Alegre – Valparaíso

 Hotel Palacio Astoreca
 Calle Monte Alegre 149, Cerro Alegre, Valparaiso, Chile
 0056 32 327 7700
 www.hotelpalacioastoreca.com/en/restaurant-alegre/

Sunday & Monday closed

Chef: Francisco Araya

Alegre is a fine dining restaurant in Valparaíso, a major Chilean seaport city located around 110 km Northwest of Santiago. The restaurant is associated with the Palacio Astoreca Hotel. Valparaíso is a well-known city on the tourist trail and particularly known for for its unique labyrinth of alleys and colourful buildings. Just in front of the restaurant there is a small park with views on the city, the harbour and the open sea. Although Valparaíso’s location next to the sea, and its role as an important touristic city, there are not many gastronomic restaurants. Alegre stands out with its avant-garde, qualitative kitchen and remarkable setting.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca The Palacio Astoreca Hotel is built at the core of the historical city centre in Valparaiso, the most exclusive point in the natural amphitheatre overlooking the magnificent bay. It is in “Cerro Alegre”, just steps from the famous “Paseo Yugoslavo” and the Fine Arts Museum, the Barburizza Palace. The hotel includes 23 rooms, a spa, the Alegre restaurant, wine cellar, bar and a library, housed in two buildings. The first part is the palace, a completely restored national monument, and the second part is an older house, whose original façade has been conserved. After a deep renovation both buildings have recovered the style and elegance that they had lost over time.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

The restaurant’s interior is sober but comfortable. White and grey colours are complemented with wood and dimmed lighting. The famous dining chairs from Charles Eames give a modern touch. The kitchen infrastructure is very impressive by Latin American standards and the team works in silence and serenity on the food and dishes. Sommelier Michelangelo Diaz has a beautiful wine variety in his cellar just below the restaurant and serves a selection with Chilean as well as international wines. Perfectly crafted cocktails, such as the typical “Pisco Sour” or the “Terremoto“, are also available in the restaurant or hotel bar.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

Francisco Araya is the chef at Alegre Restaurant. Francisco studied computer sciences but quickly changed his vision and followed his true passion: gastronomy. He previously worked at Alma in Santiago, Mugaritz in San Sebastian, Boragó in Santiago, and even joined the El Bulli team under Ferran Adrià. In 2012 he started his first restaurant in Tokyo, ‘81’, which received its first Michelin star in December 2013. He served cosmopolitan dishes that incorporated ingredients and flavours from Latin America, Europe and Japan. In 2014, Francisco returned to Chile and started as the head chef at Alegre Restaurant at the Hotel Palacio Astoreca.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

In his kitchen, Francisco cooks with mainly Chilean ingredients but he is not afraid to use European influences and cooking techniques to optimize his dishes. He emphasises the traceability and freshness of his products. Guests are able to choose between à la carte dishes, an interesting lunch menu, or a more extensive tasting menu (48€). We had the tasting menu and started our evening with Champagne Dom Pérignon, Vintage 2003.

Amuse: Black bread with squid ink and butterAlegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

Amuse: Beef croquette, avocado and tomatoAlegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca
Amuse: Carrot’s flower pot with baby carrot and celery root, bread crumble and vegetable pureeAlegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

The Menu

Mosaic of vegetables: 27 different vegetables with roasted onion mousse and mushroom sauce. This fresh but powerful dish had crunchy structures and was very nice.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

Razor clams “crudo” were served in ceviche style with mandarin & avocado. This Chilean-inspired dish, combined the best of the sea and the best of the land.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

Salmon was served with pumpkin puree, miso sauce and orange puree. A strange and surprising combination but very delicious!
Chef Francisco demonstrated his knowledge of combining fresh seafood with different textures and pure intense flavours.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

Octopus came with Scallop and smelt and was served with pumpkin puree. The octopus was very well seasoned, but the pumpkin puree did not really have an additional value.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca
Paila marina with shellfish, soft biscuit and a shellfish broth. This dish was the least dish of our evening, with a too heavy broth and a fairly heavy piece of fish.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca
Beef tongue and polenta’s gnocchi were served with parmesan & almond shaves. The beef was very tender, the gnocchi too soft but very good taste wise.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

A ganache of 72% Chocolate with apple sorbet, crumble of honey and merengue with reduced wagar pisco.
Violet ice cream was nicely presented on a financier biscuit and served with little dots of catalane cream.

Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

MignardisesAlegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

Alegre in hotel Palacio Astoreca is without any doubt an essential reservation when you visit Valparaíso and is even worth a detour from Santiago. The dishes are light, tasteful and demonstrate a knowledge of different cooking techniques all over the world. The mixture between Chilean ingredients and international preparation techniques generates a great dining experience.

Be-Gusto

Be-Gusto score:                         15/20

Be-Gusto price/quality score: 15/20

Alegre
Calle Monte Alegre 149
Cerro Alegre
Valparaíso, Chile
Phone: +56 32 327 7700
www.hotelpalacioastoreca.com/en/restaurant-alegre/

Original review made for wbpstars.com. Discover the ultimate guide for food lovers, travellers and the restaurant business. Discover many thousands of images and hundreds of films of the most amazing culinary wonders in the world. An exclusive documentation of the very best.Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca Alegre Restaurant Valparaiso - Hotel Palacio Astoreca

 

Comments
One Response to “Alegre – Valparaíso”
  1. Beautiful pictures! Thanks a lot for posting about this restaurant 🙂