Wonderland Cafe is a whimsical little café that has earned the top spot for cafés in this neighborhood. Decorated in a quirky fashion with an Alice in Wonderland theme. The coffee is high-quality, prepared by baristas. The food menu is short but full of interesting items. A bit pricey for such a low-profile café.
Millefleur is a small café cum bistro with a lot of French personality, offering fresh-baked bread and pastries, a range of breakfast items, sandwiches, salads and a few French classic mains like a Beouf Bourguignon and Coque au Vin. The décor is stylish. The menu creative and generally well-executed. Prices are a bit steep but no more than most of the restaurants in that affluent section of Vitacura.
Café Black Mamba is a specialty coffee spot that doubles as a comfy little restaurant with great sandwiches and salads to compliment they array of craft breads and pastries. With a consumer aggregate rating of 4.7 stars it’s Santiago’s most popular café.
Osaka in Vitacura is the Santiago Chile iteration of Lima-based Osaka’s international chain of restaurant’s offering Peru’s Japanese fusion cuisine styled Nikkei. Ambiance and execution of the sophisticated Nikkei menu is top-notch. Service is generally very good. But prices are steep. Not so much that affluent diners will blink an eye, but certainly not a stop for those of us not blessed with deep pockets.
Rubaiyat Santiago is the Santiago location of the acclaimed international steakhouse chain, Rubaiyat – Cabañas las Lilas. At Rubaiyat Santiago, you’ll find ribeyes and strip steaks imported from famed beef producers, Cabañas las Lilas in Argentina, and other high-quality cuts imported from Brazil, firewood-grilled to perfection. Top-notch service and slightly contemporary, but warm steakhouse décor make Rubaiyat one of the highest rated steakhouses in Santiago.
La Lucha brings the sandwiches that made Lima’s sangucherías famous to local shopping malls in Santiago. The spicy meat fillings are delicious, but Santiaguinos that prefer mounds of condiments piled on top of their sandwiches may think the sandwiches at La Lucha lack the altitude they desire.
Fuente Alemana is the one place every Santiaguino will tell you is a “must go” with the city’s best sandwiches. We disagree. Once you strip away the cultural bias, the sandwiches are grossly excessive in size, but short on quality. There is no décor and the service is chaotic and substandard. There are some really good sandwich shops in Santiago. But Fuente Alemana isn’t on that list.
Sublime, with a wide assortment of traditional sandwiches done in non-traditional ways in a pleasant environment and all at a reasonable price, is one of several new sandwich shops in Vitacura worth a visit. Our favorite? The pork rib-meat (costillar) sandwich with basic toppings.
La Cabrera offers high-quality beef and expertly grilled steaks and meat appetizers in an atmosphere designed to mimick an Argentine farmhouse but we find the ambience a bit below the prices. The lack of variety in the menu is another drawback. Good service and execution by the “parilleros” is a compensating factor.
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.
Although Tanta’s shopping-mall chain-restaurant ambience leaves it a bit soulless, the food and service are consistently good, making it perhaps the best choice in Santiago for a reasonably priced sampling of a host of Peruvian classics.
With a unique well-executed menu, friendly and attentive service and a warm and inviting ambiance that’s equally suited to families, couples and groups, Panchita is the city’s best “non-Nikkei” Peruvian dining experience. But the best, in this case, comes at a cost. Panchita is priced higher than many of the city’s best upscale restaurants.
Elkika Ilmenau is one of a handful of restaurants Santiago that specialize in serving the city’s famed “completo” (a hot dog on steroids) and the four sandwiches that define Chile’s culinary identity, the Churrasco, the Lomito, the Chacarera, and the Barros Luco. This is a good spot for watching soccer matches on the big screen TVs while drinking cheap beer and eating food only drunks could love, which makes the place perfect for 75% of the male population.
La Sanguchera, with locations in or near the food courts of several popular shopping malls, sandwiches with fresh ingredients. Seating is right in the frenetic midst of hundreds of mall guests walking from the escalator to the mall food-court. But the sandwiches are tasty and the service was better than acceptable.
Fuente Mardoqueo serves up sandwiches that are big. But big isn’t always better. Fuente Mardoqueo is proof of that. The sandwiches are almost indistinguishable from those at competitor Fuente Alemana. One plus is you won’t likely have to arm-wrestle anyone for a seat like you do at the excessively over-hyped Fuente Alemana.
Chipe Libre is Santiago’s top gastropub. The specialty of the house is pisco and they serve up more than 80 different varieties from both Chile and Peru. Combine the city’s best pisco sours with a menu of well-executed Peruvian classics and you have winning formula.
Castillo Forestal serves authentic French cuisine. Rare in Latin America. Minor errors of execution and a somewhat lacking ambience in the main dining area keep Castillo Forestal from living up to its potential. Still, a worth choice, especially at breakfast and lunch.
For as close to authentic Japanese cuisine as you’ll find in Santiago, served by a friendly and informative crew of waiters in humble and unpretentious surroundings Goeman is the best, if not the only choice in Santiago.
Gastón Acurio’s La Mar is the best restaurant in Buenos Aires to experience a well-rounded dose of Peruvian cuisine with a heavy Nikkei personality. Good service execution of a classic Peruvian menu with all the dishes Acurio made famous.
Original Coffee Roasters is a casual gourmet restaurant posing as a specialty coffee-shop. Yes. The coffee’s great and the ambiance pleasant. But it’s the food that’s the real star.
Domani Pizzeria is the place to go for pizzas that are the real deal in a non-pretentious and high-energy ambiance. Reasonable prices, too.
Brunapoli is one of only a handful of moderately priced restaurants on Nueva Constanera, Vitacura’s restaurant row. And it’s the only one offering great pizza and pasta in a trendy ambiance with a high-energy vibe.
Confitería Torres, downtown, transports diners back to the end of the 19th century in a setting where it wouldn’t be uncommon to see President Barros Luco eating his favorite sandwich at the next table. The Las Condes location has a unique French bistro ambience that’s great for lounging and watching passersby. You won’t find a burger on the menu. That’s the beauty of the Confitería Torres!
Eladio. It’s not a restaurant. It’s a tribute to what Chile and Santiago were before McDonald’s and Pizza Hut came to town. It’s the Sunday afternoon sojourn after church in Santiago. Good service and straightforward food that’s familiar keep Santiaguinos coming back week after week. This is family dining in Santiago.
Bar Liguria is, was and will always be, the quintessential Santiaguino upscale-cantina. Casual but sophisticated. Traditional but trendy and “in vogue”. Almost always good food and good service by a friendly staff.
For a selfie photo next to a guitar signed by Lenny Kravitz that he probably never played, Hard Rock Café is your only choice. For good food there are much better options up the escalator. We tell you why in this less-than-favorable review.
Sport Café, an American-style sports-bar that primarily shows Latin American and European soccer games and tennis matches, offers average food and average service.
Mr. Jack, once the undisputed champion of burgers in Santiago, is no longer the dominant burger in the city. But with recent improvements to the meat patty and French fries, they remain a formidable contender in the city burger battle. Good burgers and adequate service in a kitschy mid-50’s American-diner ambiance. A bit expensive.
Route 66 is an upscale version of TGI Friday’s. Less kitschy and much better and service. The menu is typical American bistro menu with a few international dishes thrown in for flare. Prices are steep but if you’re putting it on the expense account, who cares?
Chili’s in Santiago, Chile. Has a nice rhythm doesn’t it? Sounds better than the food tastes. The only thing worse than the food is the service and the competency of the guys in management.
TGI Fridays is a great spot to see incompetent teenagers serving hamburgers and potato-skins … but for good burger there are better options within a couple of blocks.
For a modern-day take on German culinary classics and plenty of good German beer, you won’t find better than Tante Marlene in Santiago.
A clean, modern take on a German kneipe (pub) with an interesting and well-executed menu. Bar food usually loses something in the translation. But not a Kunstmann Kneipe. It’s good beer and good food!
A well executed menu full of international comfort food that takes the diner on a world tour, from Asia to Italy, from Peru to Mexico. Jeronimo is the new in-vogue gastropub, attracting Santiago’s beautiful people. But exorbitant prices and sketchy service leave us wondering why.
Tiramisu is enormously popular for a good reason. It’s the best casual dining spot in Santiago. A simple but well-executed menu of Italian inspired dishes and pizza, in a warm, rustic décor, with very good service at reasonable prices. Its fame is well-deserved.
Vapiano, an international restaurant franchise, is now in Santiago, bringing popular Italian dishes, antipasto, pasta and pizza to Santiaguinos in a fast-casual format. The restaurant is clean and well-maintained. The décor is very attractive for this ultra-casual format.
Vendetta is a modern, trendy take on an Italian trattoria offering a short menu of creative and well-executed Italian dishes. Décor, execution of the menu and service were all impressively good on a recent visit.
El Ranchero delivers remarkably authentic Mexican cuisine, without adaptation to please the local palettes, in a pleasant ambience that says “Mexico”. Reasonable prices for big portions, too.
Envy-Taco dishes out nothing but tacos from a converted trailer at the Merkado Bilbao. The menu may be limited, but the flavors shout “Mexico”.
Zanzibar is the perfect destination for an off-the-wall dining experience that pushes the culinary envelope. A truly exotic and unique menu that’s well-executed in a pleasant and fun environment.
Great pizza, pasta and salads with super-fresh, high-quality ingredients. Small pleasant décor. Pet friendly. Perhaps the best pizza in town. Very popular, thus very busy. At peak hours expect a wait for table.
Jewel of India is the best choice in Santiago west of Tobalaba for Indian Cuisine, with a well-executed menu full of Indian cuisine classics, with competent service and reasonable prices.
The newer and flashier location in Vitacura earns Rishtedar a slightly higher overall rating than competitors in the Indian cuisine genre and gives residents out in the foothills of Vitacura and La Dehesa a viable option in the Indian restaurant genre.
Although not garnering an overall score as high as Jewel of India or Rishtedar in Vitacura, Majestic remains a viable option for Indian cuisine, especially for anyone living in or staying in a hotel in Las Condes.
Matsuri offers a touristy rendition of Japanese cuisine that needs a bit more heart and soul. Not a bad restaurant. Better than most in Santiago. But still way short of being a great dining experience.
One of the best, if not the best, Japanese restaurant in Latin America. Popular with both locals and tourists. Trendy, sleek and sexy with a Japanese accent!\
Ocean Pacific’s is a popular seafood restaurant with three locations in Santiago. The décor is impressive, with lots of rare marine and naval artifacts lining the walls. The food and service are average at best, despite some of the highest prices we’ve seen on a menu in Santiago.
Ocean Pacific’s is a popular seafood restaurant with three locations in Santiago. The décor is impressive, with lots of rare marine and naval artifacts lining the walls. The food and service are average at best, despite some of the highest prices we’ve seen on a menu in Santiago.
Le Due Torri, with three locations in Santiago, is an old school Italian ristorante, Santiaguino-style. Although it falls a bit short of authentic, it’s an admirable attempt, typically with acceptable service and execution of the menu.
Notwithstanding the occasional lack of attention at the table by the waiters, a menu with this caliber of ingredients that’s aptly executed in such a memorable ambience makes Mestizo one of the top upscale dining choices in the city.
The Singular Restaurant offers an interesting and well-executed menu with a wide range of regionally harvested ingredients. Service is attentive and friendly. Ambiance is a bit austere.
Baco is comfortable and laid back. At the same time, slightly classy. Rides the fence between casual and upscale casual. Offers French country cuisine that’s typically well-executed. Friendly, attentive service. Expansive wine list.
Stalwart Basque restaurant, Pinpilinpausha, is close to many of the city’s big hotels. It is a favorite of affluent locals, especially for celebrations. Good service, food and ambience make it one of best choices on Isidora Goyenechea.
Tea Connection, despite sometimes sketchy service, garners high scores for ambience, food and creativity. Slightly pricey, but not unusually so for a restaurant in El Golf.
Casaluz, in Barrio Italia, is wearing silk undergarments below a tattered overcoat. It’s the closest thing to gourmet in Barrio Italia. Good food, service and ambience. And good prices, too.
Bocanáriz offers over 300 Chilean wines, with a range of wine flights and wine verticals. Wines can be paired with dishes from an interesting and well-executed menu. Pleasant décor. Popular, but crowded. Unfortunately, substandard service on our last visit.
Don Carlos takes locally produced steaks, uses the Argentine names of the cuts of beef on the menu, and calls itself an Argentine steakhouse. The most Argentine thing about this restaurant is the lack of creative salads and side dishes. Everything about the experience is just barely better than average.
Happening is the Santiago steakhouse born in Argentina, bred in Chile, that’s married to a gringa. It’s the perfect mix of here, there, then and now.
Carnal Prime, new to Santiago, but who has a proven track record in Lima, offers a unique infra-red grilling method and high-quality imported beef. Good service too. Order a few oysters on the half shell from the raw bar, followed by a thick, juicy ribeye for the consummate dining experience.
Rodolfo Guzman’s army of gnomes takes tidbits they find on the forest floor and turns them into food. But there were issues on our recent visit.