May 6 – 13  ·  Santiago & Valparaíso

Food
tour.

Ten restaurants 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
Confitería Torres

Est. 1879 · oldest restaurant in Santiago · borgoña

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 · lunch
Mulato

Chilean courtyard · erizo · Austral cod · pisco sour

Sun · dinner
Osaka

Nikkei · tiradito · octopus · smoked pork belly

Mon · dinner
José Ramón 277

Legendary sandwiches · chacarero · low-key closer

Tue · the closer
Demencia

Benjamín Nast · 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
Open in Maps
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 Lunch Quick, loved, unfussy
Ciro's Bar de Isidora
Isidora Goyenechea 2971 · Las Condes
Open in Maps
* Caldo de tronco
The house classic: pork-and-beef broth with egg and ají. Pure fuente de soda energy.
* Pierna de cerdo asada
Best solid lunch order if you want something more substantial than the soup.
Thursday · May 7 8:30 PM Historic Chilean canteen · first dinner with Emily
Confitería Torres
Av. Alameda Bernardo O'Higgins 1570 · Centro
Open in Maps
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.
Valparaíso · Friday – Saturday
Friday · May 8 Lunch Cerro Concepción
Café Turri
Templeman 147 · Cerro Concepción
Open in Maps
* 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
Open in Maps
* 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
Open in Maps
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
Open in Maps
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 2:00 PM Chilean courtyard
Mulato
Constitución 118 · Barrio Bellavista
Open in Maps
Sea urchin in green salsa — or erizos if listed
Best shared opener. Sea urchin with lime, coriander, and Chilean pisco — the most distinctly Chilean starter on their menu and the one most people don't order. If she's never had erizo fresh, this is the moment.
* Austral cod (bacalao austral)
Best main for two. Consistently called out as the signature dish — firm, southern Chilean, unfussy preparation. Pairs with the Casablanca whites or any local Pinot Noir they're pouring. Order this.
Pisco sour to open — Chilean wine with the main
The pisco sour is the correct start at any traditional Chilean lunch. One each, then move to whatever white is local and fresh. Sit in the courtyard if the sun holds. Booked via Google Reserve — confirmed.
Sunday · May 10 8:30 PM Nikkei closer
Osaka
Av. Nueva Costanera 3736 · Vitacura
Open in Maps
* Tiradito Mi Perú — scallops from Tongoy
Best opener, no question. Scallops from Tongoy (Chile's finest) with sweet potato tempura and coriander oil. The dish that defines what Nikkei is — Japanese precision, Peruvian brightness, Chilean ingredient. Order this first.
Octopus tiradito
Second shared starter. Served over ice, so tender it dissolves. She loves seafood — this is the version she won't find anywhere else on the trip. Let these two openers breathe before ordering mains.
* Smoked pork belly with tacu tacu
Best main for two. The wok-fired tacu tacu (Peruvian rice and bean cake) underneath makes it — completely different from anything else on the trip. Share one main after two tiraditos. Sake or a crisp white for her, sparkling water for you.
Santiago · Monday
Monday · May 11 Evening · together Recovery night
José Ramón 277
José Ramón 277 · Barrio Lastarria
Open in Maps
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.
Monday · May 11 1:30 PM Museum day · solo
Ana María
Club Hípico 476 · Santiago Centro
Open in Maps
* Caldillo de congrio
Best solo order if you want the full old-Santiago lunch experience in one bowl.
* Plateada al horno
Best shared order main with the congrio, or best solo meat order if you want one classic braise.
Charquicán or pantrucas
Ask for the most traditional off-menu or daily special first. If charquicán or pantrucas exists, that can outrank the printed menu.
Tuesday · May 12 Lunch Before Demencia
El Hoyo
Condell 818 · Providencia
Open in Maps
* Lengua con puré
The cult order. If you want the most old-school, beloved lunch here, this is it.
Pernil or cazuela
If lengua feels too committed, go one step safer and more classic.
The closer
Tuesday · May 12 7:45 PM Confirmed
Demencia
Vitacura · Benjamín Nast
Open in Maps
* Ceviche Demencia
Best shared order cold dish. Bright, signature, and a good first read on the kitchen.
* Pulpo a la brasa
Best hot dish to share if ordering a la carte. One of the house signatures.
Tartare de res con trufa
Luxury extra, not mandatory. Add only if you skip the menu-for-two structure.
* Arroz negro con chipirones
Best substantial main if you do not take the menu for two. Deepest solo order on the page.

One real splurge at the end, after a run of classics, bars, stews, sandwiches, shellfish and cerro lunches. Best-value move here: the menu for two, not the 7-course tasting. The contrast is the point.