Chile: Restaurant Review - Astrid & Gaston
The people of Chile revel in their love for simple foods with simple flavors. This may be why one of the most recommended restaurants in Santiago is Peruvian. Astrid & Gaston hails from Peru but has spread out in the continent and even made its way to Spain.
The first impression as you walk into the Santiago Astrid & Gaston is of a hacienda decorated by a New Yorker. Modern and stark meets traditional and homey. The result is more than less pleasing, albeit minimalist.
The menu is like reading a history book as each of the dishes explain their origin or influence. The wine list is almost exclusively devoted to Chilean wines, as is common here, but there were a handful of imports for those who wish to look beyond Chile's shores.
We broke our meal up into several courses, creating our own tasting menu. The staff was happy to suggest a menu of their own, but we were looking for a bit more variety.
We started with a bit of mashed potatoes topped with raw tuna and cooked crab. The sauce was avocado and and sesame oil. The sesame, as it so often does, dominated the dish, but the potatoes helped to soften their effect.
Next up was a sampler plate of appetizers that included ribs and sweet potatoes, a bit of duck a spoonful of hominy corn with an intriguing sauce and a fried potato ball with sirloin beef that was our favorite of the bunch.
Our first main course was lamb. The shank was perfectly cooked with the flavorful meat falling off the bone. The lamb chop was cooked Chilean style, meaning that no matter how rare we ask for it, it still comes out well done. This is a cultural difference, but I can't help but wish I could find someone that knows how to cook meat to my liking in this country.
The next course was another rib, but unlike the dry style form the appetizer this one was glazed in a sticky reduction sauce that blended into the corn pudding to make an irresistible accompaniment.
The restaurant and Peruvian food in general tends more towards fish, but our love of hearty red wines led us more towards the meats.
The dessert was another sampling of flavors ranging from a sweet caramel sauce in a shot glass to a rice pudding. A delectable variety of sticky sweetness.
The service was excellent, especially the wine staff who didn't blink at our request to hold our own little tasting. They accommodated or need for multiple glasses with a fine variety of shapes to keep the wines straight and were more than happy to share their passion and expertise with us.
The evening was a great success with the only real shock of the evening being the final bill. The US dollar is once again doing well so try as we may we were not able to spend more than $300 for two of us, even after four bottles of wine.
Astrid & Gaston is a must visit for anyone in Santiago. Expect an evening of exploration and pampering as you work your way through the intriguing menu and wine list. And say hello to everyone for us.
The first impression as you walk into the Santiago Astrid & Gaston is of a hacienda decorated by a New Yorker. Modern and stark meets traditional and homey. The result is more than less pleasing, albeit minimalist.
The menu is like reading a history book as each of the dishes explain their origin or influence. The wine list is almost exclusively devoted to Chilean wines, as is common here, but there were a handful of imports for those who wish to look beyond Chile's shores.
We broke our meal up into several courses, creating our own tasting menu. The staff was happy to suggest a menu of their own, but we were looking for a bit more variety.
We started with a bit of mashed potatoes topped with raw tuna and cooked crab. The sauce was avocado and and sesame oil. The sesame, as it so often does, dominated the dish, but the potatoes helped to soften their effect.
Next up was a sampler plate of appetizers that included ribs and sweet potatoes, a bit of duck a spoonful of hominy corn with an intriguing sauce and a fried potato ball with sirloin beef that was our favorite of the bunch.
Our first main course was lamb. The shank was perfectly cooked with the flavorful meat falling off the bone. The lamb chop was cooked Chilean style, meaning that no matter how rare we ask for it, it still comes out well done. This is a cultural difference, but I can't help but wish I could find someone that knows how to cook meat to my liking in this country.
The next course was another rib, but unlike the dry style form the appetizer this one was glazed in a sticky reduction sauce that blended into the corn pudding to make an irresistible accompaniment.
The restaurant and Peruvian food in general tends more towards fish, but our love of hearty red wines led us more towards the meats.
The dessert was another sampling of flavors ranging from a sweet caramel sauce in a shot glass to a rice pudding. A delectable variety of sticky sweetness.
The service was excellent, especially the wine staff who didn't blink at our request to hold our own little tasting. They accommodated or need for multiple glasses with a fine variety of shapes to keep the wines straight and were more than happy to share their passion and expertise with us.
The evening was a great success with the only real shock of the evening being the final bill. The US dollar is once again doing well so try as we may we were not able to spend more than $300 for two of us, even after four bottles of wine.
Astrid & Gaston is a must visit for anyone in Santiago. Expect an evening of exploration and pampering as you work your way through the intriguing menu and wine list. And say hello to everyone for us.
posted by Wineguy at 4:06 AM
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