Chipe Libre - República Independiente del Pisco

It was the last evening of our trip to Chile last October, and throughout the trip, I had not had a Pisco Sour yet, so of course, we went to Chipe Libre! The bar area right past the entrance is dark but opened into an airy, light dining area with interesting decorations. Our server was kind and attentive. Not that we noticed, but EVERY server in this place was very handsome. While not why we came and certainly shouldn't be the draw, it was a perk for us.😆 The Pisco Sour was delicious, and the empanada appetizer was tasty. Our mains were good - a vegetarian mix for my friend who had had too much meat in this meat forward nation - and a seafood platter for me. The dishes were fine, but, if I ever return to Santiago, I would stop by drinks and appetizers.

Had a great experience at this restaurant. Was recommended by someone so we went to try it. First we had the cold mix seafood and it was a tad strange but really good! Next we both had the fish of the day and wow!! This was great and the flavor was really really good and yes was a local fish. Drink wise I had their best pisco strait with ice and my wife had a mixed drink with pisco. Both were really good. Service was overall fast even though we did have to flag down our waiter a few times. Overall for the price and quality I think was well worth it. Wish I had more time to try more on the menu. Great experience!

I went here with the various pisco drinks in mind, but also had dinner with a couple of people. We were disappointed in the service. The food was pretty good, nothing special. Drinks were fantastic. I would recommend only going for a drink or two and then leaving so you don't have to wait forever for your adequate food to arrive.

First: Priscila excelent attendant. Patient and very helpful. This is my fifth time in Santiago. I have to say that I just did it wrong in the last four times. Come to Chile and not go to Chipe Libre is wrong, very wrong. This is an amazing place. The ambient is superb. The street is so nice. The drinks are unbelievable. Take a Tiki Mapu and a Don Chipe. Just do it. Last but not least, the food! Oh my god the food! Great! Just great! I choose the sea food mix with vegetables and rice, one of the best things that I ever ate in my life (and I live in São Paulo, um get used to eat in great and nice places). Chipe libre is one of top 3 restaurants I ever went. Thank you all!

We ordered pisco flights (southern Chilean, premium Chilean) as well as ceviche and empanadas. When the bartender dropped off the drinks he said to wait, because someone would come by to explain them—after 10 minutes I gave up and started drinking, no idea which was which. The ceviche was quite good and I’d order it again. The empanadas were mediocre, don’t recommend. The atmosphere is very catered to tourists. Service was bad as other reviews mention, even though the restaurant was fairly empty during our time.

Delicious pisco sour and a huge variety of pisco as well, the waiter can recommend direct styles. Excellent food and nice ambiance. Pricy but worth it imo

We arrived a while before our reservation and the staff was very kind to quickly accommodate us. The bartender was great and the cocktails were delicious! The food was delicious. The meat tender and flavorful. The vegetarian was also tasty!

Excellent service and food. We had the “menu del dia” and omg… incredible value! Pisco sours: sublime. We had “bonito” for the main course and it was cooked to perfection. Special thanks to Alejandra who hosted us and looked after us so well. A place to keep coming back!

Right across the street from our hotel Cumbres was this fantastic place. The host, in English, seated us immediately on a gorgeous patio with mist to keep us cool. I ordered the Lourdes, great refreshing, ginger based drink. Had the empanadas and added French fries. Plenty for me for lunch. Husband had Surf and Turf and it was excellent, shrimp, fish, beef, chicken and more. Service and atmosphere were excellent.

I have l had the menu delivered dia and a dozen oysters . The oysters were smallish and on the cusp of freshness. I included the dessert with the menu del dia and there was dinner confusion on the bill regarding this issue, but the manager fixed it. Best pisco sour in town.

Popped in for a nightcap of coffee, brownie a la mode, and a pisco flight :P It was all very tasty. They had many different pisco flight options from the more traditional chilean piscos, to the peruvian piscos, to premium chilean, and even a barrel-aged flight! I tried the barrel aged, and they were all pretty tasty, with the last one resembling more of a scotch taste. I would recommend it to any "neat" drinkers :)

Chipe Libre was one of the restaurants we were most excited to try for dinner in Santiago based on the positive reviews, but our experience was a bit lacking and I'd probably rate them more like a 3.5. We came without a reservation for dinner, but were seated after a short 5-10 minute wait. They have a main indoor space, a bar, and an outdoor covered patio in the back. We sat outside. There are menus in English and Spanish, and we ordered the flat iron steak, a salad, and ceviche. Service is definitely slower in Chile, but even taking that into account, it seemed to take forever to get our food. The wait in between our starters and the main entree did not feel reasonable. Several other tables got all their food, paid, and left during that time. Finally, the steak ended up being a bit disappointing. It was cooked well done and came out looking quite small and sad. If you're prioritizing drinks and ambience, I'm sure this place would be great. For food, we found better alternatives like Mulato nearby.

This is a wonderful option for drinking or dining! The food is all savory and delicious. They even offer vegetarian options like Thai food and tofu. The empanadas are solid. Everything tastes good! The cocktails are delicious, especially those with pisco. It's wonderful that they also offer pisco flights so you can try each kind individually. Indoor seating is available by reservation plus outdoor patio seating might be your only option if you walk in. Service is very prompt in any case, and English menus are offered.

Visited on a Monday around 4:00pm lots of tables and bar space available so was seated quickly. Menu has a huge selection of piscos, cuban/peruvian food options as well. Drinks: La Temptation - sweet, fruity and tropical with a slightly thicker texture, delicious and dangerous didn't pick up much Pisco flavor Vegetarian ceviche - really tasty, I got the chili dressing which tasted citrusy with a bit of spice, ceviche had a blend of strawberry, mango, crispy corn and hominy, along with red onion and sweet potato Service was good, served promptly and staff could communicate in English with ease. Overall I enjoyed my experience and would recommend a visit while traveling in Santiago.

I love a pisco sour, but if you want to know what else you can do with pisco, come here! The cocktails were all delicious, we had six different ones between two people. The food was great, I am still dreaming about the sashimi dish we had. Our favorite spot we tried in Santiago!

What a lovely experience!! I came specifically for the Pisco Sour, but thoroughly enjoyed the food, flavor and service!! Just wow. I probably ordered one too many drinks but I wanted to try them all. If I find my way back to Chile, I will come again! What a gem

It was the best restaurant for Pisco and of course we were happy with the food, service, and casual atmosphere!! Loved it

We weren't too hungry for dinner, but we stopped by and had a seafood chowfa and a vegan ceviche. We expected the chowfa to be like a fried rice with the rice and seafood mixed together, but the seafood was a stir fry with a small bowl of fried rice served on the side. It was very delicious and the portions size was very generous. The vegan ceviche was quite good too - as we were just looking for a side salad to accompany our meal.

Fantastic Pisco Sours. We tasted Piscos from Peru and Chile and my wife and I were split one which one is better- so a win-win :). Food was decent as well. Limited vegetarian options but the thai option was delicious.

Great place to try Pisco in a hip happening neighborhood. Do tell the Chileans that I like the Peruvian Pisco better. It's less sweet. We shared 2 lovely appetizers. The salmon tartar and the Japanese tuna. Charming handsome Columbian waiter too!

Solid place to drink Pisco. Great and vast selection. Started with some cocktails and then moved on to flights. We learned a lot here. Tried some great flights including the herbal and grand flights. Considered a return later in the evening. Service was very laid back.

Absolutely delicious! This is such a top quality restaurant from the decor to the food. We enjoyed every bite of the beef with tomatoes and fries. The oysters were from Chile and different than what I'm used to but we ate every one and enjoyed their unique brine!

Our son (who is spending a semester in Santiago) brought us here. It didn't disappoint! We had a sharing lunch special that came with drinks (Pisco Sour was excellent) All food was delicious Definitely worth stopping here.

I don't even know where to start with this one. This restaurant is so good I can't even describe it. Everything on the menu looks so good you don't even need to read anything. Just order and you'll like it. The surf and turf has chicken that is the texture of a marshmallow. It has beef to die for. It has cuddlefish that is like candy. It has zucchini cooked to perfection. There is a raspberry juice that is unlike any juice in the word. They have empanada that are made minutes before. I'm in shock at how good this food was.

I really wanted to rate this restaurant much higher. The food is fantastic, not a single off note; and the space is beautiful and lively. But the service was uniformly poor. We waited over 25 minutes for a server to even acknowledge that we existed. Some made eye contact and just walked right by, more than once. We had to practically grab a server to get them to take our order. Then, it took a very long time for them to bring a cocktail and a bottle of water, long after our appetizers were already served. After that, the service was fine - until we had to ask for our check. And ask. And ask. And ask. Another 25 minutes passed until we could finally pay and leave, with the same waitstaff ignoring us as if we were invisible. Other tables were receiving food and finishing their meals in a prompt fashion; we had plenty of time to watch them. It's not as if we were the only tourists in the place: they have a QR code for TripAdvisor right on their menu, so surely they expect a partly-tourist crowd. Maybe we were just seated at a bad table. But SOMEONE on the waitstaff should have taken responsibility and ensured we received proper service, particularly after the poor start of the meal. I really wanted to come back here again. I will not.

The restaurant was clean and modern looking. The menu has a range of options. I ended up with a seafood stir fry that was fresh and tasty. I'm sorry to say that I have very little Spanish, but much of the staff was bilingual which allowed me to get by on English. They were patient, efficient and accommodating.

Had 2 hours to kill in Santiago! The staff was super sweet and the food was amazing! Had the salmon with quinoa and it was amazing!

Not quite ready to leave Santiago and still a little hungry, I stepped into Chipe Libre after spotting the Chilean equivalent of the "People love us on Yelp" decal in their front window. It's a lovely restaurant, perhaps a little touristy, but you'll get past that quickly. Starting off with a flight of piscos, my waiter was very helpful with getting me their wifi code and I was now ready to start cranking out Yelp reviews and getting just a little bit liquidated on the booze. I chose the "Artisan" flight and got three nice pours of pisco in separate glasses to taste. Honestly, I don't know which was which and I'm no piso authority but they were all quite intoxicating and very tasty. For my second course, I opted for the seafood ceviche. It was awesome. Aside from being a huge portion of fish that was just a little spicy and more than a lot flavorful, it included some roasted and (boiled?) corn. I cleared the plate. Delicious. John Carlos did not mind that I sat here taking up one of his tables for close to two hours. Service was excellent. Food was excellent. I'd return here for sure.

delicious pisco bar & restaurant nestled in Barrio Lastarria. beautiful atmosphere, w cute design and concept. make sure to call ahead for reservations or be willing to sit at the bar! + this bar is famous for their pisco. they have SO many variety of piscos. i first opted for the pisco flight, being warned by the bartender that it'd be very strong. (it was basically just three shots of different types of pisco lol) couldn't even have more than a sip, so he remade my drink to a traditional blended pisco sour for free. (so sweet!) the drink was delicious. + ceviche!!! they have around 8 different types of ceviche. i opted for the fish & shrimp, and it was incredibly fresh. generous serving that easily could have been split. + skirt steak and potatoes. the steak was SOOO TENDER!!!!! i woke up at 3am after passing out and was suddenly craving it again All in all, delicious restaurant and bar nestled in one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Santiago. Will definitely come back on my next visit... and order a mixed cocktail over a flight!

First time in Santiago and just for a night. Didn't want to eat at my hotel so Time to check out Yelp. Lots of stars for Chipe Libre, whatever and wherever that is, so into a taxi. Arrived on a pretty popular street on a Saturday night. Tons of street art and craft vendors with all sorts of tourists and locals milling around having a seemingly pleasant evening out. It was actually pretty early, about 6:30 or 7, and I'd heard things don't get going til later in Santiago, but I was hungry. Chipe was open and we got seated quickly. Servers were super hip looking with tats, earrings, and cool doos. Yet all super friendly. English menus no problem. We had a couple drinks. Some sort of tiki drink and a virgin drink to go along. Both super tasty with an awesome presentation. I also had a pisco sour. Delish. I had originally tried to order a pisco flight but the waiter talked me out of it thinking I would rather have a "drink" and not a line of shots. Kids these days. Should have told him BRING IT TO ME and the Tiki mug drink! So I'd mos def try the Pisco flight if I can get back here Food was really good. We had the empanadas, a braised beef plate, and a meat sandwich called el Presidente. Too much food for us. Almost full after the empanadas. We couldn't finish the other plates, but at least we got the taste. Not exactly a bargain to eat here (out about 80 bucks all said and done), but certainly worth it. I'd say hit the drink menu, have and appetizer, and split an entree. If you're still hungry, go back to the drink menu!

While I write this review I remember of extraordinary experience I had at Chipe Libre. This was probably my best meal at Santiago, and you can add to that a great service and a cool environment. If I go to Santiago would definitely go back. We were 4 people and mainly ordered everything to share. The highlights of our lunch were the tuna ceviche, the octopus and the empanadas. Everything was cooked to perfection and nicely presented (pictures). Moreover, the pisco cocktails were all delicious and our waiter was very accurate in his recommendations. If you are in Santiago and want to have a great ceviche, a couple of drinks and be in a cool environment, Chipe Libre is the right spot.

A great meal right across the street from our hotel! We were tired after spending the entire day walking around and didn't want to wander very far for dinner. The place seems very lively and our waiter was so friendly despite the fact that they couldn't speak English well. The restaurant seems to specialize in pisco and there were 2 whole pages on the menu dedicated to pisco flights. I had no idea what pisco was and our waiter tried very hard to explain the flights to us. He tried to say something along the lines of how pisco to Chile is like tequila to Mexico haha Unfortunately, I was not aware that a flight basically meant 3 shots of Pisco, and I was not in the mood to take shots that night. I tried sipping on them but they burned so much that I ended up just not drinking my flight. Definitely should have gotten a mixed drink like a pisco sour instead.. but A+ for effort on my waiter for trying! We ordered empanadas to start and shared the baked hake dish (since we weren't super hungry). The empanadas were good but nothing out of the ordinary since we had so many good empanadas in Argentina and Chile. The baked hake was AMAZING. The fish was super flakey and tasted great with the frittata underneath. My boyfriend kept saying the rest of the trip that this was his favorite thing that he ate in South America. 5 stars just for the baked hake!

Bustling restaurant serving about 80 people when we had late lunch there (2:30pm) - we couldn't get in the previous day after 7pm. Pisco sour was perfect. Ceviche appetizers were solid "A"s. Salmon Tartare was a B-. Steak was delicious. Service was efficient, but not rushed. Portions are generous, but not crazy huge. 4 appetizers and 3 entrees easily fed 5 of us.

Found it by just walking by, reviews looked really good so I gave it a try. Not disappointed, the atmosphere was really nice with great salsa music hits background -if you like salsa-, there are more Pisco sour combinations that what I ever heard of. Waiter was very polite and knowledgeable, went by his recommendation and it was very on point. The octopus was really good too, I liked the flavor and texture, the potatoes were on point and with great flavor too. Definitely worth to stop by. Cheers!

We are here on our last day in Chile. The food, drinks and service were amazing. Most servers speak English. I highly recommend this place if you're interested in pisco from various parts of South America.

We originally wanted to go to Bacanariz since we've heard so much about that restaurant. When we arrived around 8:30 p.m, we were informed that they wouldn't have availability until 11 p.m. so we went next door as Chipe Libre had good reviews on Trip Advisor. We were able to sit outside immediately and we had a group on 7 people. They had heaters and the top was covered, which was nice. The waiter even offered to get us blankets. We ordered beef empanadas as an appetizer, the crust was a little thick, but still crispy and flavorful with sautéed onions in the inside. We got the chaufa (seafood) which had an assortment of seafood including shrimp, mussels, veggies- a bit bland. We also got a beef filet which was very tender, but didn't have a lot of spices to it. I honestly wasn't amazed by this restaurant in Santiago.

I've been back in the states for a few weeks from Chile and for the life of me, I cannot stop thinking about this place. The food here is magnificent. The different choices in ceviche varying in heat levels and sweetness are plentiful and the dishes we tried, pilpil de pollo y camaron was simply amazing. So much so that we visited this place twice during our 3 day stay in Santiago. And pisco sours. My goodness. I tried the pisco flights and boy are those bad boys strong. There are a ton of different pisco sours to try so take your time in reading the description of each, and pick the one you feel best fits your palate. Our last night there we decided to sit at the bar and were greeted and entertained by the lovely Jorge for our 2 hour stay. He indulged us in Chilean history, culture, food and simply made this restaurant unforgettable. If you want s tasty dinner and great craft drinks, look no further. Treat yourself and enjoy!! Cheers!

So glad we found this place. If you are interested they have flights of pisco. Lots and lots of piscos. We stuck to the tried and true Pisco Sour with Waqar! So excellent! We both had ceviches that were so good. Don't miss out on this place!

Don't let them sit you in the "terrace" area at the back--it's a SMOKING SECTION they did not tell us about. 1. The ceviche is great--5 stars. 2. The waitress was not great. She was defensive with our questions. 3. The table they put us at SUCKED--besides being in smoking section, it was against a wall of dying bamboo (which is ironic since bamboo is impossible to get rid of, usually). The dead leaves were falling on the table! I asked to change and they were not very accommodating. 4. We were halfway through dinner when two women came back and stood 20 yards from us to smoke. That was our first indication this was a smoking section--there were not ash trays on every table and they didn't tell us when we sat down. Even though the ceviche was second only to that of Costa Rica, I would NEVER return to this restaurant. BTW--the breaded shrimp were awful. They were supposed to be warm and were cold. We sent them back and they took it off the bill.

While out in Santiago for a few nights, my friends and I decided to walk into this place on a whim. We liked how it looked on the outside, and were not disappointed upon entering. The bar/restaurant is dimly light with red accents, there's a comfy-earthy vibe in here. We seemed to get here just in time, as the place started to fill up around dinner time. Nice, young, vibe. The drink menu was impressive, so many different piscos and wines to try from Chile and Peru. Not only was the drink menu extensive, but it also came in English. This was a huge plus since we had been struggling to communicate in Spanish, but hey, that's half the fun of traveling. My two friends got two different pisco flights. I preferred the more floral flight, but I don't remember what it was called. I got a classic pisco sour, as well as one infused with pomegranate if I remember correctly. You really can't go wrong with the cocktail menu... we all had a few and liked all of them. As far as the food goes, we got empanadas to start and entrees all round. Everything was cooked perfectly, I wish I could remember the names of them. Seemed to be classic Chilean dishes with a little bit of a twist. Prices were a little pricey, but we didn't mind splurging on nice drinks and a meal.

Hidden freakin gem of a bar. Their specialties include anything with Pisco, and wine and beer. Ceviche was Peruvian style and so deliciously fresh. True gastropub - bartender was amazing - using flowers, curry, cinnamon and flames! Best atmosphere we've experienced yet in Santiago.

Chipe Libre has hands down the best Pisco Sour in Santiago! Coupled with cebiche...delicious!

The service was exceptional! Ambience is great as well. My husband and I only tried the Pisco flights but the waiters were so kind and tried their best to accommodate our Spanish or lack there of. They were kind, patient and informative. Further the actual restaurant had a wonderful atmosphere ...we sat on the patio which had giant palm trees raising up from the ground and a few pieces of great art work. The owner was so nice and actually was the one to seat us! Our pisco flights were super strong so if you're looking to try some authentic pisco straight this is the place. Also, they have menus in English which Are rare! Would definitely go back!

I was in Santiago (staying in Lastarria) for a week for work. Visited Chipe Libre three times and had an exceptional experience each time. Fantastic cocktails and pisco flights. Delicious menu (esp the flank steak and suspira). Very easygoing staff. Had a blast.

Great service. Great food. Great location. Had delicious Pisco sours. Amazing ceviche. Highly recommended.

Stumbled upon this restaurant when exploring Barrio Lastarria today. We are visiting from the United States. Dominique was an amazing waitress! She was attentive, informative, and personable! She was also knowledgeable about the menu and the history of pisco which was a nice surprise for us. We probably would not have known the mission of the restaurant had we not had an English-speaking server so we lucked out. The food was fantastic! We tried eggplant lasagna, braised beef on a corn soufflé, and the dessert sampler. For drinks I got the "pisco is in the air" and my mom got some chocolate and coffee drink with alto del Carmen (?) pisco and Kahlúa. They were delicious and strong at the same time (thanks to the bartender Jorge/George(?)). I can't wait to try more pisco drinks in the future and I would never have known to had I not come to Chipe Libre and had Dominique as a waitress. I hope to return before the end of my vacation.

We loved this place! Claudio (who was our server was wonderful). He made the best suggestions, was patient, attentive and cares how our experience was! The ceviche was like none other. We also had classics like empanadas and Pil-PIl. Literally all was so good and we travel a lot and live in Chicago where the restaurants are incredible. I put this up there. We are here a week and will likely go back.

Pretty cool bar and restaurant. Still very crowded at 10:30pm and had a line waiting. Good selection of infused pisco. Speaks English.

Terrific restaurant as it had all three; food, service and atmosphere. Had my first Pisco Sour (Cilean and Peruvian). Delicious to say the least. Waiter was very professional but not overbearing and we were located in an open courtyard in the back of the restaurant that was a great setting. We went the small plate route and had a mix of empanadas, grilled octopus, flank steak and a variety of cheeses and cured meats. Desert was a series of ice creams that was homemade and delicious. The restaurant was completely full at our 8:30 seating and there is a reason for being at capacity. Chipe Libre is a restaurant of extremely high quality

My family and I came here for lunch on our first day in Santiago and we loved it! The restaurant is located in the trendy Lastarria neighborhood and the decor fit the neighborhood but was also pretty low key. We started our meal with a delicious pisco sour, as well as as empanadas and ceviche as appetizers. For the main course, we shared the octopus with spicy potatoes and the seafood pil pil. Everything was tasty, fresh, and flavorful, and the portions were large. The service was great, and they have English menus in case you don't speak Spanish.

A must-have on my list of drinks to try while in Chile was pisco, and CHPE Libre was the best place to check off this item! Not only do they serve Chilean pisco, but also Peruvian (hence the name of the restaurant, CHPE). The atmosphere was great for dinner, English menus were available, and the employees we interacted with spoke English. Our waiter recommended some delicious cocktails, and when we went back a second time for drinks at the bar, we were impressed by the skills of the bartender. Not to mention the food we ordered was delicious!

Delicious cocktails (including a wide array of pisco-based cocktails, of course), delicious snacks, great atmosphere. We were disappointed by the overrated Bocanariz next door, but Chipe Libre definitely lives up to the hype.

Popped in here for a cocktail before having dinner at one of the restaurants on this street. Did not eat here, so comments are related to drinking only. One thing that notable about this place is that it does have a bar, where you can sit and have drinks/cocktails. I mention this, because in my travels I don't recall encountering a lot of places that had a bar area where patrons could sit and have a drink. So, if that's something that is of interest to you, then this is a good place to check out. As others have mentioned, it does have a cool vibe inside. The menu revolves around building cocktails with piscos from either Peru or Chile. The English menu does have an explanation of the history of pisco, and if I recall correctly both countries claiming the spirit as their own (from a national identity perspective). Hence the name of the place (half Peru and half Chile). My friend and I each opted for a cocktail, though must admit it took some time to decide as there were many interesting options. The bartender, who spoke excellent English, was able to make a recommendation based on indecision which was great. The drinks are hand-crafted and do take some time to make (that and a relatively full restaurant causes things to slow down a little). The drinks are worth the wait. One of the better cocktails I had while I was in Santiago. Even though we were there for drinks only, the bartender did bring out some fried plaintains and dip. The next day while walking through the neighborhood on the free walking tour of Santiago, our guide mentioned this place as a good place to check out for drinks or dinner. While we left Chipe pleased with our decision to stop in, it was nice to have the choice affirmed by a resident.

Excellent experience at CHPE last night. Had the ceviche, tuna tataki and octopus for the main. So good. Cocktails we're unique and tasty.

What a great place. My family and i went there for dinner tonight, were waited by John Carlos who was charming and attentive, We throughly enjoyed the meal. As you could imagine, we had Pisco Sours and a flight of Pisco to get things started, Next we had a ceviche with scallops, salmon, shrimp and squid. Nicely done with a bit of spice. Then empanadas and the main courses, including the fish soup were some of the best I have ever had. This is a great spot.

The variety of cocktails are fantastic. Good south American music. Seating is fine - Bar or table. Food menu isn't special.

Cool artisan drinks and vibe. Food also very good. Sat at the bar and had great service with bartender! Solid place.

Lovely dinner here our first night in Chile. Oysters, Ceviche, and pil pil. Casual atmosphere, great service, delicious food.