectacular, even when they were conceived decades ago.

I ordered a chocolate tart filled with a semi-sweet dark chocolate ganache in a tiny pie shell. The shell was as hard as a rock and the ganache was almost as hard, having not been allowed to return to room temperature after being pulled from the refrigerator.

The service on my evening visit with a full restaurant was better than acceptable. No complaints. But I’ve seen many consumer reviews in online sources complaining of slow service.

This restaurant has a cute pastry shop and ice cream parlor in the front of the building facing the street and serves a limited menu in mornings including waffles for breakfast, beginning at 8:30 am (although I had to walk into the kitchen to find the waitress at that time of the day). The coffee is Italian roast, Musetti. I’m not a fan of Italian coffees but this Musetti is a bit milder and less bitter than most Italian-roast coffees.

I had a waffle one morning recently. It was one of those thin toaster-type waffles and quite honestly, I’ve had frozen waffles better than this one. It was served cold. I think they pre-prepare them as they weren’t served hot and the one I was served was dry … almost brittle.

This is about the only place you can find anything other than a slice of banana nut bread and coffee in this neighborhood for breakfast, so I suppose they deserve some credit for just waking up.

Summing it up, Lusiano has a unique menu which if properly executed would make this restaurant, with its pleasant ambience, a one of a kind destination in Santiago for dinner. But having 86’d the only singularly unique ingredient on the menu prior to even opening the doors for the evening service robs the restaurant of any real legitimacy. Barely average desserts add insult to injury.

Breakfast? The waffles were no better than what I stick in the toaster from the freezer. The coffee was acceptable. Maybe worth a visit in the morning for croissant and coffee only.

I make this restaurant sound horrible, but it’s not. It’s just falling way short of its potential.