May 6 – 13  ·  Santiago & Valparaíso

Food
tour.

Restaurants, street stops, and a walking food tour across eight days. One city, one coast, one closer.

Meals in order
Wed · first dinner
La Mar

#26 Latin America's 50 Best · ceviche · terraza · together

Thu · together · 8:00 PM
Confitería Torres

Est. 1879 · oldest restaurant in Santiago · sopaipillas before · Dominó after

Fri · Valpo lunch
Café Turri

Cerro Concepción terrace · port view

Fri · Valpo dinner
Fauna

Terrace over the port · lights at dusk

Sat · last Valpo meal
La Concepción

Long lunch on the cerro

Sat · dinner
Chipe Libre

República del Pisco · cocktails · Valpo farewell

Sun · city food tour
Galindo → Street → La Rosa → Osaka

Pastel de choclo · machas · alfajor · lúcuma · mote con huesillos · Santa Lucía · Nikkei closer

Mon · dinner
José Ramón 277

Legendary sandwiches · chacarero · low-key closer

Tue · the closer
Boragó

Rodolfo Guzmán · indigenous foraging · best of the trip

Santiago
Wednesday · May 6 8:30 PM First dinner together · #26 Latin America’s 50 Best
La Mar
Av. Nueva Costanera 4076 · Vitacura · Terraza confirmed
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Pisco sour for her — order on arrival
La Mar is a Peruvian restaurant — this is the correct home for a pisco sour. One of the best versions she’ll have on the trip. Order it immediately when you sit down. This is her first pisco sour of the trip; she’ll get another at Mulato on Sunday.
* Cebiche clásico
The signature dish of the house. White fish marinated in leche de tigre, red onion, choclo, camote. Non-negotiable first order — this is what La Mar is built around. Share it.
* Tiradito
Second shared starter. Thinly sliced fish in a lighter, Japanese-influenced sauce — cleaner and more delicate than the cebiche. The two together show the full range of what Nikkei-Peruvian cooking does.
* Pulpo a la parrilla — grilled octopus
Best main. Consistently the strongest call at La Mar across all locations. One main between the two of you after the two starters — the cebiche and tiradito are substantial, don’t over-order. This is the full arc: pisco sour → cebiche → tiradito → pulpo. Let it land.
Thursday · May 7 1:00 PM · solo Old-school fuente de soda · no tourists
Fuente Mardoqueo
Av. Matta 871 · Barrio Yungay
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* Barros Luco
Steak and melted cheese on marraqueta. The definitive order here — fluorescent lights, no tourists, exactly right for the neighbourhood. This is what the place is for.
Chacarero (optional second)
Beef, green beans, chili on marraqueta. Order alongside the Barros Luco if you want to try both. Split them or eat both — they're small.
Thursday · May 7 8:00 PM · together Historic Chilean canteen · first dinner with Emily
Confitería Torres
Av. Alameda Bernardo O'Higgins 1570 · Centro
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Borgoña for her — order on arrival
Chilean red wine sangria with strawberries. This is the classic Confitería Torres pairing and the best version she'll find in Santiago. Order it immediately. Easy drinking, festive, completely Chilean. She doesn't need to like red wine to love this.
* Locos mayo — starter
Abalone in mayo sauce, Chile's most iconic seafood dish and one that barely exists outside this country. Share it as a starter. She loves seafood — this is the call she'll remember.
* Costillar de cerdo asado — main to share
Slow-roasted pork ribs, the most consistently excellent main at Torres. The room opened in 1879 — this kind of braise is what it was built for. One main between two after the locos. Let the borgoña run through the meal.
Thursday · May 7 10:00 PM · walk back · together Late-night street · with Emily
Dominó — completo italiano
Av. Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins 676 · Centro · 5 min walk east from Torres
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* Completo italiano — one to share
Avocado, tomato, mayo on a hot dog. "One more thing you have to try." Share one standing up outside. After the oldest restaurant in the city, this is the contrast that makes the night memorable. Order one, split it.
Valparaíso · Friday – Saturday
Friday · May 8 Lunch Cerro Concepción
Café Turri
Templeman 147 · Cerro Concepción
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* Machas a la parmesana
Best shared order: start with this, then decide if you even need a second dish. If solo and you only order one thing here, make it this.
Caldillo de congrio
Best second dish for two if you want the Neruda-in-Valpo move. More memory than maximized value, which is okay here, but keep the whole lunch light.
One salad, one soup, or split a main
House rule: use Turri as the arrival terrace, not a three-plate lunch before Fauna.
Friday · May 8 7 PM Confirmed
Fauna
Paseo Dimalow 166 · Cerro Alegre
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* Tapa de temporada
Best shared order opener: let the kitchen tell you what is actually strongest that night.
* Risotto de pez espada
Best main for two. If solo, this is the safest strong order at Fauna.
Postre de la casa
Always split one if there is room. This is the Friday-night landing spot, even with the earlier reservation, so keep lunch light and arrive ready to linger.
Saturday · May 9 1:30 PM Last meal in Valpo
La Concepción
Papudo 541 · Cerro Concepción  ·  World's 50 Best
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Ceviche de reineta y camarón
Best shared order starter. Fresh, local, and less commitment than doubling down on rich mains immediately.
* Ravioles de centolla
Best main here. If solo and only getting one proper plate, get this.
* Congrio asado
Best second main for two. The ideal table here is ceviche + crab ravioli + congrio.
Saturday · May 9 8:15 PM Pisco cocktails · Valpo send-off energy
Chipe Libre
Barnechea 282 · Barrio Bellavista
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Pisco cocktails — the whole point
Chile's self-declared República del Pisco. The list runs deep: classic pisco sour, sour variations, pisco highballs, house cocktails. She drinks — this is the Saturday-night moment the week earns. Let her pick whatever catches her eye. You came off the bus, she got ready, now this.
* Empanadas to share — order a round
Best food call here. Chipe Libre does very good empanadas and they're the right thing to eat alongside cocktails — not too heavy, shareable, Chilean. Get a few varieties: pino (classic beef), queso, maybe seafood if listed.
Pisco flight if she's curious
They carry 100+ piscos and can do guided pours by style — Chilean vs Peruvian, aged vs young. Skip it if the cocktails are landing. Order it if she wants to understand what she's been drinking all week. Either works.
Santiago · Sunday
Sunday · May 10 1:50 PM San Cristóbal · both transport icons
Teleférico + Funicular
Oasis Station · Av. El Cerro 750 · Providencia
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Cable car up → walk the Cumbre → funicular down into Bellavista
Buy tickets online at telefericosantiago.cl or pay at the booth. Round trip ~4,380 CLP/person on Sunday. Up by cable car, walk the summit sanctuary and full Andes panorama, funicular down into Pío Nono. Both transport icons in one loop, ~75 min total. Done by 3:05 PM.
Sunday · May 10 ~3:10 PM Classic Chilean · Bellavista · first pastel de choclo together
Galindo
Dardignac 98 · Bellavista · 4 min walk from funicular exit · open until 10 PM
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* Pastel de choclo — order one to share
The whole reason you're here. Sweet-savory corn crust baked over pino filling — beef, onion, egg, olive. Galindo's version is made with 24-hour rested pino, which is why it's the canonical place for this in Bellavista. This is the dish that teaches Emily the most about Chilean comfort food in a single bite. Share it.
* Machas a la parmesana — shared starter
Razor clams baked with parmesan. Start here while the pastel de choclo comes out. Consistently called out in reviews as Galindo's strongest opener — briny, rich, and very Chilean coast. If Emily hasn't had these yet on the trip, this is the moment.
Empanada de pino — one on the side
You've had it, but Galindo's is worth a repeat — it's one of their signatures and costs almost nothing. Order one alongside, eat it standing at the table while the pastel de choclo arrives. Don't over-order: machas + pastel + one empanada is a proper lunch, not a project.
Sunday · May 10 ~4:15 PM On the walk · Bellavista · street
Alfajor — any bakery or café leaving Bellavista
Any panadería or café on the walk south from Galindo toward Parque Forestal
* One alfajor — share it on the street
Two shortbread rounds sandwiched with manjar (Chilean dulce de leche), dusted with powdered sugar or rolled in coconut. This is the easiest checklist win of the day — grab one from whatever bakery or café you pass organically on the walk out of Bellavista, share it walking. Takes 30 seconds, costs 500 pesos, teaches her something in one bite. Don't plan around it — just stop when you see a good-looking counter.
Sunday · May 10 ~5:00 PM Parque Forestal edge · first lúcuma for both
Emporio La Rosa
Merced 291 · Parque Forestal · right on the route
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* Lúcuma — one scoop each, non-negotiable
Santiago's best artisanal ice cream. Lúcuma is a subtly caramel-like Andean fruit with no real equivalent elsewhere — this is the flavor that defines Chilean dessert. Get one scoop each. If you want a second, try maqui berry (deep purple, antioxidant-forward, also exclusively Chilean). Eat it walking into the park.
Sunday · May 10 ~5:30 PM Street · en route to Santa Lucía · vendor-dependent
Mote con huesillos — street cart
Parque Forestal walk or base of Cerro Santa Lucía · vendors reliably here on Sunday afternoons
* One cup each — stop when you see a cart
Cold sweet wheat (mote) and sun-dried peach (huésillo) in amber syrup, served in a cup. One of the most distinctly Chilean things you can drink — completely unlike anything from anywhere else. Costs under $1 USD. The saying goes "más Chileno que un mote con huesillos." You'll likely find carts along the Parque Forestal path or at the Santa Lucía entrance. Don't plan around it — just stop when you see one.
Sunday · May 10 6:30 PM Free · open until 8 PM · the private moment the day earns
Cerro Santa Lucía
Entrance on Alameda at Santa Lucía street · climb to Terraza Neptuno
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Terraza Neptuno — neoclassical fountain plaza at the top
City lights coming on below, Andes catching last light to the east, almost nobody up here. Free. 20–30 min. Uber to Osaka from here at ~8:00 PM — ~20 min to Vitacura, arrive right on time.
Sunday · May 10 8:30 PM Nikkei · 50 Best Discovery · confirmed
Osaka
Av. Nueva Costanera 3736 · Vitacura · ~20 min Uber from Santa Lucía
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* Tiradito Mi Perú — Tongoy scallops · order first
The opener, no question. Scallops from Tongoy (Chile's finest bay scallops) with sweet potato tempura and coriander oil. The dish that defines Nikkei — Japanese precision, Peruvian brightness, Chilean ingredient. Order this the moment you sit down. Reviewers consistently call it the best single dish on the menu.
* Octopus tiradito — second shared cold dish
Served over ice, so tender it dissolves. The two tiraditos together are the thesis statement of the meal — Japanese technique, South American ingredients. Let them land before ordering mains. She loves seafood; this is the version she won't find anywhere else on the trip.
* Smoked pork belly with tacu tacu — share one main
Best main for two. The wok-fired tacu tacu (Peruvian rice and bean cake) underneath is what makes it — smoky, textured, completely different from anything else on the trip. One main after two tiraditos is exactly right — don't over-order, you've been eating since 3 PM. Sake or a crisp white for her, sparkling water for you.
Causas or nigiri if you want a fourth plate
Osaka does excellent causas (Peruvian potato terrine) and a tight nigiri selection with Chilean fish. Add one if you're both still hungry after the tiraditos. Otherwise stop at three — you want the meal to feel sharp, not heavy.
Santiago · Monday
Monday · May 11 Evening · together Recovery night
José Ramón 277
José Ramón 277 · Barrio Lastarria
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Chacarero
Best shared order: get this and a Barros Luco, split both. Beef, green beans, chili on marraqueta. Unfussy and legendary.
Barros Luco
The canonical Chilean sandwich, named after a president. Share alongside the chacarero. Open until 9:30 PM, no reservation needed.
Tuesday · May 12 1:00 PM · solo Before Boragó
Fuente Mardoqueo
Av. Matta 871 · Barrio Yungay
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* Barros Luco
The cult order — steak and melted cheese on marraqueta. Named after a Chilean president who ordered it daily.
Barros Jarpa
Ham and cheese on marraqueta — the lighter sibling. If you want something less heavy before tonight.
The closer
Tuesday · May 12 8:45 PM Confirmed
Boragó
Av. San José María Escrivá de Balaguer 5970 · Vitacura · Rodolfo Guzmán
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* Tasting menu — let it run
It's a tasting menu — you follow the kitchen. Guzmán builds around what's foraged that week. Don't plan, just receive.
Indigenous ingredients
Expect things with no English equivalent — cochayuyo (seaweed), merkén (smoked chilli), nalca (giant rhubarb), quinoa from altiplano. Dishes exist nowhere else on Earth.
Pairing or no pairing
Wine pairing is available. You don't drink — Emily can do it. Or skip and order à la carte wine. Ask the server what's working that night.

Latin America's 50 Best. Eight days of classics, stews, sandwiches, cerro lunches, Nikkei and wine — and then this. Indigenous Chile, foraged, technically flawless. The one meal that could only happen here.