Restaurants near Parque Arauco

Nice place with good stake and vine. Worth visiting.

I went on a Sunday in mid-February, a quiet time in Santiago due to summer vacations. As a result, parking was plentiful, and the restaurant was only about 25% full. It has its own parking, plus safe nearby streets in case the lot is full. The exterior isn’t particularly elegant, with banners more typical of a roadside diner than a city restaurant. However, inside, the atmosphere is warm, with high-quality Chilean Navy memorabilia covering the walls, ceiling, and floor. Some may find the decor excessive, but I think it makes the place unique, giving it a themed-restaurant feel similar to many in the U.S. Seafood is the specialty, and everything we ordered was excellent. The pisco sour was large, flavorful, refreshing, and strong enough to feel it. The machas a la parmesana (razor clams au gratin) were outstanding—our waiter even mentioned they’ve won awards for them, and I believe it. For the main course, we all had congrio frito (fried conger eel), which was sublime—large, generous, flavorful, and crispy. The side dishes were also exceptional: the puré picante (spicy mashed potatoes) was sensational, and the French fries were among the best I’ve ever had.

Great service and ambience was amazing. Will be back to try the rest of the menu, as lots of Chifa is not available throughout Chile.

Our tour company booked us into the Santiago Marriott and we were initially too exhausted to look for our first meal (lunch) beyond the hotel. To our surprise, the food and service were both excellent. For a variety of reasons, we wound up returning for multiple meals and were not disappointed once. Delicious, well-prepared food, wonderful service, and quite reasonable prices. We sat out on the lovely patio, with palm trees and a waterfall, and also inside on a Friday evening where there was an excellent pianist. Highly recommend The Latin Grill and its companion, Cafe Med.