Chile is known for seafood and Patagonia has the specialty king crab. It is known as centolla and all the restaurants sell a version of it, usually expensively as either whole or meat, or served as a cheese coated "pie". The other dish I wanted to try is caldillo de congrio (conger eel stew) but never got the chance in Santiago.
There were no big name restaurants that caught my particular fancy in PA, but La Luna was worth a go. It has a nautical theme like being under the hull of a ship with pictures adorning the walls.
Pisco Sour (CLP2,950) is a known specialty drink of Chile and this was the first chance to try it.
- Conger Eel with seafoods sauce & croquette potatoes CLP8,950 - my first experience with the local conger eel was an excellent one. The fish was meaty and wonderfully soft. The seafood sauce was ok with small pieces of flesh in it, but took a second fiddle to the fish itself;
- Chupe de Centollas (baked king crab) CLP13,950 - the anticipation was let down by a dish that didn't seem to have enough crab meat to justify the hype, surrounded by a heap of cheese filling. The top cheese crust was pretty good with some umami crust;
- Ensalada Del Mercado (artichoke, croutons, olives, lettuce, tomato) CLP4,450 - typically served without dressing as per the norm.
The conger was great but the king crab pie was a letdown. Perhaps it was the small amount of meat, the flavour being more cheese than crab or maybe just the form it was served in. Hopefully the next times would be better.