This is not a list of BEST food in Valparaiso, but simply a list of the food we enjoyed most during our one-week stay. We did not have nearly enough time to get through all the amazing restaurants in this colorful town, however the ones listed below are places we would be eager to visit again.

Los Chiles Mexicanes

YES! YES! And YES!

If you need a Mexican food fix (like we do, all the time), this is your spot! We would gladly eat here every day if it was possible to live past 35 on that kind of diet. They had a fabulous food menu with tons of options, along with a very tasty drink menu. I had Volcano Nachos with a Mojito, and Arthur had a Chicken Enchilada with Salsa Verde and a Corona Mojito. I’d never had a Corona Mojito before, but after tasting this novel concoction, I might not ever be able to drink a regular Mojito again!

Cafe Entre Cerros 

So good we went twice. That doesn’t usually happen for us, because half the fun of a vacation is visiting restaurants all across the city. To go to the same place twice is a missed opportunity! But it was a comfortable and quiet space with sufficient room for our bags, which we were carrying on our way out of town, so it only made sense. The service was fantastic, and lucky for us they had wifi. If you’re in Valpo, don’t miss this cafe! Our first visit was very quiet and relaxing, with several people reading books and sipping tea. The second time was slightly busier/noisier, but that may have been because the cafe downstairs (Desayunador) was closed. 

Desayunador

Another incredibly cute cafe you shouldn’t miss. Downstairs from Cafe Entre Cerros, they have somewhat of a similar menu but with more basic breakfast items. You can get a TON of food here for relatively cheap. Still learning how to translate menus at this point, I ordered the first thing I understood….eggs. Arthur on the other hand took a leap of faith and ordered a breakfast combo. He definitely ended up with the more impressive spread with a warm ham & cheese sandwich, lemon pie, ice cream, fresh juice, and coffee! Ice cream and pie for breakfast?!? Can this country get any better?

If the food wasn’t enough of a reason to stop by, the comfy cafe atmosphere with paper cranes and plants hanging from the ceiling should be!

*If you do end up here be aware they are cash only

Emporio La Rosa

If you have a sweet tooth, be sure to swing in Emporio La Rosa. We saw two shops in Valparaiso and at least one while we were in Santiago. They have an awesome ice cream selection and various baked sweets to choose from. We split a strawberry wine gelato that was to die for! You read that right, strawberry wine ice cream. I’m not sure if there was actually any alcohol in it, but it definitely had a wine taste that we were diggin!

Delirios de Valparaiso 

This was a random stop for us. We had been walking around all day and somehow ended up on a Cerro (hill) with a lack of decent food options. We stumbled back down the hill into the outskirts of the city center and this was the first place that popped out to us. We usually take a little more time to make food decisions, but we were hangry, so this was what we got.

To our surprise, we were the only people there. We got the impression that it turns into quite the night scene with checkered tile floors, Christmas lights, and a small area for performers. 

We ended up with 40cm pizza with 4 toppings (we choose mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoni and basil) and a giant Heineken for about $15 USD. You really can’t beat that!  

*Another place that is cash only

Altamira Casa Cervecera 

I know the article says “5 restaurants you can’t miss”, but ice cream doesn’t really count as a restaurant, so I thought we’d throw in a brewery to make up for that. We stopped here for a couple beers after pizza at Delirios de Valparaiso. They did have a food menu, but we didn’t try anything because we were there for the beer. They had a nice selection of funky beers on tap, and a great atmosphere for hanging out, including wall art explaining the history of breweries in Chile.

Although there were TONS of amazing restaurants to try, we were a bit exhausted from our previous trip the week before. We ate many meals in our apartment, consisting of whatever we could find at our local corner store down the hill (fresh bread, cheese, pasta and sauce). Despite our limited Spanish and the store clerk’s limited English, we managed to get to know one another quite well in a week, which made us feel right at home.

Caoi Valpo! We hope to see you agian!