Best South American food near Coquimbo, Coquimbo Region, Chile

January 8, 2020 Rebbecca Marino

Find out what South American restaurants to try in Coquimbo. Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley 10 km (6 mi) south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than 400,000 inhabitants. The commune spans an area around the harbor of 1,429.3 km (552 sq mi). The average temperature in the city lies around 14 °C (57 °F), and precipitation is low.
Things to do in Coquimbo

10. Lima Limon La Serena

Balmaceda 5310, La Serena, La Serena Chile Peruvian, Latin, Seafood, Soups, South American Lunch, Dinner, Late Night Reservations, Seating, Parking Available, Validated Parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service +56 51 264 1782 http://www.limalimonrest.cl/limalaserena.html
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Overall Ratings

4 based on 281 reviews

Lima Limon La Serena

Reviewed By Daniela_Enroth

One of our favorite restaurants in la Serena. We've tried other Peruvians in the area but this is by far the best one. Opens at 13:00, and offer great fish dishes and ceviches. Don't miss the trio de ceviches and a pisco sour. They also have some dishes that are not in the menu worth a try (salmon with passion fruit and spinach pure yum!). The service is also very good, they are friendly and welcoming. Don't miss it. You'll surely come back!

9. Resto-Bar Huentelauquen

Ave de Mar 4500, La Serena Chile Bar, Pizza, Seafood, Chilean, South American Lunch, Dinner, Late Night Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Validated Parking, Television, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Reservations 2 233707 http://www.huentelauquen.cl
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Overall Ratings

4 based on 1192 reviews

Resto-Bar Huentelauquen

Reviewed By J B

Restaurant Huentelauquen is located at the Avenida del Mar in La Serena. For chilly evenings the large wood-stove in the restaurant is a great plus. Service is adequate and fast.Huentelauquen offers a-la-carte Chilean food. We came on the day of the solar eclipse and the place was packed with tourists from Santiago. We thought that to be a good sign. What a mistake.We went for sirloin with home-made fries. The food was terrible. The sirloin so tough-meat that it was uneatable and the fries were cold. We told the waiter that the food was uneatable. He just said that the kitchen was overloaded. We got fresh fries. We ate some of the fries, paid and left the building.Restaurant Huentelauquen truly is a never-come-show.If you like to sit next to the stove, restaurant Huentelauquen is the place for you, but stay away from the bad food.

8. Fogon Del Mar

Calle Rengo #4609 Frente a la Caleta de Pescadores en Peñuelas Coquimbo, La Serena 1780000 Chile Seafood, Chilean, Barbecue, South American Lunch, Dinner, Late Night, Drinks, Brunch Reservations, Street Parking, Wheelchair Accessible, Wine and Beer, Digital Payments, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Television, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar [email protected] +56 9 8129 1747 http://www.fogondelmar.cl
Food
Service
Value
Overall Ratings

4 based on 121 reviews

Fogon Del Mar

We are a restaurant dedicated to delivering new added values and obtaining the best experience, we are not perfect, but we work every day for many better services and quality. We have Smoking Terrace, access for the disabled, bathrooms for the disabled, d

Reviewed By Ben B

My wife and I went here on a Sunday during a three-day weekend. It was the last day we had together before she had to leave for a work trip. It was a sunny day and we wanted to have a nice lunch by the ocean, and, feeling a little adventurous (as such things go), we decided to try a new restaurant, El Fogon Del Mar.With a nice terrace with views to the sea and an outside brick oven, it seemed a nice place to eat. But for some reason, things started to go astray immediately. It seemed difficult for them to decide who was our waiter. And then once we ordered, the waitress began telling us one of our dishes would take twenty minutes longer to prepare than the other so we asked if we could have one first and then the other when it arrived. We would share. This seemed to confuse her, so we waited a long time before we finally flagged down another waiter and explained what we wanted. Then our order mysteriously arrived almost immediately.Also, we had to ask several times for our bread and it came without pebre. We asked for some pebre, they said the chef was making it now. It would come out as soon as it was ready. We asked again fifteen minutes later when the first round of food arrived, and got the same response. We never got the pebre. I doubt very much anyone was making pebre. This isn't that big of a deal, except that it makes you wonder about the restaurant. The first thing one should have in Chile at a restaurant is bread and pebre. It should come to you while you're still thinking about what to eat. Even the cheapest restaurants have this figured out. And Fogon del Mar is not cheap. So not having pebre was disappointing and having the waiters lie to us about it was frustrating. If you don't have pebre, just admit it. Never lie to your customers. It's extremely irritating. Our first shared platter was a ceviche de Reineta, and it was without a doubt, the highlight of the meal. The purple onions were sliced paper thin, the reineta was fresh and delicious, and the lemon juice was seasoned wonderfully. Things were really looking up. I was especially looking forward to the next dish because I am a lover of chicken and was looking forward to some nice, well-cooked pollo.Unfortunately, our second dish sealed our bad opinion of El Fogon del Mar. We ordered their appetizer special El Fogon. It is exceedingly ill conceived and not worth the exorbitant amount of money it costs. It advertises chicken, meat, french fries, shrimp, and calamari for close to 12,000 pesos. Not cheap. But it sounded good. What came was a small bowl of french fries with a few shrimp and calamari on top. They were cooked and seasoned well, but for 12,000 pesos, I would expect more. There were three shrimp, I think, and the same amount of calamari. The small bowl of french fries was done very well, but again, the serving size was lamentable. The meat was another clay bowl filled with chopped steak and sauteed peppers and onions. This was good but strange to eat. Whereas french fries and fried shrimp are finger foods, this had to be eaten with a fork or spoon. Again, there was not much to it. If there was bread served with it, there would not have been enough to make a sandwich with it. But above all, the most ill conceived part of the meal was the chicken. The chicken consisted of little bits of breast meat suspended in what I assume was mushroom soup. There were also mushrooms in this. There was no bread to spoon it on. I guess you're supposed to eat it like chicken mushroom soup. The taste was even worse than the conception. It really is a bad dish. It tastes as bland as it sounds and I ended up draining the mushroom soup and just eating the chicken, which wasn't very good either. It was such an extremely embarrassing dish, it made us wonder who on earth thought that was a good idea AND that it was worth nearly 12,000 pesos? Someone ate a spoonful of chicken and mushroom soup and pondered for a second and said, yeah, put THAT on the most expensive appetizer dish we have. And put our name to it. It's THAT good. That put us in a crisis of confidence.Here's the bottom line. El Fogon del Mar is not a bad restaurant. Some of the dishes are good while others are painfully mediocre. The service is not horrible, but it's also not very good. (No pebre? In Chile? On a three day weekend?) I just don't think El Fogon knows its business, and while it tries very hard to be fine food, it struggles to achieve mediocrity. In other areas of La Serena, this might be forgivable, but the prices are just the same as some of the best restaurants in the region, some of which are literally just next door! If you're in the area of the Caleta, spend your money at Tio Coco's or at Pica Mar Adentro. There you get outstanding service, exceptional food, and a feeling of joy and relaxation, all at the same, if not lower, cost than El Fogon del Mar. If you must try it out, please, don't encourage them. Avoid the Fogon appetizer.

7. Tio Coco

Pasaje Dos 23, Coquimbo Chile Seafood, Chilean, South American Lunch, Dinner Wheelchair Accessible, Reservations, Seating
Food
Service
Value
Overall Ratings

4 based on 72 reviews

Tio Coco

Reviewed By HotelierJohn

On the recommendation of the hosts of our boutique hotel, we braved the Saturday night beach traffic congestion to find this appealing resto that offers a wide variety of fish and seafood. It is nicely furnished, including cushions on the chairs (a rarity in Chile!). Service was slow to start, but then excellent. We tried abalone for the first time; it was nicely presented, but was as chewy as beefsteak! The potatoes "salteado" were excellent. The avocado salad would have been excellent if all of the avocado (a Chilean specialty) had been fully ripe. For the first time in half a dozen meals in Chile, the fish was overcooked. The resto had plenty of seats when we arrived at 9:30pm, but was fully packed with a waiting line when we left at 11:00pm. The real charcoal grill was full of meat being prepared for happy diners. Obviously a popular place, and apparently one of the best on the beach strip. We had a pleasant meal, but would not return.

6. Carnico

Avenida Penuelas Norte 167, Coquimbo 1800019 Chile Steakhouse, Barbecue, Chilean, Grill, South American Lunch, Dinner, Drinks Reservations, Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Table Service +56 51 248 0048 http://www.carnico-steakhouse.cl
Food
Service
Value
Overall Ratings

4 based on 50 reviews

Carnico

Reviewed By V3rin

The first impression was very good, waiters were friendly and the place was nice and comfy. But the food was really bad. They offer a variety of meat and side dishes. My husband and I asked for meat (two different kind).. both were no well cooked, according to the way we asked for (they have a note explaining 4 different ways, rare - medium - well - well done). My husband's meat was raw in the center, he didn't eat it all, and my meat was well done, well and medium in some parts.As side dishes we asked for french fries and Potatoes' Mushroom. French fries were too soft, like smashed potatoes.. and the other dish was less than ok.At the end, we explained to them all of this (very politely and we didn't ask for a discount or so), but they told us that the problem with potatoes' side was the oil (they were using a new one), and about the meat they said that we could returned immediately the dish to them to correct... but what is the point in asking how do you like your meat? at first..A restaurant with this prices must be better, and It can't give explanations like this.

5. La Beterana

Avenida Los Pescadores, Coquimbo Chile Seafood, Chilean, South American Lunch, Brunch, Dinner Takeout, Table Service, Seating +56 9 5912 4127
La Beterana

Reviewed By marcelo_rodriguez5

Especialidad en sandwich de pescado, gigantes, de verdad grandes en diferentes formatos y acompañamientos. El local es pequeño pero con una cálida atención. Si usted busca mariscos, ceviches, etc...en este local, la especialidad son los sandwich de pescado.

What to do and see in Coquimbo, Chile: The Best Places and Tips

4. La Escalera

Andres Bello 826, Coquimbo 1711004 Chile Italian, Chilean, South American Lunch, Drinks, Dinner Reservations, Seating, Street Parking, Wine and Beer, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Serves Alcohol +56 51 248 7337
Food
Service
Value
Overall Ratings

5 based on 43 reviews

La Escalera

Reviewed By nelebeidenlamas

We wanted to eat something vegetarian today, so we searched the whole city to find this amazing place! The salad and postre is very good and the price is also very good! We were so shocked to hear that they are closed in the evenings, that's a missed opportunity! Very tasty!

Where to Eat in Coquimbo: The Best Restaurants and Bars

3. Orlando Empanadas

Av. Fritz Willy Linderman 2427, Coquimbo Chile Seafood, Chilean, South American Lunch Takeout, Wheelchair Accessible, Seating, Table Service 395384
Food
Service
Value
Overall Ratings

4 based on 62 reviews

Orlando Empanadas

Coquimbo Region, Chile Food Guide: 5 Soups food Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Coquimbo

2. El Pequeno

Av. Guanaqueros, Coquimbo Chile Seafood, Chilean, South American Lunch, Dinner, Late Night Takeout, Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available, Serves Alcohol, Table Service +56 51 239 5341
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Overall Ratings

4 based on 257 reviews

El Pequeno

Reviewed By Viajeraenfamilia

Great fish, fresh seafood, locals would never choose any other. The best cheese empanadas!

Top 10 Chilean food in Coquimbo, Coquimbo Region, Chile

1. Magnolia restaurant la herradura

Avenida Costanera # 500 Pueblo de la Herradura, Coquimbo 1791461 Chile Chilean, Seafood, South American Lunch, Dinner Reservations, Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Table Service, Serves Alcohol [email protected] +56 9 7695 7598
Food
Service
Value
Overall Ratings

4 based on 95 reviews

Magnolia restaurant la herradura

Reviewed By Janet C

Wonderful restaurant! Owner, Rafa, hosts this comfortable, splendid, welcoming venue. The menu contains many fabulous Chilean seafood items as well as tasty versions of chicken and beef. There are also vegetarian options. It can get crowded so it's advisable to make a reservation or get there early!

Where to eat Seafood food in Coquimbo: The Best Restaurants and Bars

ThingsTodoPost © 2018 - 2024 All rights reserved.