Viva Chile

I'm originally from Chile. Heard about this restaurant from a customer at work. Being much closer to home than the other couple of Chilean restaurants I know, I decided to go and check it out with wifey on a Sunday afternoon. To my surprise it looked nice from the outside and the location was good in a nice shopping center, corner space, pretty big. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only good thing about it. Walking in, no one to greet us and show us to a table, you know...the awkward look around and stand there for a while until someone noticed us and told us to sit wherever we liked. We took a window table, and waited to be waited on. The waitress seemed to be new, we ordered some water while we dove into the menu. I ordered a "pastel de choclo" and my wife a "churrasco" sandwich (steak, avocado, tomato, and mayo). When I asked for pastel de choclo, the waiter asked "pastel de pollo"? That's not even a Chilean dish!, she then remembered the right plate I guess. We were not given any suggestions, nor any daily specials. I was looking forward to the warm bread (pan amasado) and butter while our dishes were prepared...that never came. By the time the food came, our water was gone, no refills were offered. We began eating, the pastel de choclo wasn't bad, however it was definitely not a reminder of a traditional dish, it lacked the chicken (found one or two pieces only within, where the should have been at least a whole piece in there), it also lacked the egg, and it was definitely frozen, as it was full of water in the bottom. The Churrasco sandwich was made out of pieces of meat, instead of a steak..it seemed as if they would've made it out of the extra meat from the sides of other steaks. We were already eating when the waitress brought some bread, cold and not the "pan amasado" I so was looking forward to. Again, no water refills were offered. Half way through the meal, a lady wearing a black chef outfit came to ask how we were doing and if we needed anything else, we asked for more water. When it came..it was warm..no ice!! By the way, our waitress never came back, other than to bring the check. We were not offered any desserts or coffee/tea, which is pretty traditional in Chile to have after your main course. In addition, there were some people eating at a nearby table when we came in, a lady, her husband it seemed and kids, which seemed to ended up being either staff or maybe the owners, since we saw them later behind the counter, they were talking as loud as you could stand, and the kids were running all over the place. There were some Chilean motives/figures on the wall, however no Chilean ambiance  at all. That's the one thing you want to feel when you walk in a restaurant from any country, you want to feel a little bit like you're there. Play some cueca in the background (at an acceptable volume of course) to create the feeling, don't just rely on playing TVN on the monitor, which can only be seen by a few. Have your staff dress appropriately, no jeans. In Chile waiters wear black and white and tuxedo ties, the waitress wear the same, most of time with a regular tie. All in all, not a place we are planning to visit again. So far Pamela Delicatessens on bird road, takes the cake with a nice place, friendlier staff, better look, and owner that is there assisting and tending to her customers, at least every time I've gone, and better food - more reminiscent of our beautiful country.

Stopped here on a road trip and was pleasantly surprised. Very good food. One of the best chicken sandwiches I've ever had. Very well balanced, great service.

This is your must stop to experience authentic Chilean cuisine. This is perfect for family during lunch. It was not crowded, the owner was extremely sympatic and the meals delicious. Try the ceviche or the palta rellena con camarones, simply delicious!