La Marmita — Restaurant in Punta Arenas

I had high hopes for this restaurant. The ambiance was inviting, and the menu looked absolutely mouthwatering. I was genuinely excited to try their dishes, but unfortunately, my experience fell far short of my expectations.

Upon being seated, they brought an amuse-bouche: small bread rolls served with a salsa and a chicken mousse. While the idea was nice, the chicken mousse was completely bland, setting the tone for what was to come.

For my first course, I tried the ceviche, which came highly recommended by a fellow diner. Having tasted incredible ceviches in Peru, I was eager to compare, but sadly, this one didn’t deliver. The marinade lacked flavor, and the two types of fish—salmon and a white fish—were overcooked in the acidic juice, leaving the texture unpleasantly tough.

The second dish was a soup that involved a heated rock to keep it warm. It was quite the spectacle, as the soup began to boil when the rock was added. While it was visually impressive and tasted decent, the meat in the soup was disappointingly tough. Still, I’d say this was the best of the three dishes I tried.

Finally, I ordered the sweet corn pie. Based on the description, it sounded delicious, but it was the biggest letdown of the meal. The crust had an odd, unpleasant taste, and it was filled with unsalted mashed sweetcorn, topped with tomatoes and onions. The entire dish lacked seasoning and was an unappetizing mix of textures. I forced myself to eat it out of politeness but regretted every bite.

The only highlight of the evening was the attentive service. The staff was friendly and accommodating, but great service can’t make up for disappointing food.

Overall, this was a very underwhelming experience. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant unless major improvements are made to the quality and flavor...

My wife and I went here based on rave reviews and recommendations. I had their own bock beer (good) and my wife had an interesting basil pisco sour. We ordered fish soup, mussels for two, roasted lamb, hake, and eggplant. The fish soup had a few huge mussels and a weak broth. The mussels for two had a dozen huge mussels and a weak white wine sauce. The roasted lamb had been roasted for a while and was tender. It was accompanied by brown rice.. The hake was on top of tomato and onion. Beneath that was a bed of mashed potatoes. The eggplant was in tomato sauce and was accompanied by roasted baby potatoes. The lamb was good and the eggplant delicious. The fish soup and mussels were ok but uninspired. The hake was ordinary white fish on a bed of bland mashed potatoes. My wife enjoyed her meal but I found the food...

We visited because of the high reviews. It was one disappointing thing after another for us. It wasn't a very busy time when we went and still the food came out after a very long wait. I really enjoyed the staff etiquette and a lovely decor though. I ordered the seaweed dish with vegetables (Vegan dish) - honestly forgot what I got until I found the little bits of seaweed which just tasted like the rest of the vegetable mush. Staff also said it is with spicy sause but it was barely spiced and had to season a lot once I tasted it. My partner got the baked salmon with prawns and the top comments were, "dry" and "disappointing". If you want to spend your money for food that's worth it, I'd say try elsewhere. We can't comment on the other meat dishes though - could be a...