Restaurant Viva La Vida — Restaurant in Providencia

I came here because they offered vegetarian/vegan options on their menu. We ended up having the 'pastel de choclo vegetariano'. My partner was complaining about it tasting like meat but since i had ordered the same thing i assured him that it was soy meat and it was all in his head. Fast forward to the end of the meal when we were packing the remainder in a take out container that i saw the difference side by side. The soy meat was a dark colour while the meat in question was much lighter. I tasted his dish and IT WAS MEAT. I called over our waiter and let him know and he said that it wouldnt be an issue because they were both the same price.. I said it doesnt matter because we are not paying for the meat one. He called over the manager. I told the manager to try it and he took it to the kitchen and they all disagreed with me. I even told the manager that we get sick with meat and that it was unfair to charge us for something im absolutely positive is meat. He said that I wouldnt know the taste since its been so long since I had meat. Either way the manager refused to bend for us and forced us to pay for a meat dish we didnt ask for and now my partner is feeling very ill and already threw up. The way they handled that was very unprofessional. Would...

My friend and I had a 10hr layover in Santiago so decided to visit San Cristobal Hill. Unfortunately for us it was 5 degrees (“felt like” 2 degrees) windy, pouring rain with low visibility. We turned up at Viva là Vida absolutely soaking wet and freezing. It looked like it was closed and we soon found out it was because there was a blackout and they weren’t operating but Daniel welcomed us in. He brought over a big gas heater and lay our wet jackets near it to dry. We sat there, just the two of us in the dark, with only a candle for lighting and enjoyed a delicious pisco sour and some Chilean specialties (ones they were able to cook with gas). Daniel was attentive, making sure we were comfortable and chatting to us about wine, which he was very knowledgeable. They stayed open until a taxi arrived to take us back to the airport and he even spoke to our driver on the phone in Spanish when he turned up at the wrong location. Although our day in Chile was extremely chilly, the service and hospitality at Viva là Vida was nothing but warm. We would love to come back and have the true Viva là...

Located near the bar street, this is one of the few Chilean restaurants in the area. Juan provided excellent service—when he learned we wanted to try traditional Chilean dishes, he took the time to introduce each one to us. What was most commendable was that when he found out we preferred tap water instead of bottled water (which usually comes with a charge in South American restaurants), he went out of his way to crush ice for us even though they didn’t have tap water available. It’s worth noting that most restaurants in South America typically serve paid bottled water. On top of that, the Chilean food here is exceptional, especially the Paila Marina—a mussel and fish soup that was incredibly fresh and delicious 😋 Highly...