On vacation or visiting for business, a proper visit to Santiago should include a nice meal, and the Chilean capital offers a number of options. Here are three restaurants in Vitacura that show the best that the city has to offer in food, in this affluent and modern neighborhood.
Vitacura sits in the shadow of the iconic Cerro Manquehue, one of the constant landmarks while your in the eastern side of the city. As a municipality, Vitacura is the shiny, modern and expensive version of Chile. It includes not only some of the best restaurants in the city, but a range of cafes, pastries, shopping alternatives and more.
Also easily accessible (save the rush hour and its traffic) if you are staying in Las Condes, Providencia or even Santiago Centro, the food offer has some our favorites. If you are here on vacation, here in Santiago for business or a resident looking for a special meal, here are three options to consider.
Photo: World’s 50 Best Restaurants
Boragó- Borago is a high-end restaurant where its chef and owner Rodolfo Guzman presents highly elaborated and conceptual dishes using fine and hard to find ingredients from all over Chile. Their tasting menus “reflect the soil that delivers us to the moment…collecting and coming the best endemic products from Chile’s territory, permanently evolving throughout the year”. Small, refined portions, offered with pairings are the theme here, in a presentation that we would classify as sensory experience more than a traditional meal. They include items like Patagonian rainwater, small batch wines, their own vegetable garden for their kitchen and rush in wild ingredients from all over Chile.
His approach has attracted plenty of recognition, as Borago is the only restaurant in Chile on the “World’s 50 Best” list, sitting at N°42. It’s in the most upscale restaurant sector of the city, Nueva Costanera, and is a splurge by most accounts.
Av. Nueva Costanera 3467, Vitacura
+56239538893
Photo: Ambrosia
Ambrosía- Another one of Santiago’s top restaurants, and ranked N°20 on the Latin Amercia’s top 50 list. Under the helm of Chef Carolina Bazan and family, this used to be a nice lunch spot in the center of Santiago, just a block from the Plaza de Armas. Following a stint in France, Bazan returned and the restaurant was located to its current location, in a modern and tasteful home in a residential neighborhood of affluent Vitacura. They use fine ingredients, and we dream of their Wagyu plateada with a creamy Gorgonzola sauce on many occasions. They have tasting menu of 8 courses, or order of the menu. Although it is definitely haute cuisine, it is still a meal and an excellent one at that.
Pamplona 78, Vitacura
+5622173075
Mestizo- A “mestizo” generally refers to someone who is a blend of indigenous and European roots, and the name fits this fine dining establishment very well. It’s rare to find a place that has a wonderful view, excellent design and of course, memorable food, all in one, but they do it very well. A favorite for business meals or visiting diplomats, it’s also a highly recommended place for tourists. Built in the corner of Vitacura’s Parque Bicentenario, the view from the terrace of dining salon is off the park and the modern “Sanhatten” neighborhood in the background, right along the Mapocho River.
However the food does not take a back seat to the design, and the menu has a strong Peruvian influence, even simple treats like French fries just seem to shine here. It is not on any of the “top lists”, but nor is it a molecular “sensory” experience, it is just a great place for a wonderful meal.
Av. Bicentenario 4050, Vitacura, Santiago
+56974776093
Looking for other recommendations or want to include these in a food tour? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.