13 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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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 Puerto Varas institution is well-known for its great fish plates, but they also serve a variety of seafood plates, empanadas, and Chilean-style beef dishes. The restaurant, located just past Puerto Chico at the beginning of the Camino Ensenada road, is big, with two dining rooms. Still, on weekends, it's almost always full during peak hours, so reserve a table ahead of time.

Situated on a lone pier jutting out into the lake, Mesa Tropera offers Italian-Patagonian cuisine that features a wide array of creative toppings on their thin crust pizzas, inventive pasta dishes, and abundant salads. Mesa Tropera is also a connoisseur of fine beer, brewing their own flavors as well as keeping a selection of microbrews in stock from others in the region. The place fills up, so get there early or be prepared to wait.

Located near the center of town, Pataliebre has all manner of gourmet sandwiches, including hamburgers, chicken or steak sandwiches, and vegetarian options, all made with fresh, organic ingredients. If you're hankering for a hamburger from back home, this will hit the spot.

Showcasing southern Chilean hospitality at its finest, this restaurant was actually constructed using wood from trees taken from the bottom of Lake Calafquén. The gregarious owners are on-site serving up stories and exquisite food, from diverse dishes using local trout and salmon to roast beef covered with a delicious mushroom sauce.

This swanky café caters to Valdivian business executives who come here to make deals over sandwiches, decadent crepes, and desserts. In the evenings, the atmosphere feels less formal—the menu is exactly the same—as the Entrelagos becomes a place to meet friends who converse well into the night. Next door is the Entrelagos chocolate store, which is a good place to buy a gift or splurge.

At this eclectic-looking restaurant steaks are huge and delicious, and there's also a variety of seafood and pasta dishes on the menu. Upon arrival, be sure to start it all off with a pisco sour. This is a popular spot, so reserve your table ahead of time.