There were a few restaurants to pick from for the final dinner of the holiday. Staying in Cerro Alegre meant the choices were all preferably nearby, which is easy because it seems to be the area with the most restaurants, tourists, safety, rooftop views and entertaining graffiti. The choices included Pasta e Vino, Espiritu Santo or Montealegre or even Bar Cinzano for the live music atmosphere (as the food has mixed reviews). However after looking around Tripadvisor, the near universal praise for Casa Luisa and it being so close to the Airbnb made that decision in the end.
The restaurant looks set in the living room of a beautifully adorned home. Staff are very friendly, attentive and jovial. The English menu reads as though it had been Google Translated then pasted (because I tried the same thing at home before the meal) but much better than my Spanish menu reading. Obviously the menu items with local Chilean ingredients appealed most.
We were treated to a complimentary cheese platter (mild smoked cheddar, Camembert and a mild blue cheese with pickled onions) and a glass of wine about to be added to the menu (from the Atacama dessert region which smelt like fuel but tasted sweet and nice). There was also fresh juices, of which I had forest berries (jugo del bosque) CLP3,500.
- Serrano Salad (olive oil dried figs, Serrano ham, Camembert cheese, seasonal greens, herbs, Modena balsamic dressing, dried fruits) CLP7,900 - a nice combination of textures and flavours including mild jamon, dried fruits, cheese and salad;
- Patagonian Guanaco Crudo (handcut guanaco steak, green olives, Spanish onion, lemon juice, black pepper, capers & Dijon) CLP7,900 - the bread was thin slices of toasted baguette and quite ordinary but luckily the quality of the meat made up for it. The individual cubes of meat were discernible and had likely been cured for a while as the meat had a grey "cooked" surface like ceviche and a lovely combination of mustard and citrus in flavour. The meat was soft and a little chewy like good tartare and surprisingly not gamey at all;
- Atun (Tuna seared, salted & crusted in sesame & cochayuyo dust, prawns, risotto, sauce of chardonay, green pepper, carmenere from Colchagua valley, merken from Chiloe & sea salt) ARS15,900 - the waiter warned it would seared to a beautiful rare and it definitely was perfectly done so. The meaty flesh was delicious and the crust added some nice saltiness. The rice was similar to a dry risotto/paella with prawns creamy rather than crisp. Overall it was a very good dish;
- Robalo (Sea Bass marinated in Sauvignon blanc & garlic, with paella-style rice with creamy saffron, paprika, fish stock, prawns & passionfruit jam) ARS10,900 - I tried getting Chilean seabass/Patagonian toothfish in the Melbourne fishmongers without success (they didn't even know what it was) so was great to see it on their local menu. The thin fillets were expertly cooked and the fish tender. The paella was good and the prawns the same as the tuna dish, but I didn't really like the passionfruit sweetness.
My only issue was both rice dishes had salt crystals underneath which meant a very oversalty hit every now and then. I can't say that any of the dishes are unmissable, but they were all prepared and presented with skill. The service was very much appreciated and I added extra tip to the standard 10% propina.