Twelve years ago when the wine bar Bocanariz opened in the historic and bohemian Lastarria neighborhood in Santiago, Chile, wine bars were completely unheard of in the country. When Chileans drank wine, it would be at home, bars, restaurants, and wineries, but the concept of a wine-only bar was unheard of. And when Bocanariz also started making food to pair with their wine flights, that was also seen as odd. But people started taking notice. This wine bar has won a lot of accolades globally not just for its wine, but also its food. When I was doing research for our South America trip, specifically for Santiago, I could not see restaurant recommendation lists that did NOT have this spot on it. The reviews were quite enthusiastic, and it was hard to ignore. On top of that, the food menu looked pretty enticing, with an emphasis on seasonal and locally sourced ingredients. The prices seemed like a relative bargain to the equivalent I’d find in New York. Since traveling with a young child, I’m cognizant of the annoyance of babies/young children to other diners, so during our travels, I’ve been hesitant and avoidant to make any reservations at any “fine dining” type establishments. But Bocanariz seemed amiable to younger children, with their restaurant noting that they have high chairs, and some photos posted on Google where I can clearly see people have brought littles. So I decided to make a lunch reservation and see how we’d go.

The food in Chile has been delicious, but this meal and wine experience will definitely be a highlight. For our starters, we enjoyed local Chilean oysters, small and exceptionally creamy. I had just enjoyed a number of (East Coast) oysters at a customer dinner the previous week, and while they were delicious, they completely paled in comparison to these Chilean morsels of delight. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had sweeter or creamier oysters than these. We had fish ceviche in a creamy dressing, with avocado, roasted corn, and sweet potato chips; I could have drank all that sauce by itself without the fish. We ordered fried bao with roasted tongue beef: the bao itself was slightly crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside, while the tongue was incredibly tender and well seasoned.

And for our mains, we shared the duck confit with sweet potato puree and orange dressing, plus the scallop linguine. Both were delicious, as we savored every bite, but I will say that the linguine was quite exceptional. Some of the scallops were served in their shell (which I LOVE; I usually only see this in Australia or certain parts of Asia, and we NEVER see this in the U.S.), and the sauce was so buttery yet light. We nearly had to fight Kaia to get just a couple bites of this linguine.

We also had three different wine flights: one was Carmenere for both of us (since it seems to be the specialty in Chile and not common outside of the country, though this grape did originate in France), and the second, we split: we had one “author’s flight” and one “classic” flight. I didn’t come to Chile knowing much at all about Carmenere or Chilean wine in general, but I can say that 1) I can’t believe how relatively inexpensive they all are, and 2) they’re truly delicious and underrated — lots of pleasant complexity and fruitiness in each sip. Somehow, we managed to get through all that wine and food without Kaia squirming out of her high chair too often. It was like a little miracle.

I’m so happy I found a special place for us to eat here that had delicious food, a crazy large selection of local wine, and good service in a relatively casual setting for all three of us. Maybe for our future trips, I should look for places that are more like Bocanariz, though it does still seem to be quite a gem, even in Santiago today. In a time pre-Pookster, I loved finding one splurge or tasting menu-type restaurant for us during our trips, but now, we have to adjust and find other delicious places that will accommodate her. And clearly, different places are not lacking for these at all.