Drooling over Pizzas in La Serena {Chile}

We happened to walk into the best restaurants we’ve been to in Chile! yes, THAT happened. So what if we had to drive 500 kms to the second oldest town in Chile. And so what if they served pizzas! And who would’ve thunk that you’ve get something good to eat in a restaurant right at the city’s central square? 

When you’re mouth waters just with the thought of food from Manado or you’re willing to kill for some sorpetel, It’s takes a bit longer to make Chilean food your comfort food. Simply diving into it makes you describe most dishes with adjectives such as bland and unimaginative. It takes time. But give it a chance. I now love to have a hot steaming bowl of Cazuela (a meat soup with sweet pumpkin & potatoes) or quick Empanadas (dough stuffed with meat and cheese - then baked - this is the stuffing I like the most). But what about pizzas? When did we stop having pizzas? 

It was my husband’s birthday weekend getaway to La Serena. The road trip made me also realise that after 8+ years of being together, my husband actually enjoys my playlist (umm..may be our tastes have gravitated towards each others?). We reached our B&B late night and then walked towards to beach for dinner. Sea food is a still a big gamble in this side of the world- I’m still warming up to ceviche, and as much as I loved sushi with all my heart, it’s taking longer to like raw fish cured in lemon juice (I blame the lemon!). We ended up having pizza.

We were bowled by the warm wait staff AND the pizzas. The next day we landed at Pasta Brazza, a newly opened restaurant, right at the city square. We went there twice- and both times the wait staff spoke fluent English, were really nice and we loved our food! Not always the case in Santiago!

La Serena is a great weekend getaway from Santiago, and I imagine people travelling from overseas include it only as a good stop over to the more stellar northern destinations such as San Pedro De Atacama, Elqui Valley Wine Tours and The Penguin National Reserve at Isla Damas. The very current that enables penguins to thrive at this point on the Chilean coast is the same reason for chilly waters on the entire coastline! La Serena, for example is a coastal town with a pretty long stretch of nice sandy beaches- sadly only to sit and admire from the sands! You have to be pretty brave to take a dip in the water! 

We visited some beautiful XVth Century churches, a massive 93’ Cross that was built at the turn of this Millennium called “Cruz del Tercer Milenio” (The IIIrd Millennium Cross), Faro Monumental (a Lighthouse which is very famous for some reason), met people from around the world (belgium, peru, venezuela & france!) and …of course, fell in love with pizzas all over again!

The weekend also marked the end of Summer. Ethereal windmills & hills peeping from foggy weather surrounded us on our drive back. 

(Click for a little background music before you scroll down for pictures!)

Notes:

~  The road trip is mostly straight roads for 500km North of Santiago. It took us 5 hours.

~  The tolls for the round trip mounted to $45/31000 CLP

~  *Most* cool things are closed on Sundays- like in Santiago (even restaurants!)

Until Later! Click here to keep in touch!