Chilean cuisine: between the Pacific and the Andes
Chile has 4,300 km of coastline and fertile valleys at the foot of the Andes, so its food naturally combines fresh seafood, grilled meats and produce from the countryside. It's a mixed cuisine: an indigenous Mapuche base, Spanish heritage, and contributions from German, Italian and Croatian immigrants, especially in the south. The country's extreme geography - desert in the north, central valleys, archipelagos in the south - also means each region cooks quite differently from its neighbors.
Empanadas, pastel de choclo and cazuela: the everyday classics
The empanada de pino is arguably the most iconic dish: baked pastry filled with minced beef, onion, hard-boiled egg, olive and raisins, costing between CLP 1,500 and 3,500 depending on the spot. Pastel de choclo, a beef-and-chicken gratin topped with sweet corn puree baked until golden, is a must in summer when fresh corn (choclo) is in season. Cazuela, a broth with chunks of meat or chicken, potato, squash and corn, is Chile's ultimate home cooking, especially in winter.
Seafood: from oysters to curanto
The Chilean coast offers an enormous variety of seafood: southern oysters, locos (a local abalone-like mollusk, seasonally protected), clams, sea urchins and piures. Machas a la parmesana - clams gratineed with cheese and white wine - are a classic coastal restaurant dish. In Chiloe, curanto is an experience in itself: shellfish, pork, chicken, sausage and milcao (a potato dough) cooked together, traditionally in a pit in the ground covered with nalca leaves, though today it's also made in a pot ("curanto en olla" or pulmay).
Completo, sopaipillas and street food
The completo, Chile's take on the hot dog, comes loaded with mashed avocado, chopped tomato, sauerkraut, mayonnaise and sometimes hot sauce; a "completo italiano" (green, white and red, echoing the Italian flag) costs CLP 2,000-3,500 at a neighborhood stand. Sopaipillas - fried discs of pumpkin dough - are sold on street corners on rainy days, served with pebre (a spicy tomato, onion and cilantro salsa) or drenched in chancaca syrup (sopaipillas pasadas).
Pisco sour, wine and the debate with Peru
Pisco sour - pisco, lime juice, sugar and egg white - is the national drink, though its origin is historically disputed with Peru; in Chile it's made from muscatel grapes grown in the Elqui and Limari valleys. A pisco sour at a Santiago bar costs CLP 4,000-7,000. Chile is also one of the world's great wine producers, with valleys like Colchagua, Casablanca and Maipo turning out carmenere (the country's signature grape), cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc of remarkable quality at very reasonable prices (decent bottles from CLP 5,000 at the supermarket). Other classics include mote con huesillo (a cold drink of wheat mote and dried peach, typical of summer) and the terremoto, a cocktail of pipeno sweet wine with pineapple ice cream that often ends with a "replica" - a second round.
Where to eat, meal times and tipping
- Mercado Central in Santiago: great for fresh fish and seafood at lunchtime; prices skew touristy, so ask before sitting down.
- Valparaiso's caletas: fishermen's stalls right by the water, with set lunch menus from CLP 6,000-9,000, well below the touristy downtown.
- Meal times: lunch usually runs from 1pm to 3pm, and dinner rarely starts before 8-9pm; many restaurants close in the mid-afternoon between services.
- Tipping: 10% is standard and is often suggested directly on the bill ("propina sugerida"); you can decline it if the service was poor.
- Daily food budget: from CLP 8,000-12,000 at a casual spot up to CLP 25,000-40,000 per person at a mid-range restaurant.
- Reservations: at mid-to-high-end restaurants in Santiago or Valparaiso, book a day ahead, especially on weekends.