Santiago - Post Report Question and Answers
What typical restaurants, food delivery services, and/or takeout options are popular among expatriates?
There are tons of good restraurants downtown. In Lo Barnechea the options are a bit more limited. There are some excellent Peruvian places around. A Neapolitan pizza place. A few good burger joints. There is also plenty of Western fast food. We use Uber Eats regularly and the selection is OK where we live, better downtown. Don't expect good Thai or Chinese here. There are however a couple of decent Indian places including one that delivers where we are. Traditional Chilean food is OK but not really a highlight. If you like spice ask for pebre and/or merken. Both are generally available. Peruvian food by contrast is truly excellent. - Dec 2020
Uber Eats is alive and kicking (pedaling, actually) and most food options, ranging from fast to yummy Peruvian roti chicken and good steak can all be delivered to your door. Pizza is available but forget about the prices you pay for back home. - Jun 2019
There's basically everything, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, Denny's etc. Everything costs from 3500 pesos to 25,000 from the chain restaurants. There are also fantastic non-chain restaurants in Bella vista, Providencia, Las condes, Independencia among others. - Feb 2016
Everything is pretty available. More expensive than in the U.S. We miss Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese as those are unavailable or just poor representations. PS- Don't believe the lie that there's no good Chilean food. Try Porotos con Riendas, Cazuela, Costillar, and the ever present delicious pebre with freshly baked bread buns. - Nov 2014
McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, and local chains that serve the famous Chilean hot dog, called completo. - Oct 2014
LOTS of American-style fast food restaurants are available. There is a wide range of cost for restaurants and it also depends a lot on which part of the city you live in. But I generally find that restaurants are more expensive than in Canada. - Sep 2011
All the major chains that you can find in the US, except for Wendy's. But why would you want fast food when you can enjoy the spectacular seafood that Chile has? - Jul 2010
There are a lot of bad restaurants here and Chilean food has not impressed me. However, there are some very good places. El Huerto, in Providencia, is a great vegetarian option. I've also enjoyed Cafe Melba, owned by a woman from New Zealand, which is on Don Carlos just off of El Bosque Norte. Their breakfast is excellent. I've heard good things about Bar Liguria but I've never eaten there. - Jul 2009
Chilean food is nothing to write home about. In fact, the only spice they use with frequency is salt. Unlike their Peruvian neighbors, Chileans do not appear to enjoy nor appreciate good food. That said, there are plenty of good restaurants in Santiago, but a good meal is not cheap. - Apr 2009
Fast Food- your standard American fare is here-McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Taco Bell and KFC. A TGI Friday's just opened here as well-its a little more expensive than the TGI Friday's in the states, but the service there is excellent. Local Fast Food- the Dominican fried chicken place Pollos Victorina is great-actually we think its better and more tasty than KFC (and its cheaper too). There are also a few decent Chinese Food places in town. And we tend to enjoy the local Pizza favorite Pizzarelli more than the Dominos and Pizza Hut. There is a great sandwhich place called La Campagna on Avenida Duarte that serves great Cubano sandwhiches. High Priced places: There are a handful of decent Italian places that we hear are good, but we haven't tried them yet. Camp David Restaurant serves decent, but pricey steaks. - Sep 2008
Most food chains you'll find in the USA are available here. There are even a few Taco Bells, but they only have a couple options available and we've never eaten there. TGIF, Ruby Tuesday, McDonalds, KFC, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut and the list goes on. - Jul 2008
