47 Best Restaurants in The Lake District, Chile

Start your dinner off right with a cool pisco sour at this fine dining, lakeside restaurant with great views. The cooking style is influenced in part by Basque cuisine, with its fish and other plates often accompanied by peppers, beans, and potatoes. It's mostly known for its seafood, but there are several other options on the menu. The restaurant fills up fast for dinner, so patience with servers is often needed. Come early or reserve a table ahead of time.

The older of Cotelé's two locations in the city (the other is at Rengifo 867), this restaurant has the look and feel of a typical quincho (barbecue), with wooden walls and tables with the grill in the middle. Here, it is strictly about meticulously preparing the best possible steaks. The waiter takes your order by showing you cuts of raw meat and asking you to choose from either a tender fillet, sirloin, or rib-eye steak. While you munch on a delicious sopaipillas con pebre (fried bread) and sip your pisco sour or red wine, the meat is cooked on a grill in front of you and then served with salad and potatoes. The result is a steak of world-class distinction.

This is a good place to eat barbecue, steaks, and chicken (and just that, as it's meat-only here). The design intrigues as well, resembling a galpón, which means "barn" in English. There are not a lot of good dining options in Osorno, but this is probably the best.

On the outskirts of town near the lake, this stellar restaurant serves exceptional steaks. The menu has good and generous barbecue plates (including wild boar, goat, and lamb); there is a nice variety of seafood and pasta dishes, too. Desserts like homemade ice cream and tiramisu are worth the extra splurge. Service, which includes the involvement of the owner, is also friendly and prompt.

About 20 minutes south of Futrono in the small town of Llifén, this may be the best place in Chile to sample Mapuche gastronomy. Everything cooked here by owner Margarita Leiva comes from organic gardens that she and her family maintain behind the restaurant. The restaurant is small with ordinary decor, but the food is out of this world. 

This riverfront institution is constantly packed with locals, which is always a good sign that you've come to the right restaurant. The Argentine owner Teodoro Poulsen serves beef and chicken in delicious Argentine parrilla style. Though the restaurant bills itself as the king of steak, you might consider the chicken (milanesa de pollo) instead. To do it right, order a bottle of wine from their excellent wine list to accompany your meal.

You may not want to eat anywhere else in Pucón after sampling the varied, well-prepared dishes at this centrally located cafe. The fresh pasta, made in-house, is rich and soft; the pizzas are out of this world. Slow-cooked ribs, salmon and shrimp risotto, and beef fillet in a strawberry and Merlot wine sauce round out the menu.

Midway between Puerto Octay and Frutillar, this countryside restaurant next to the lake has an all-you-can-eat buffet, with dishes that combine German and local Chiloé gastronomy. One of the most noteworthy options on the menu is carne de jabali, or wild boar meat. But the entire menu is worthy, including homemade integral bread, organic fruits and vegetables, and other meat and chicken dishes done up with regional flavors like quinoa and merquen, plus a plethora of cakes and desserts. You are likely to be stuffed to the gills upon leaving. Reserve your table ahead of time on weekends.

Founded in 1973, this Chilean-German seafood restaurant is located on the coast about 15 minutes west of Puerto Montt and is considered an institution in the area. The interesting decor and sea views are nice, but it's the beautifully prepared seafood and, in particular, the curanto that draws crowds. Fresh produce from the well-kept garden further makes lunch here a delight. Tour groups frequently fill the restaurant in summer, so reserve ahead.

The gourmet meals at Se Cocina, made with fresh local ingredients from the organic garden on-site, are excellent, but it's worth coming here for the experience alone. The food is prepared right in front of you at the open kitchen, which is next to the dining room tables. There are big windows with views out to the green hills and the lake, and the fireplace roars in winter. The stoves, one of which is a 1932 brick oven, are constantly in operation. Don't miss the exceptional microbrews made here.

This solar-powered, creative restaurant features fresh and organic ingredients. Breakfasts include homemade yogurt, free-range eggs, and Italian coffee, while lunch and dinner present everything from oversize empanadas and sandwiches to meat, fish, and pasta. You'll also find a few dishes from other places, like gnocchi stuffed with chickpeas and feta cheese. Vegetarians come here for the great salads and vegan plates too.

This Italian restaurant has good pizza, but they're best known for their creative pastas. The restaurant is housed in a modest blue building, with a rustic wooden interior and informal atmosphere. They also serve some fish plates.

Impeccable service is the hallmark of this Italian-style restaurant on Lican Ray's main street. The brick-and-log building has indoor and outdoor seating, perfect to watch the summer crowds stroll by as you enjoy pizza and pasta.

For a filling sandwich, a homemade küchen cake, and an espresso or cappuccino brewed from freshly ground beans, this longtime staple is the place to stop in Villarrica. Pull up around a table in front or slip into one of the quieter booths by the fireplace in the back. The lomito completo sandwich—with a slice of pork, avocado, sauerkraut, tomato, and mayonnaise—is one of the best in the south.

You can dig into a hearty American-style breakfast in the morning and burgers, sandwiches, and ice cream the rest of the day at this diner on the Plaza de Armas. It's most famous around town for its completos—Chilean hot dogs topped with gobs of mayo, guacamole, and whatever else you desire. The friendly, bustling staff speaks little English, but if it's clear you're foreign, an English menu is presented to you with great fanfare.

The excellent crudos (steak tartare), German-style sandwiches, and delicious küchen cakes here are testament to the fact that Valdivia was once a mecca for German immigrants. The restaurant's newer, bigger location is spacious and has relaxing outdoor seating, the perfect spot to down crudos with local beer.

More than a dozen small kitchens and eateries at this enclosed market 3 km (2 miles) west of Puerto Montt along the coast road prepare southern Chilean seafood favorites like curanto, a potpourri of shellfish, meat, and potatoes, and paila marina, a hearty seafood stew with mainly shellfish. Each kitchen has separate tables and counters. Don't expect set hours, but most open around 11 am for lunch and serve for about three hours. Every day in the January–March high season, they reopen from 6 to 9 for dinner. The rest of the year, most of the kitchens close some days of the week. In the same complex is a colorful fish market and stores selling local handicrafts.

This wonderful café and restaurant is dessert heaven, with assorted pastries baked fresh every day, chocolates galore, and an excellent selection of ice cream. The restaurant also has a varied menu of sandwiches, pizza, and more, and an extensive wine list. In summer, sit at one of the tables outside on the sidewalk. 

Nestled on a steep hill in a nondescript neighborhood, the decor here is no frills, but the view of the city is spectacular and the food is some of the best in Puerto Montt. They offer daily set menus for 12,000 pesos, including an appetizer, drink, and dessert. The gourmet fare changes daily, but like its namesake, its almost always somewhat spicy, and includes meat, fish, and seafood options.

One of the German clubs that dot the Lake District, Alemán serves up ample portions alongside prompt service. This is the perfect spot to try Germanic pork and sauerkraut dishes. Open every day, most regulars opt for one of their four or five rotating prix-fixe menus often featuring steak and salmon with soup, salad, and dessert. Don't forget the küchen cake.

Coffee and homemade pastries are the specialties of this café, but old-school (and big) sandwiches, excellent hot dogs, ice cream, and other simple dishes are also available. A classic stop in Temuco since the 1940s, it seems the whole town stops by for a quick lunch during the week, among the clattering of dishes and the army of waitstaff maneuvering their way around the tables.

The place to get comfort food, this lively restaurant has outdoor seating and is open from 1 pm until late in the evening. Rock music blares; the stars shine above; and the steak sandwiches, hamburgers, burritos, and quesadillas hit the spot. 

If you need a change of pace from the ubiquitous seafood in Puerto Montt, this is a great option. Roast-beef plates, roasted ribs, chicken, and steaks are all great. Service is friendly, but be aware that it is normally packed on weekends.

A small wooden sign on the front lawn of a local home invites visitors to the residents' very own terrace and restaurant. Past the modest exterior a world of authentic Chilean culinary delights awaits. A favorite dish is the grilled hake, called merluza in Spanish, which is prepared with a basil sauce and accompanied by a pastel de choclo, a Chilean corn dish. Save room for desserts such as hot brownies with ice cream.

This place seeks mastery over the art of sandwich-making. Not to be missed is the Abuela Lucy, a juicy hamburger with onions and cilantro, a thick layer of soft cheese, roasted peppers, a grilled egg, and French fries. Another highlight is the El Beto, a tender steak sandwich with blue cheese and mushrooms sautéed in beer. To top it off, there are 70 different beers on tap. A fun time to come is when the soccer matches play on their big-screen TV.

Good, quality pizza is the specialty at Gustoso. You must pay more for premium styles, but if you appreciate a slowly fermented, thin-crust pizza with quality Italian cheese, extra virgin olive oil, and all manner of healthy toppings like arugula, then you'll leave happy. They also serve pasta dishes.

Serving excellent Peruvian food, this restaurant founded by the Valerio family has become so popular that they've opened five locations in Temuco. Try the pisco sour with a ceviche or lomo saltado como Dios manda ("stir-fried beef as God intended"). 

Argentina claims to prepare the best parrillada, or grilled beef, but here's evidence that Uruguayans are no second best. Watch the beef cuts turn slowly over the wood fire at the entrance. Wood, rather than charcoal, is the key, says the owner, Emiliano Villanil, a transplant from Punta del Este. The product is a wonderfully smoked, natural taste, accented with a hint of spice in the mild chimichurri (a tangy steak sauce), and portions are big.

For quality steaks, this is the top spot in town. Start it all off with a pisco sour and sopaipillas, a sort of sweet fried bread, before moving on to the bife chorizo or lomo vetado—both are tasty cuts of meat. They are now located in a spiffy, bigger space with some outdoor seating. Their service is attentive and the portions just right. The menu has a variety of other dishes, but the main draw is the parrilla-style grilled meats.