Food in Chile Coffee ~ Pictures and Information

Coffee in Chile ~ Cafe Haiti Excellent espresso, cappuccinos and lattes

In Santiago, Cafe Haiti (website in Spanish) shops are as prevalent as Starbucks are in North America. I confess I never did go into a Cafe Haiti:

When I was near one, I didn't fancy a coffee, and when I did, the Cafe Haiti seemed to be patronized only by men, and I was hesitant to wander in alone.

But some McDonalds had coffee bars, serving proper coffee drinks along with the food.

I could get good coffee at my hotel, the Fundador Hotel in Santiago, and though the hotel buffet breakfast served coffee in urns, the servers would bring me a cup of 'good cafe' or cafe espresso, or cappuccino to my table.

Instant coffee an unexpected breakfast cuppa in Patagonia

I was taken aback to find my morning cup of coffee at the hotel in Puerto Natales Patagonia was a do-it-yourself affair: Pour boiling hot water from an urn into a coffee cup, then add a packet of Nescafe brand instant coffee.

My Latin American Spanish phrasebook says that I can order instant coffee by asking for "un nescafe". Not my ideal way to start my day. Nescafe has a lot to answer for, IMHO :-)

How to order coffee in Chile
espresso -- un cafe espress
black coffee -- un cafe negro (oon caffay nay grow)
coffee with milk -- un cafe con leche (oon caffay con laychay)
coffee with cream -- un cafe con crema (oon caffay con craymah)
with sugar -- con azucar (con ah zoo car)

Coffee With Legs ~ Cafe Espresso in Chile

My guide and I were on our way to a seafood lunch in Santiago, near the Mercado Central, when she suddenly stopped, put her hand on my arm and asked, "Would you like to see coffee with legs?"

Why not? I say. And with that, she led me across a narrow road to a low building with a door way hung with strands of beads.

Parting the beads, she stepped inside and I followed her into the coffee bar / cafe.

The floor was rustic -- covered in sawdust, if memory serves. Along one wall to my left, a long bar spanned the length of the large room.

Several men stood at the bar, and a few were seated at the small tables in the room, drinking coffee delivered to them by an all-female wait staff.

These lady servers were wearing fishnet stockings, short skirts, high heels, revealing clothing and / or topless, and showing lots of leg; hence the name ' coffee with legs.' Other than these female servers, my guide and I were the only other women in the cafe, and beat a hasty retreat.

More Traditional Chile Food ~ Click a Picture and go!