Restaurants in Pucon

Pucón has a good selection of cafes that serve onces, the popular late-afternoon coffee-and-cakes snack, in addition to a lunch menu. Café de la P, Lincoyán 395 (tel. 45/442018; www.cafedelap.com), has a menu with sandwiches, cakes, coffee drinks, and cocktails. It's a nice place to unwind with a drink in the evening and is open until 4am in the summer. Cafetería Suiza, O'Higgins 116 (tel. 45/441241), has a menu with everything from milkshakes to full-fledged entrees, and does a booming business with the Santiago crowd in the summer.

Patagonia, Fresia 223 (tel. 45/443165), holds the Cassis chocolate shop inside, and is a great place to get a tea and a piece of cake on a rainy day or a multiflavored ice-cream cone in the heat of the summer. Their outside patio is my favorite spot for onces, not to mention people-watching, as is the laid-back patio at California-style health food cafe Trawen (O'Higgins 311; tel. 45/442024). For Chilean comfort food, try RAP Hamburguer (tel. 45/443336), at O'Higgins 619, which serves up massive burgers stacked with eggs, avocado, or whatever else you have in mind.