Best Burgers in Santiago: Barrio Italia to Ñuñoa

The best burgers in Santiago are found in Barrio Italia and Providencia, in Lastarria and Bellavista at the foot of Cerro San Cristóbal, and in residential Ñuñoa. Look for the Chilean ways of dressing a burger: italiana, with avocado, tomato and mayonnaise in the colours of the Italian flag, and a lo pobre, with a fried egg and fried onions.

Chile has one of South America’s strongest sandwich cultures, and the burger competes with its classics in every fuente de soda, the casual counters where Chileans eat sandwiches: the completo hot dog, the churrasco of thin-sliced beef, the barros luco with melted cheese and the chacarero with green beans and chilli. Avocado, called palta here, goes on almost everything, mashed thick on the bread. Sandwiches are also central to once, the late-afternoon meal many Chileans eat in place of a full dinner.

Burgers in Santiago: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Barrio Italia, Providencia, Lastarria, Bellavista and Ñuñoa.
• Local styles: italiana (palta, tomato, mayonnaise), a lo pobre (fried egg, onions) and chacarera (green beans, tomato, chilli).
• Where Chileans eat sandwiches: the fuente de soda, a counter-service diner found in every neighbourhood.
• Local habit: once, the late-afternoon tea-time meal built around bread and sandwiches.
• Getting around: Metro Line 1 runs under the Alameda and Avenida Providencia, linking the centre with Providencia and Las Condes.
• Currency: Chilean peso (CLP).

Every guide we publish on Santiago is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. To compare Santiago with other cities, browse our burger restaurant guides.