What to Eat in Santiago, Chile: 12 Dishes to Try

What Santiago is famous for isn’t one dish — it’s a way of eating: big lunches, fresh produce from the Central Valley, seafood from a very long coastline and recipes that change with the season. Chilean food is rarely spicy; the heat comes on the side, in a bowl of pebre or a pinch of merkén. If you’re wondering what to eat in Santiago, start with these twelve.

12 Chilean dishes to try in Santiago

1. Empanada de pino

Chile’s signature baked empanada. The filling, pino, is beef slowly cooked with plenty of onion and seasoned with cumin and paprika, with a slice of hard-boiled egg and a black olive — and often a few raisins. Eat it hot.

2. Pastel de choclo

A summer classic baked in a clay dish: a layer of pino and chicken under a thick crust of ground fresh corn and basil, often sprinkled with sugar so the top caramelizes. Sweet and savory in the same spoonful.

3. Sopaipillas con pebre

Round fried dough made with squash, sold from street carts and served before meals. Top them with pebre — Chile’s fresh salsa of tomato, onion, cilantro and a little chili.

4. Completo italiano

Santiago’s favorite fast food: a hot dog loaded with diced tomato, mashed avocado and mayonnaise — the colors of the Italian flag, hence the name. You’ll see locals eating them at counters all over the center.

5. Humitas

Ground fresh corn with onion and basil, wrapped in corn husks and boiled. A summer dish, usually eaten with a salad of tomato and onion.

6. Porotos granados

A summer stew of fresh shelling beans, corn and squash, finished with basil. Simple, filling and deeply Chilean.

7. Ceviche

Chilean-style ceviche is raw fish “cooked” in lemon juice with onion, cilantro and peppers — fresher and milder than you might expect.

8. Paila marina

A hot seafood stew served in a clay bowl (the paila) with mussels, clams, fish and whatever the coast brought in. Mercado Central is the classic place to order one.

9. Maní con merkén

Roasted peanuts dusted with merkén, the smoked chili spice of the Mapuche people. The perfect snack for walking the markets — and merkén is a great spice to take home.

10. Mote con huesillo

Chile’s summer drink and dessert in one glass: dried peaches (huesillos) in a sweet, cinnamon-scented syrup with cooked husked wheat (mote) at the bottom. Sold cold from carts on hot afternoons.

11. Seasonal fruit

Chile’s Central Valley is one of the world’s big fruit gardens. In Santiago you get it fresh and in season: the stalls of La Vega Central change with every month of the year.

12. Pisco sour

Not a dish, but no list is complete without it: pisco, fresh lemon juice, sugar and egg white, shaken until frothy. For adults only — and best with a plate of empanadas.

Where to eat them: Santiago’s markets

• Mercado Central — the historic iron-roofed fish market, with seafood restaurants inside: paila marina, ceviche, fried fish.
• Mercado Tirso de Molina — just across the Mapocho River, with fresh juices and small, inexpensive kitchens.
• La Vega Central — the city’s great produce market, where Santiago does its shopping: fruit, vegetables, spices and simple home-style cooking.
• Barrio Lastarria — cafés and restaurants in a walkable neighborhood for dinner.

One tip: lunch is the main meal in Chile, and many market kitchens are at their best at midday. Carry a little cash for small stalls, and keep your bag in front of you in the crowds.

Taste them with a local host

Our Santiago Food Tour walks you from Bellas Artes through the historic center, Mercado Central, Tirso de Molina and La Vega Central with 12+ Chilean tastings — enough to replace lunch. The menu follows the season, so the dishes vary through the year. It runs Monday to Saturday at 10:00 AM in a small group, ends around 2:00 PM in Barrio Lastarria. Afterwards you get a recipe booklet to cook Chile at home, pisco sour included. USD 58 / person.

Just landed? Our guide to your first day in Santiago covers the airport, money and the Metro.