Best restaurants in Santiago, Chile: where to eat

From a 14-course tasting menu at Boragó to a bubbling pastel de choclo in Bellavista, these are the best restaurants in Santiago, Chile, from my own trip, with what I ordered, what I paid and what I’d go back for.

I’d been to Chile three times before I finally gave its capital the time it deserves. On my fourth trip, travelling solo in July, I started and finished in Santiago, and I spent a good part of my time there eating. I based myself in Lastarria, which turned out to be the perfect neighbourhood for it: four of the places I loved most are within a couple of minutes’ walk of each other. (My guide to where to stay in Santiago explains why it’s my favourite base.)

The city’s food scene has come a long way, and Boragó, my big splurge, is now ranked among the best restaurants in Latin America. But some of my favourite meals were much simpler: a pastel de choclo at a Bellavista institution that’s been going since the 1960s, a platter of oysters with a pisco sour, and a glass of house carmenere that put plenty of London wine lists to shame.

Every place below is somewhere I ate or drank myself, with what I ordered and what it cost. If you only have a short time in the city, my one-day Santiago itinerary shows how to fit a few of them around the sights.

Some links in this article may be affiliate links, which means we may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you decide to purchase through one of my recommended partners.

Liguria's dining room in Lastarria with fringed red lampshades, gilded mouldings, white tablecloths and a large framed photograph — Fringed lampshades and gilded mouldings in the dining room at Liguria in Lastarria

Where to eat at a glance

For a blowout: Boragó, Vitacura
For Chilean wine: Bocanáriz, Lastarria
For pisco and oysters: Chipe Libre, Lastarria
For classic Chilean dishes: Liguria in Lastarria and Galindo in Bellavista
For cocktails with a view: The Singular, Lastarria

Where I ate and drank in Santiago

Boragó, Vitacura

White mushroom-shaped bite standing in green moss in a stone bowl at Boragó, Santiago — A mushroom-shaped bite nestled in moss, early in the tasting menu at Boragó

I saved Boragó for the very end of my trip, and if you want to push the boat out in Santiago, this is the place to do it. Chef Rodolfo Guzmán opened it in 2006, and his tasting menus are built around Chile’s endemic ingredients, sourced from more than 200 small producers and foragers around the country. It came sixth on the 2025 Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, the highest of any restaurant in Chile, and Guzmán picked up the list’s Icon Award the same year.

My winter Endémica menu ran to 14 courses. The highlight was the chupe, a stew that’s traditionally made with seafood but here came with mushrooms: the ultimate umami blast, with a eucalyptus bud broth that was more delicate than it sounds and perfectly balanced the mushrooms. Not everything landed. An ice brûlée was an inventive idea, but the ice made it very cold, and it clashed with both the course before it and the wine. To finish, a nitrogen-blasted meringue with lemon had me blasting smoke from my nose like Smaug.

Dried flowers and wheat in a stone vase on a table, with Boragó's grey dining room behind — Dried flowers on my table, with Boragó’s cavernous dining room behind

The space is cavernous, all clean lines and grey concrete, and it errs on the side of majestic rather than atmospheric. I walked away stuffed, verging on uncomfortably so, so pace yourself in the early stages. A trip to Boragó is as much about theatre as it is about dinner, so it’s not the place for a simple, unfussy meal. I’ve written up every course in my full Boragó review.

Address: San José María Escrivá de Balaguer 5970, Vitacura | Price: CLP 199,000 per person for the menu, plus CLP 99,000 for the wine pairing | Open: dinner, Tuesday to Saturday | Book: online through the restaurant’s website

Bocanáriz, Lastarria

Glasses of red wine on handwritten coasters for a carmenere flight at Bocanáriz in Lastarria, Santiago — My carmenere flight at Bocanáriz, each glass on a coaster naming the wine

About ten people told me to make sure I booked a table at Bocanáriz, from the concierge at my hotel to Alejandro, the guide who ran my street art tour of Bellavista and Barrio Yungay. I’m glad I listened: it was easily one of the nicest meals I had in the city.

It’s a wine bar and a restaurant, and it’s stellar at both. Bocanáriz opened in 2012 and now has more than 300 Chilean wines by the bottle, 36 by the glass and 13 themed flights. Some focus on a particular grape or classification and others take you right across the country. I went for the White Wines of Chile flight and the Carmenere flight. Each flight is a journey through Chile’s many terroirs, and the servers talk you through the differences and any standout details as they bring each glass, so you’re never going in blind. Servings are small, so take the chance to try quite a few. You won’t get another chance like it in the city.

Don’t treat the food as an afterthought. Most wine bars put out a platter of artisan cheese and leave it at that. Not Bocanáriz. There’s a selection of sharing plates as well as heartier mains, and if my vegetable tiradito with carrots and pea jus and my steak and chips were anything to go by, you can set your expectations high. If the flights leave you wanting more, the wineries of the Maipo Valley and the Casablanca Valley are both an easy day trip from the city.

Vegetable tiradito with roasted baby carrots, pea jus and crumbs on a grey plate at Bocanáriz — Vegetable tiradito with roasted carrots and pea jus at Bocanáriz

My bill came to CLP 58,900 before the tip: CLP 10,500 for the tiradito, CLP 24,900 for the steak, CLP 7,200 for the white wine flight and CLP 11,200 for the carmenere flight, plus an extra glass of sauvignon blanc and a bottle of water. Book a day or two ahead for dinner from Thursday to Saturday, and look out for the set lunch menu if you’re visiting during the day.

Address: José Victorino Lastarria 276, Lastarria | Price: around CLP 25,000 to 40,000 a head | Open: lunch and dinner daily, dinner only on Sundays | Book: through the website or on WhatsApp

Chipe Libre, Lastarria

Platter of oysters on ice with lime wedges and bowls of red onion and corn salsa at Chipe Libre — Oysters on ice with lime and a salsa of red onion, corn and peppers at Chipe Libre

Raise the subject of pisco with anyone from Chile or Peru and you’ll realise that things can get heated very quickly. Both countries claim to have invented the fiery grape-based spirit, the lines have been drawn in the sand and nobody is ceding ground. Chipe Libre, which calls itself the Independent Republic of Pisco, makes it clear that the drink’s origins aren’t its business. Celebrating pisco at its best, from both sides of the border, certainly is.

You can try piscos from some of the best distilleries in Peru and Chile, and there’s an extensive cocktail list too, though it would be rude not to order a pisco sour. The food is great as well. My platter of oysters came Chilean style, with wedges of lime and a delicious salsa of red onion, corn, peppers and other goodness, and I’m now a convert from a plain old squeeze of lemon for life.

Diners at the bar of Chipe Libre in Lastarria beneath a large woven lantern and shelves of pisco — Diners at the bar at Chipe Libre, beneath a woven lantern

Address: José Victorino Lastarria 282, Lastarria, a few doors from Bocanáriz | Price: mid-range | Open: lunch and dinner, Monday to Saturday

Liguria, Lastarria

Frothy pisco sour in a short glass on a white tablecloth at Liguria, Santiago — A pisco sour to start my first night in Santiago at Liguria

Liguria is one of the best-known restaurants in Santiago. There are a few branches around the city, but several locals told me to head to the one in Lastarria, as it’s the best. It fills a grand 1906 mansion on the corner of Merced and Lastarria, and it’s a decent option for traditional Chilean food in a baroque setting, with fringed lampshades and gilt on the cornices. The effect should be a bit much, but it pulls it off. There’s a healthy-ish mix of tourists and locals, and the sizeable menu runs through the Chilean classics.

The cocktail list is long too. Obviously you should try a pisco sour, but venture beyond it, as the barman has some serious skills. My fillet a la plancha wasn’t the most flavourful meal I’ve ever had, but it was good enough to pass muster. You know you’re in Chile, though, when the house carmenere is better than most of what they pour in the high-end restaurants at home in London.

Grilled fillet on a bed of risotto-style grains topped with crispy shallots at Liguria — My fillet a la plancha at Liguria

It’s good value, too. My pisco sour cost CLP 6,200, the fillet CLP 17,900 and a glass of carmenere CLP 7,900, which came to CLP 32,000 before the suggested 10% tip. Reserve ahead.

Address: Merced 298, Lastarria | Price: mains around CLP 15,000 to 18,000 | Open: lunch and dinner until late, Monday to Saturday

Galindo, Bellavista

Galindo was recommended to me as the place for good, traditional Santiago food, the kind people normally cook at home, at affordable prices. All of that is true. It’s been going since 1968, on a corner in Bellavista a short walk from Pablo Neruda’s house, La Chascona, so it makes an easy lunch stop if you’re working through the best things to do in Santiago.

Order the pastel de choclo. It’s a hearty combination of creamed corn, chicken, minced beef, onions, olives, herbs and spices, all cooked, blended and then baked, and it’s about as traditional as Chilean food gets, so try it at least once while you’re here. Go hungry, as it’s very filling, and beware: the olives aren’t stoned.

It’s popular, so it does get busy. I wasn’t overly excited about being shunted to the corner halfway through my meal, after I’d been seated, so that more people could crowd in far too close. It’s cheap and cheerful, though, and you can just walk in.

Diners and a waiter in the busy dining room of Restaurant Galindo in Bellavista, Santiago — Lunchtime diners and a waiter in the dining room at Galindo

If you’d rather graze, Patio Bellavista is a few minutes’ walk away: a buzzing courtyard of bars, restaurants and shops with plenty of terrace space for eating outside, and a really cool spot to hang out for an afternoon or evening.

Address: Dardignac 098, Bellavista | Price: most mains CLP 9,000 to 14,000 | Open: Tuesday to Sunday, from 11.30am

The Singular, Lastarria

Leather armchairs, framed abstract prints and a glass of red wine in the restaurant at The Singular Santiago — Leather chairs, framed prints and a glass of red in the restaurant at The Singular

I moved to The Singular for the end of my trip (it’s one of my picks in my guide to where to stay in Santiago), and its restaurant and rooftop bar are great for a quiet meal or cocktails with a view, even if you’re not staying. The rooftop terrace was closed when I visited, as it shuts in the winter months, but it would be a great place to hang out in summer.

The Singular Restaurant serves executive chef Hernán Basso’s cooking, which applies French techniques to Chilean produce, and The Rooftop Bar opens from 4pm for signature cocktails. You can book either by emailing the hotel.

Address: Merced 294, Lastarria | Price: high-end | Open: The Rooftop Bar from 4pm daily

The best restaurants in Santiago, Chile: where I ate on my trip

Where to eat at a glance