Added to the list of the best restaurants in Latin America in 2016—published by the prestigious international magazine “50 Best Restaurants”—it is not surprising to find Boragó among its first-place contenders. The restaurant in Santiago de Chile has become a point of reference in the gastronomic universe.

A cup of wine in the Boragó Restaurant

The restaurant’s well-deserved reputation recognizes the innovative proposals of its chef and owner Rodolfo Guzmán, who describes his style as “endemic cuisine” based on the products and century-old techniques of the Mapuche communities of his native Chile.

An artistic food presentation of food and comestible flowers at Boragó Restaurant

Before founding Boragó in 2006, Guzmán had the privilege of working and training in great European kitchens, including award-winning restaurants like Mugaritz—owned by the renowned Basque chef Andoni Luis Aduriz—where he began to assimilate refined preparation techniques that would later be introduced to his personal dishes at his restaurant.

Boragó is a fabulous restaurant that offers dishes prepared with products that reflect Chile’s identity. They are cultivated using natural and ecological production methods that meet the Mapuche concepts of supply and collection.

An artistic food presentation at Boragó Restaurant

For example, the milk used in their amazing homemade fruit and floral ice cream is fresh and produced exclusively for the restaurant. The vegetables—irrigated with water from Patagonian rain—come from their orchard, which is located only half an hour away from Boragó.

The meats and fish are sourced from local ranchers and fishermen while the rest of the products used are obtained by seasonal harvesting.

Thanks to his modern concept of combining the Chilean culinary traditions with sophisticated European techniques, Guzmán has received the “Chefs’ Choice Prize,” a yearly award given by chefs to honor their peers.

An artistic plate of a fish with fresh clovers, flowers and sweet and sour sauces at Boragó Restaurant

This trend of developing unique cuisine identities follows similar circumstances in other South American countries. Such is the case of the work of Peruvian chef Virgilio Martinez at Central Restaurant and his Peruvian colleagues, who have elevated their local cuisine to the center stage of world gastronomy.

Thanks to the delicacy of its dishes, international recognition, and productive consciousness, Boragó of Santiago is a mandatory visit on your next Chilean scape. A small tip: book well in advance because it already has confirmed reservations for the next several months. ■