Santiago

Restaurant Peumayen, Santiago, 6/25/17

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building
building

Peumayen is a fairly large place with a tarp-covered open air patio in the the room adjacent to the main building.  The patio has a large pass through window into the semi-open kitchen. Rustic woods make up the floor whereas the tabletops are of polished wood appointed with a stone to set the wooden plates on and the smallest cloth napkin.  Soft Spanish background music plays and there is a lively crowd that included several large groups.  The menu has been translated into English but the waiter willingly goes through an explanation of the menu.  There are a la carte options as well as plates of multiple things.   Continue reading →

Restaurant Ambrosía, Santiago, 6/24/17

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exterior
exterior

Ambrosía is in an old house, so is a fairly large place divided into several rooms. The good sized tables are of a glossy wood, well spaced and appointed with comfy chairs and lovely large cloth napkins.  Music plays softly in the background and service is attentive, well paced and friendly.  It is a family run restaurant with the dad and his son working the front, his daughter, Carolina Bazán,  is the chef and his wife helps in front but is mainly in charge of their catering business.  I’m guessing it was due to some of her recent commissions that there were so many gorgeous fresh flower arrangements around the restaurant.  The son, Alvaro Bazán recommended our wine which was a good pick and a nice value.   Continue reading →

Liguria Bar, Santiago, 6/24/17

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exterior
exterior

Liguria Bar is a huge place where drinks are the main part of the huge menu.  Upon entering there is a long bar with stools and a selection of cozy tables surrounded by walls covered with pictures and divided by some partitions.  As you venture back, you pass the kitchen and then it opens up to a lovely airy back room with a high ceiling but again the walls are covered with art.  There are stairs leading up to another level from there.  They offer not only full cocktail service but a wonderful selection of wines, by the glass, bottle, 175cc or 430 cc. Their delicious food choices are fairly heavy, designed to soak up a fair amount of alcohol.  They have some snacks and sandwiches that are offered all the time but also have a list of daily plates.   Continue reading →

BORAGó Restaurante, Santiago, 6/23/17

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building
building

The large patio is on the front of the modern building that houses Boragó. The night we ate there, no diners were there instead it was filled with a grill and kitchen folks tending a large piece of lamb and other foods.  The smells were an enticing way to enter.  Inside, the dining room was a rectangular space book-ended with walls of windows (one looking out on the front patio).  Another wall is made up of the good sized kitchen and many personnel.  The bare tables are made of large planks of wood that are nicely spaced around the room on an interesting concrete and stone floor. Chef Rodolfo Guzmán built BORAGó the end of 2006 to focus exclusively on food from the Chilean territory, some gathered by the chefs themselves and other items from small local producers.   Continue reading →

Fuente Alemana, Santiago, 6/23/17

~ hsnixon ~ 1 Comment
exterior
exterior

Fuente Alemana is a large sandwich shop set up with a U-shaped counter encasing a bunch of hustling women making mammoth sandwiches of thin sliced pork or beef.  Stools around the bar are first come, first taken with no monitoring from staff.  There is also a counter around the outer walls for your food and drink while you stand and eat.  There is a nice shelf underneath where you can store things that might be in your hands.  Most sandwiches come with tomato, sauerkraut and tons of mayonnaise on a pretty basic bun.  Many also have avocado but ours got lost in the translation.   Continue reading →

99 Restaurante, Santiago, 6/22/17

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building
building

99 Restaurante, named for its number on the block, is a small place with a fairly large plastic enclosed patio for extra seating.  Inside the tables are made of thick pieces of wood, nicely spaced and set with small cloth napkins, modern music plays in the background and a large open kitchen dominates the space.  They offer a surprise tasting menu of 6 or 9 courses only with wine pairings available (a little over $33 per person for the 9 course tasting). A wine list is available and they will present you with a list of the foods and wines after the meal, if requested.  Portion sizes are well scaled.  They have been open almost 3 years and the staff spoke excellent English and couldn’t have been more welcoming and friendly. Sitting across from the kitchen provided a fun show between courses, although pacing never lagged.   Continue reading →

Salvador cocina y café, Santiago, 6/22/17

~ hsnixon ~ 2 Comments
entry
entry

Salvador cocina y café is a large 2 story place with crowded tables and a lively vibe. Downstairs is a high ceiling and  a modern feel whereas upstairs the ceiling is low and the walls are decorated with kitchen utensils and meat charts.  It is a place of simple, home-style food with quick and friendly service.  They do specials at lunch which include first, main, dessert, iced tea and coffee and these appeared very popular based on the number of people there.  According to the waiter these specials change daily.   Continue reading →

Restaurante 040, Santiago, 6/21/17

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speak easy bar

Restaurante 040 is located in the basement of a hotel where you have to ring for entry but eating there will grant you entry into the ‘speak-easy’ on the rooftop.  The medium sized place had a fairly dressy crowd with background music playing and lots of white birds hanging from the ceiling in addition to wine glass racks.  As you enter the restaurant there is a bar from which we ordered martinis listed on their “classics” menu. From there communication broke down.  We agreed to their 12 course tasting menu only system, ordered a bottle of wine for dinner, stated no allergies and then were left alone as we watched all the other tables start their menu.  We flagged down the waiter and said we were ready for the wine and to start the menu and still nothing happened till they brought the wrong bottle of wine.   Continue reading →

Aquí Está Coco, Santiago, 6/21/17

~ hsnixon ~ 1 Comment
building
building

Aquí Está Coco is a large restaurant that specializes in seafood.  It has 2 floors of dining spaces and additional private dining rooms.  Tables are nicely spaced and made of pretty woods set with seafood skins to hold the plates in place.  There is subtle background music and  terrific natural light during the daytime. It is worth noting that they have wonderfully large cloth napkins which didn’t seem to be the norm for Santiago.  The place is full of decorations, many having to do with the nautical theme and some just interesting old stuff.  The service is helpful and very friendly but the amount of English spoken varies among the staff, however communication seemed to work.  Our waiter had been with the restaurant for 44 years and even with limited English was able to guide our choices and suggest a delicious wine for the meal.   Continue reading →