South America

Chile
Argentina

Chile

The original reviews in this section are from my 2004 visit to Chile. These, and updates from my visits in 2006 and 2007 are marked below.

Santiago: Da Fiore, 3185 Isidora Goyenechea. Tel: +56 2 334 0209
In the heart of the business district, this is far from haute-cuisine, but the fact that it was jam-packed one lunch time suggested it is popular for a reason. That reason is probably the copious plates of decent Italian food and a small but interesting wine list, all at very moderate prices. There's a terrace and two adjoining dining rooms, where I enjoyed a salad Caprese that was tasty, even though the cheese was not Mozarella as I know it, followed by a huge bowl of fettucine with a liberal infusion of hot smoked salmon and black olives, in a rich cream and cheese sauce. We drank the Family Reserve Carmenere from Aresti (near the top of the list at around £13) and finished with excellent espressos. Total bill was about 12000 pesos - about £12 - per person. (2007)

Santiago: Infante 51, 51 José Miguel Infante. Tel: +56 2 264 3357
This upmarket restaurant is fairly new, and is a very minimalist place split over two levels, with whitewashed walls, pared down furnishings and fittings, but a quiet air of chic. It has serious foodie credentials with its smartly uniformed staff and total dedication to fish and seafood. On any given night over 20 different fish are on the menu, and the staff will describe each in David Attenborough-like detail: where it comes from, what looks like, its habits and history. Do not expect rich sauces or dishes of complex construction: each large white plate will feature only a piece or pieces of fish, simply fried or grilled with no dressings, sauces or other distractions. Basque chef Xabier Zabala is obsessive about taste, and this really is an object lesson is the exquisite flavours of these fish. My favourite from six lovely small portions sampled was a white tuna, a rare species from the freezing waters of Easter Island. There are seafoody and salad starters, some more complex main dishes, and good desserts, but Infante 51 is all about the flavours of the sea, and is a terrific experience. Moderate to expensive. (2007)

Santiago: Liguria, 19 Luis Thayer Ojeda. Tel: +56 2 231 1393
Suecia is a wonderfully vibrant quarter of Providencia, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Santiago, the street thronging with young Chileans intent on enjoying the myriad bars, restaurants and clubs pumping our music and filled with drinking, eating and dancing good times. If, like me, strolling through rather than participating in such a scene is your bag, then just a block away is this brilliant casual place, still jumping with life and full of music, but with a greater emphasis on the quality of food and drink. It is decorated with massive amounts of eclectic memorabilia, and lit by dozens of scrapyard-chic light fittings, from antique Venetian glass to art deco brass. Food is wholesome and hearty, and a bowl of roasted peanuts, bread and delicious Chante en Piedra (coriander salsa) is served whilst you choose. I loved the Carne Mechada a serious sandwich of toasted crusty bread piled bible-thick with slices of succulent roast beef, roasted peppers and slices of fresh tomato. I washed it down with Chilean brewery Kunstmann's Pale Ale: a food and beer match made in heaven. No bookings, and there are two other branches in the city at 1373 Avenid Providencia and 47 Avenida Pedro de Valdivia. Inexpensive. (2006)

Santiago: Senso Restaurant, Grand Hyatt. Tel: +56 2 950 1234
This was a meal I enjoyed, in the Mediterranean restaurant of this five-star hotel. The restaurant has efficient, polite service, a nicely relaxed yet quite formal décor and atmosphere, and lovely views over the Hyatt's gardens to the Andes beyond. A starter of home-made papardelle with a hare ragout was delicious: the papadrelle, cooked perfectly and drizzled in olive oil, was generously sauced with a rich, slightly gamy shredded hare stew and topped with some crisply fried basil leaves. A very nicely cooked (though not rare) thick little steak of yellowfin tuna was served on a little disc of dense, textural aubergine and green olive and was delicious, the meaty but soft fish nicely counterbalanced by the rich tapenade. My main course was a lovely piece of pan-fried red deer, that had been cooked wrapped in bacon so it was very moist and lightly smoky, and was served on a creamy pumpkin puree, and drizzled with a red wine reduction enriched with dark chocolate. Pudding, a warm chocolate pear cake, was very good though slightly too sweet, with the chocolate not bitter enough, especially with the accompanying vanilla ice cream. A very nice meal overall though. Expensive (2007).

Santiago: Vinos & Tapas, 2874 Isidora Goyenechea. Tel: +56 242 9360
Sister restaurant to a Vinos & Tapas in Barcelona, this casual wine bar and restaurant opened in 2006, and is in a nice part of town and opposite a large branch of the excellent Vinos del Mundo wine stores. With minimalist, modern wooden furniture and a bright, airy atmosphere, the smartly uniformed staff serve tapas and small main dishes to accompany Torres's wines from Chile and Spain, all of which are available by the glass or bottle. In truth, I didn't rate the food here that highly: a fish and seafood tartare was slightly rubbery in texture, though a rich sun-dried tomato tapenade was very good. The best dish was a simply fried chunk of conger eel, with a green olive emulsion enriched with little chunks of morcilla sausage. The food is ok, and it would be a good choice for a casual meal or glass or two of wine and nibbles on a day around Santiago's shops. Moderate (2007).

Santiago: Europeo, Alonso de Córdova 2417. Tel: +56 2 208 3603
Without a doubt one of the gastronomic highlights of my visit to Chile, was Europeo, where Swiss chef Carlos Anwandter prepares brilliant modern seafood and haute-cuisine dishes, which celebrate local ingredients. We sat in the cool of the evening on the shady terrace for a glass of Chilean sparkling wine and a selection of hors d'oeuvres, including plump, seared scallops in a Pernod broth, huge Pacific prawns in a tempura batter, and little foie-gras and smoked salmon pastries. Inside, Europeo is quite sober, cool and sophisticated, but bustling with life - lots of it seemed to be business related. I had Chilean deep water sea bass, which was simply but beautifully cooked and presented, followed by a terrific dessert: a panacotta with a ginger cake, apricots and ice-cream, which most obviously lent on the chef's Swiss leanings. We rounded off the meal with hand-made chocolates and Illy coffee. The wine list is fantastic, with the best of Chile and world wines well represented. Expensive by Chilean standards, and clearly international experience, but this is very, very fine cuisine. (2004)

Santiago: Osadia, Av. Tobalba 477. Tel: +56 2 232 2732
Carlo von Mühlenbrock is Chile's celebrity chef: a better looking Jamie Oliver who's TV show is adored in equal proportions by teenage Chilean girls and earnest foodies. Osadia is a funky destination with basement bar and buzzing ground floor restaurant. Mr von Mühlenbrock is behind the stoves every evening, and I have to say, the food was superb. I started with a cast-iron pot filled with a rich fish stew, liberally endowed with chunks of seafood and fish. A second course of gnocchi, in a dramatically dark wild mushroom sauce, was fantastically tasty, as was a lamb carpaccio which unexpectedly appeared before the main course. Seared tuna was served with creamy mashed potato and roasted red pepper sauce was delicious, with the thick-cut steak crusted black outside, but raw in the centre. Finally, a grand dessert plate of miniature creations blurred slightly given the quantity of food and wine that had gone before, but the whole Osadia experience was first class. Moderately expensive. (2004).

Santiago: Bristol Restaurant, Alameda 816. Tel: +56 2 639 3832
The fine dining restaurant of the Hotel Plaza San Francisco is run by French-trained superstar chef Guillermo Rodriguez. This vied for my best food experience in South America, with its wonderfully skilful modern renditions of traditional Chilean cuisine. I stared with succulent shards of Patagonian king crab with Altiplanic quinoa, a cous-cous like grain, served with a salmon caviar sauce. Golden fillets of salmon with algas marinas - seaweed - came with a rich avocado cream as a second course. The main course roasted rump of young lamb with a herby, rosemary jus was accompanied by Crèole Charquicán, a spicy Chilean vegetable stew. Rounding off a tremendous tour de force of Chilean cooking, homemade Lucuma ice cream with a Hierba Luisa sauce was just delicious: Lucuma is a delicate, sweet fruit native to Peru, and the sauce is made from herbs from the north of Chile. A fabulous experience in this comfortable, upmarket dining room, with moderate to expensive prices. (2004)

Santiago: Miraolas, Avenue Vitacura 4171. Tel: +56 2 206 0202
This much more humble seafood restaurant was absolutely superb: much more traditionally Chilean food, served in a white-tiled, no-nonsense restaurant, its folding doors thrown open to the bustling street. Friendly waiters served up copious dishes of ceviche: raw fish and seafood (scallops, shrimp and squid) marinated in a citrus dressing until it "cooks", served with a crisp, leafy salad and chunks of flat bread. Everything here was simply cooked, presented, and wonderfully fresh: exactly as it should be. There's a small wine and beer list, and prices are low. (2004).

Reñaca: Delicias del Mar, 16000 Avenida Borgono. Tel: +56 890491
Reñaca is a lovely seaside town on a thrilling and rugged part of Chile's Pacific coast north of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. This traditional seafood restaurant sits right on the seafront with picture windows offering sweeping views over crashing surf and the conurbation of Valparaiso clinging to the cliffs on the distant bay. The food is somewhat old fashioned but of good quality. We shared a seafood platter, with Abalone, scallops, squid, mussels, clams, crab claws and king prawns, served with a selection of sauces and fresh lemon. My main course Seabass was served in a creamy sauce liberally doused with prawns and mushrooms, and though a tad overcooked, it was tasty. The wine list is excellent (there is also a wine shop as part of the set-up) and a bottle of Leyda Single Vineyard Chardonnay at £20 was superb from near the top of the price list. Moderate prices, but the view is worth much more. (2007)

Curico: Restoran Cantares, 226 Las Heras. Tel: +56 312824
This is a beautiful historic old manorhouse on the outskirts of Curico, a fairly rustic town on the wine route. Built in the Spanish style, with low buildings around a palm-filled central courtyard, one section of the house is an elegant but homely restaurant that is fairly quiet in the evenings, but much busier at lunch apparently. A starter of Ceviche of Corvina (Seabass) was one of the best ceviches of the trip: bursting with bright, zippy flavours and chunks of fish. For a main course I had a steak, that was served with a sauce made from langoustine, peppers and courgettes in a creamy base, that was really very wholesome and good. (2006)

Siete Tazas National Park, near Talca: La Flor de la Canela
Siete Tazas, or "seven cups" is a national park easily reachable (especially if you have a four-wheel drive vehicle) from the city of Talca on a day trip. You can explore the dramatic seven waterfalls and ice-cold pools after which the park is named, and there are miles of hiking trails into the Andes. We took a four hour hike, on which we saw eagles, condors and some stunning mountain flower displays. The park's only food option is La Flor de la Canela, and it was a welcome sight when we returned in early afternoon. From the outside La Flor de la Canela looks like a slightly tumbledown shack. What a joy to discover that inside is a warm welcome and excellent home cooking, with fruits and vegetables grown and preserved by the owners, and baskets of wonderful warm flat bread served with bowls of Chancho en Piedra, a deliciously spicy, coriander (cilantro) -based salsa. We had steaks and chips, and washed down the lot with a couple of ice-cold beers. Fantastic place, and very cheap. (2006).

Argentina

Buenos Aires: La Cabaña, Rodriguez Peña 1967. Tel: +54 11 4814 0001
La Cabaña, opened in late 2003, is an ultra-luxurious restaurant and member of the Orient Express group. It is simply stunning: a rebirth for the city's most famous steak house which closed in 1996 on this site. The original guest book in the reception area includes comments from Charles de Gaulle, Henry Kissinger, the Aga Khan and Walt Disney amongst others. La Cabaña spreads over several floors, from the lively steakhouse atmosphere of the ground floor and conservatory, through fantastically plush dining rooms on the first and second floors, to the roof terrace with remarkable views over the city. With leather-clad walls, open fires and beautiful furniture made from local woods and silver, the setting is magnificent... and so are the steaks. Choose your cut, weight and preferred cooking time for superb Pampas-reared beef, though there is a full menu of other dishes, with seafood and fish as the other main focus. The wine list is suitably grand and extensive. We drank Catena Zapata at around £50 equivalent. Food will set you back around £30 to £50 per person; ultra expensive by Argentinean standards, but a stand out bargain for this quality and grand style (2004).

Buenos Aires: La Brigada, Peña 2475. Tel: +54 11 4361 5557
What a great lunch I had in this place, a real institution in the heart of the city's San Telmo district. La Brigada is a very long-established and traditional steakhouse well off the tourist trail, its dining room filled with gaucho memorabilia and souvenirs of the Argentine and Boca Juniors football teams. The experienced, efficient staff bustle around as chef-proprietor Hugo Echevarrieta directs the kitchen. The baby beef was succulent and absolutely overflowing with juicy taste, and there is a serious wine list here of Argentina's very best, so passion for cuisine and wine is obvious. This is the sort of friendly, honest and welcoming place that is always a joy to discover in a foreign place. Prices are very modest for the quality. (2004)

Mendoza: The Park Hyatt. Tel: +54 261 441 1234
The 19th-century Plaza Hotel has retained its gorgeous facade, but otherwise has been renovated as the five-star Park Hyatt, which is the best place in town, and right on the main square. The Bistro M restaurant spills over onto comfortable tables on the broad terrace overlooking the park, which is a muich nicer option and where I'd eaten before on a balmy evening. This however, was a winter visit, so we ate in the less atmospheric dining room, though it is flanked by a two-story wine library, housing 2,500 bottles of the best wines of Argentina, wine books and vinous paraphernalia. Food is described as "Mendocian with a French twist", which translates as very sophisticated international haute-cuisine using prime local ingredients. Beef was possibly the best of my trip (you will sense that beef if a bit inescapable in Argentina!). Service was impeccable (how rare is that in a big hotel?) and the prices very moderate. If you are there in summer, sitting sipping an after dinner espresso looking onto the Plaza de la Independencia's lively hustle and bustle will make for a lovely Mendoza experience. (2007).

Mendoza: Restaurant 1884, Belgrano 1188. Tel: +54 261 424 2698
Actually part of the winery where Nicolas Catena and Baron Eric de Rothschild produce their ultra-premium "Caro" wines, this is a beautiful and atmospheric old building, and is widely regarded as one of Argentina's top restaurants (in fact, 1884 was recently voted seventh best restaurant in the world by Restaurant Magazine). Chef Francis Mallman is classically French trained, marrying these techniques to the best Argentinean produce. In the courtyard a huge wood-fired oven produces succulent roasted meat dishes, whilst the menu is peppered with more exotic fare, but all centered on prime Argentine ingredients. The wine list has all of Argentina's top-end stuff, and even at this level of dining, European and North American diners will find prices to be very reasonable. Stylish and of very high quality, 1884 is recommended. (2007).

Mendoza: La Sal, Ave Belgrado.
This bar/café/restaurant was the hot tip of Laura Catena for a place to go and eat casually in Mendoza. I'm afraid I cannot remember the street number on Avenue Belgrado, but turn right out of the doors of the Park Hyatt, turn right again, and walk up to Belgrado. The restaurant is not to far to the left. A very hip, young place, with casual ambience and live music, we had a really nice meal with fresh, spicy and cosmopolitan food, well-priced wines and a really enjoyable, slightly drunken evening which suited this place perfectly! (2004).