14 Best Restaurants in Chiloé, Chile

The tasty vegetarian fare made with fresh, locally grown organic ingredients at this cozy restaurant with an ocean view will impress even meat eaters. Creative dishes include the papas rellenas, the island's famed potatoes stuffed with sautéed veggies, quinoa, cheese, and a special pesto sauce. There are delicious classic tacos and homemade flatbread topped with goat cheese and veggies. Do leave room for the best part, though: real coffee with carrot cake or maqui berry pie. 

With a fresh, creative approach to traditional Chilote cuisine, this restaurant is a nice change of pace in the island's restaurant scene—and, most importantly, it serves up really good food. El Mercadito is in a restored house overlooking the waterfront in the historic Pedro Montt barrio. Exciting dishes include "Mi Borrachito," a spicy conger eel stew with choritos and fried native potatoes, and "Bombas de Jaiva," a breaded, fried appetizer stuffed with chupe de jaiba, a typical crab stew in Chiloé. Be sure to start your meal off with an icy pisco sour.

Co-owned by the authors of an award-winning cookbook about Chiloé cuisine, Travesia is a wonderful way to experience Chiloé dishes that are prepared with inventive, modern twists by a young team of chefs. A favorite is the out-of-this-world chancho ahumado (smoked pork), which is served with a delightful sauce made of local murta berries together with potatoes (a star ingredient here---Chiloé hosts 90% of the world's known potato varieties).

This waterfront restaurant is the place to eat in Quemchi. They have an ample menu, but it's the dozen types of empanadas—filled with beef, cheese, clams, salmon, or crab meat, to name a few—that impress most.

Standard Chilean fish and seafood plates are the main dishes to try at this favorite stop for travelers going through Quellón. The service is friendly; plus, getting here includes a nice walk along the waterfront. Order a schop (draft beer) to wash it all down. 

Inside this rambling beachfront building that arches over the street, this restaurant serves seafood, beef, and other dishes. Try the oysters or merluza margarita, hake fish in a shellfish sauce. Above the restaurant is a hostería (small hotel) with 30 rooms. The rooms are nothing special, but they're clean and serve as a fine option in a pinch.

This intimate establishment specializes in curanto (a Chilean feast cooked in the ground), available at both dinner and lunch (most restaurants have it only for lunch). A variety of other dishes fill out the menu, from paila marina (seafood stew) to pizza, beef, chicken, and sandwiches. The walls of the restaurant are lined with curious photos, statues, and other Chiloé memorabilia. The wood-burning stove in the center of the dining room is much appreciated on the often cold and rainy nights.

Scrumptious oysters and a panoply of other gifts from the sea are served on the top floor of this big wooden house at the foot of Achao's dock (accessible via a side stairway). Open late and serving generous portions, many in town maintain the food here is the best around. That said, service can be slow at times.

In a tidy building, this market with four restaurants is a great spot for an informal lunch or dinner. The restaurants, in a food court overlooking the water, mainly serve standard Chiloé fare such as curanto and assorted seafood. The building also conveniently houses several stores selling local handicrafts.

Just 12 miles outside of Ancud, this classic spot is the place to crack open some of the world's best oysters, taken each day from the coast in front of the small wooden restaurant. Oysters come in multiple forms: fried, poached, creamed, and raw. Fish dishes, baked veal, and wine round out the menu, as does the special children's menu. Combine your meal with bird-watching at nearby Caulin Bay.

For coffee fanatics in need of a good cup of joe in southern Chile, Palafito Patagonia is the answer. Situated in a refurbished palafito on Ten Ten Bay, it offers nice views from the refreshing outdoor terrace; inside smooth tunes play while you kick back with a selection of gourmet coffee imported from around the world. They also offer fresh juices and delicious cakes. 

A blend of traditional Chiloé and international cuisine, this restaurant serves a tasty take on local food, such as the unique chochoca rellena, which is shellfish in a sort of potato-bread wrapping. The owner and chef is from Chiloé and studied and worked for several years at restaurants in Germany. Located just outside of Castro on the way to the Rilan Peninsula and Dalcahue, it has become a must-stop for locals and visitors alike.

Going strong since the late 1970s, Sacho features the favorite seafood plates Chiloé is known for, cooked in the traditional style, from fish and curanto to chupe de jaiba (crab stew). Service is friendly and mostly prompt, even when it fills up at lunchtime with locals. Though there is a nice bay view, it's not the ambience you're here for; it's for the Chiloé seafood. There are chicken and beef plates for nonseafood lovers.

The giant sandwiches here have attained mythical status in these parts. The restaurant also has an extensive daily menu featuring a variety of traditional Chilean dishes like cazuela, roasted chicken, lentejas (lentils), and more. This is a good break from the ubiquitous seafood establishments on the waterfront.