The Best Restaurants in CURICO

Chileans across the board have fallen hard for the big, bold flavors of Peruvian cuisine, but not all Peruvian restaurants are created equal. Luckily for residents of Curicó, the team behind Andö have managed to find that secret recipe of a great interior, good service, and sensational food. While they do Nikkei and Chifa style dishes, their classic pulpo al olivo is the star of the show. Thinly sliced, impossibly tender octopus is bathed in a slightly spicy, bitter sauce of black olives. Curicó may be far from Peru, but the flavors of the neighbor to the north are right at home.

Chef Pedro is a Chilean-born, naturalized Mexican citizen who has brought the flavors of his adopted homeland back to Curicó to dazzle diners with spices and heat, amongst other fresh flavors. For now, the menu consists of three kinds of tacos, carnitas on Wednesdays, a burrito and, the star of the show, the gorditas. You can find other taco joints dotted throughout Santiago, but not one of them is grinding fresh corn to make gorditas. Start with the freshest Chilean sweet corn ground on site, then formed into a patty and griddled until golden. This is sliced open, then filled with toppings that include fresh avocado, black beans, and cheese. Top them in Pedro’s fresh garlic and chile salsa, and you might forget you’re in Chile.

With a pig as a logo and a deli case at the entrance full of some of the best cured meats in the country, you can bet that every single pork dish at Cecinas Soler is second to none. You might have trouble choosing between the arrollado de huaso or lomito sandwich for lunch, but for a knock-out breakfast full of the crispiest (and some of the only) bacon in Chile, you have to get the scrambled eggs with bacon. Sure, you can get a pan of scrambled eggs and ham just about anywhere in Chile, but finding house-cured, crispy bacon in that mix is next to impossible. Get a side of spicy avocado and a coffee to wash it down, and you might swear you’re in hog heaven. Oh, and get some meats to go.

Although food truck culture is only recently starting to take hold in the larger metropolises of Chile, this legit trailer has been cranking out churros and French fries for years. Located in the center of Curicó’s poplar-lined Parque Forestal, the churros at Churros Cuchito make the perfect snack after an afternoon stroll. Even simply fried and dusted with powdered sugar, the sweet fried dough sticks are sensational. Have more of a sweet tooth? Get yours filled with chocolate or manjar and dipped in sprinkles. Yep. You read that right.

Worth every single bit of the 15-minute drive outside of Curicó, the plateada at Colo Colo has become the stuff of legend throughout Chile. A heavily-guarded recipe that, at its root, includes a lightly-seasoned beef brisket that is then roasted until tender, the drippings from the meat are as good as the beef itself. Be sure and go hungry because they serve the briskets whole. If you’re up to it, order an arrollado de huaso to start, then accompany your meat with some French fries. Meat lovers rejoice–you’ve found your home in Chile.

With a giant crack running down the front of the building that remains as a permanent scar from the 2010 earthquake, Dumbo stands as a reminder of the Curicó of days gone by–that not even the country’s strongest earthquake can topple. While they do serve lunch, you should go for the drinks. Malta con Harina is as old as Chile, and about as typical a country drink as you can get. Mix black, malted beer with toasted flour and a spoonful of sugar, and you’ve got yourself the perfect elixir for a day in the fields. At least, that’s why workers drink it. Legend has it that the town bus used to stop twice at Dumbo–once in the morning to drop the workers off, once in the evening to drive them home. For a taste of pure Curicó country, get your breakfast worker-style.

Emporio isn’t but more than a couple of years old, but with their refurbished interiors, creative menu infused with lots of local specialties, and an impressive wine list full of local favorites, they’ve quickly become a town favorite. The menu changes frequently, but the quinoa salad has come to be a main stay. Perfectly cooked quinoa is mixed with lime juice (yes, lime!), red pepper and almonds. This is served with a side of fresh local greens and, when in season, cherry tomatoes. For a hearty, light lunch, you won’t find a fresher, more interesting, or more satisfying salad in town.

As one of the newest additions to the culinary offerings in Curicó, Gran Refugio is the best craft beer bar in the region, and they just happen to have a solid culinary offering as well. Amongst the incredible hamburgers, chicken wings, and pizzas, you’ll find the classic Chilean chorrillanas, but this take on the dish is far from ordinary. What separates the Chorrillanas Gran Refugio from other iterations of the classic dish is its toppings. Beginning with a base of French fries, this version is topped in chopped chorizo, caramelized onions, two fried eggs and, the kicker, a creamy mushroom sauce that might just make you eat the plate for two all by yourself. Not for the faint of heart or the small of stomach, this is best washed down by one of the six house-made craft brews on tap.

Although you can’t get Chileans and Argentines to always agree on football, you can get them to agree on pizza. Chileans have a deep love for toasted dough topped with oozing cheese, and Curicó’s newest pizzeria, that just happens to be owned by Argentines, certainly delivers. La Buona Pizza delivers up a solid menu of pastas and pizzas, but simplicity shines with the Pizza Napolitana. With a reasonably thick crust, golden, oozing mozzarella, and a sauce that’s not too sweet, this is a welcomed addition to the rapidly-expanding culinary scene in Curicó.

Although Curicó is located about an hour inland from the coast, they do have a strong culture of insanely fresh fish that comes in almost every morning to the main market in town. For diners, that means stews, fried fish sandwiches and other delicacies for lunch and dinner all day long. If you’re on the run and looking for your seafood fix, get a fried empanada full of insanely fresh shellfish and oozy cheese. Yes, shellfish and cheese does sound like an odd combo, but it’s one that Chileans have perfected, and made quite famous. The dough at La Cabana is exceptional, the fillings fresh, and the fry just right.