From all my reading about Punta Arenas, La Marmita was the only place I had highlighted of my shortlist. My Rough Guide also had it starred with the pisco sour, ceviche and general seafood being the standouts.
Pisco sour (CLP3,500) with crushed ice started off the meal and it was cheap, refreshing and mildly alcoholic.
- Magellanic Spider Crab with mayonnaise & salad CLP12,000 - the pieces of crab were soft and delicious as expected. The meat isn't as sweet as the Scandanavian king crab but still adequate. It was expensive for the amount of meat available but it's a delicacy;
- Salmon & hake ceviche of the house, lemon juice, Spanish onion, coriander CLP6,500 - a well balanced ceviche with all the elements. One of the better ones I've had;
- Wild guanaco bourguignon, organic quinoa, green salad CLP15,000 - it was the first exposure to guanaco and it was ordered without quite knowing what it is (it's a deer). The meat was tender but in the strong sauce, it was difficult to discern between it and beef perhaps. The huge asparagus storks were very good.
The food was nice and the menu reads as Chilean-Patagonian. The lamb tagine, hare stew and charquican sea vegetable stew were all other things that caught my eye.