Route 66

For years, this restaurant housed the Ruby Tuesday franchisee operation on Isidora Goyenechea in Las Condes, a stone’s throw from some of the city’s best hotels. In 2016, the chain franchisee in Santiago closed all its burger and breakfast franchisee operations in the city, including Denny’s and Fuddruckers.

The space was taken over by a restaurant with a similar menu, but a slightly more upscale décor.

It retained an iota of that “organization” a chain-restaurant possesses without having that plastic, cookie-cutter personality that strips all the heart and soul out of a restaurant. And although there are better burgers in town, this is likely the best option for a burger within a twenty-block radius.
It’s clearly better than the burgers at nearby Streat Burger and the Hard Rock Café.

I like the ambience at the bar and I almost always eat at the bar when I’m at this restaurant. It’s laid out like a horseshoe so that you strike up a conversation with whoever’s sitting across the bar. There’s about a 50% chance that will be someone visiting Santiago for work or play from outside the country. Expats and locals that like American sports frequent the bar because it typically is showing American sports on the television at the bar.

It’s a bit pricey. The burger will suck about 12 to 15 bucks out of your pocket. That’s more expensive than the burger at the gimmicky Hard Rock café. But then again, it’s a bet burger.

So. If you’re desperate for burger, if you want to meet someone from Des Moines, Iowa or Costa Rica at the bar, or if it’s Sunday in November and you’re wanting to catch the Cowboys beatin’ the Redskins … Route 66 is a good choice.