Distinguished selection by Opinionated About Dining recognizing top restaurants across South America for exceptional culinary experiences.
How many of these have you visited?
Discover on Pearl
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Casa Julián brings the Basque asador tradition — open-fire grilling rooted in northern Spain — to Guayaquil's Parque Histórico district, with chef Matías Gorrotxategi carrying lineage from one of the Basque Country's most respected grilling families. Recognised by Opinionated About Dining's 2025 South America list and a fixture in OAD's European Casual rankings, it occupies a rare position: a fire-forward grill house earning recognition across two continents.
Mendoza, Argentina
Among Luján de Cuyo's winery restaurants, Ruca Malen occupies a distinct position: a Michelin Plate recipient for consecutive years and an Opinionated About Dining South America selection for 2025, with contemporary cuisine from Chef Mariano Gallego that is as tied to the Andean foothills as the vines outside. This is a wine country lunch destination that earns its place in the region's serious dining conversation, not merely its tourism circuit.
São Paulo, Brazil
Bar da Dona Onça occupies a corner of Centro Histórico on Avenida Ipiranga, where chef Janaína Torres has built one of São Paulo's most argued-over addresses for modern Brazilian cooking. Recognised by Opinionated About Dining's 2025 South America list, the bar format signals its intent: this is a place where the menu reads as a position statement on what Brazilian food should look and taste like today.
Lima, Peru
Panchita anchors Miraflores's criollo dining tradition with the kind of menu that treats Peruvian comfort food as a serious discipline. Under chef Jimmy Zamora, the kitchen draws on anticuchos, stews, and slow-cooked cuts that most upscale Lima addresses have quietly sidelined. A 2025 Opinionated About Dining recognition confirms the wider critical consensus: this is a room worth planning your evening around.
Santiago, Chile
Among Santiago's most recognised seafood addresses, La Calma by Fredes in Vitacura operates on a strict daily-catch model: no frozen product, fair-trade sourcing, and a menu shaped by Chile's extended Pacific coastline. Ranked No. 67 on the Latin America's 50 Best extended list in 2023 and featured in Opinionated About Dining's 2025 South America rankings, it sits at the serious end of the city's fish-focused dining tier.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Roux holds a Michelin Plate and consecutive Opinionated About Dining rankings among South America's top restaurants, placing it firmly within Buenos Aires's compact tier of serious seafood-focused addresses. Chef Martín Rebaudino works a contemporary format at Peña 2300 in Recoleta, with a kitchen that prioritises raw preparation and crudo technique alongside cooked seafood. Open Tuesday through Saturday for both lunch and dinner, closed Sundays.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
A 22-cover restaurant in Villa Crespo, Julia Buenos Aires applies rigorous product discipline to Argentine ingredients, limiting each dish to five seasonal components. Recognised with a Michelin Plate in 2025 and a place on Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in South America list, it operates at the quieter, more considered end of Buenos Aires's modern dining tier.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Oro brings two Michelin stars to Leblon's dining strip, where Felipe Bronze works a contemporary register that draws on Italian technique and Brazilian ingredients in equal measure. Consistently ranked among South America's top restaurants by Opinionated About Dining and La Liste, it operates Tuesday through Saturday on Av. Gen. San Martin — a short walk from the beach, a longer commitment at the table.
Lima, Peru
In Barranco, Lima's most atmospheric neighbourhood for nightlife, Lady Bee operates at the intersection of serious cocktail craft and small-plate cooking. With a 4.7 Google rating across 281 reviews and recognition from Opinionated About Dining's 2025 South America list, it occupies a specific tier in Lima's bar scene where the drinks program and the food arrive at equal weight. Chef Gabriela León leads the kitchen.
Santiago, Chile
Bocanáriz is a wine bar on Lastarria's most active stretch, recognised by Opinionated About Dining's 2025 South America list and holding a 4.5 Google rating across more than 4,100 reviews. The format pairs Chilean-focused wine selections with small plates designed for sharing, making it a practical reference point for the country's wine regions without leaving Santiago's most walkable neighbourhood.
Cusco, Peru
Pía León's Cusco address on Nazarenas 223 places modern Peruvian cooking at altitude, drawing on Andean ingredients with the same precision that earned her Lima projects international attention. Recognised on the Opinionated About Dining 2025 list for South America, Mauka occupies a distinct tier among Cusco's serious restaurants — more technically demanding than the city's traditional kitchens, more rooted in place than its tourist-facing contemporaries.
Find out on Pearl and keep score across every place in 2025 OAD Top Restaurants in South America.
Overview
The 2025 OAD South America list features 11 restaurants across 5 countries and 8 cities. La Calma by Fredes in Santiago tops the ranking, followed by São Paulo's Bar da Dona Onça and Casa Julián in Guayaquil. The list represents a complete refresh from 2024, with all 11 venues appearing for the first time while 56 previous entries dropped out.
This edition marks a dramatic reshuffling for OAD's South America rankings. The entire top 10 consists of new entrants, with La Calma by Fredes replacing Le Central at the number one position. Chile and Argentina each claim two spots in the top 10, while Peru places three venues—two in Lima (Lady Bee and Panchita) plus Mauka in Cusco. Brazil's representation splits between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with Bar da Dona Onça and Oro respectively. Ecuador's sole entry is Casa Julián in Guayaquil. The complete turnover—zero retained venues from 2024—signals a significant shift in how OAD's reviewers are evaluating South American dining, with 56 previously ranked restaurants falling off the list entirely.
The 2025 OAD list for South America underwent a complete overhaul. All 11 restaurants are new to the ranking, replacing every venue from the previous year's edition. Santiago's La Calma by Fredes leads the field, with São Paulo's Bar da Dona Onça in second and Guayaquil's Casa Julián third. The compact list spans 8 cities across 5 countries, with Lima contributing two entries (Lady Bee and Panchita) and Buenos Aires matching that count with Roux and Julia. Previous top-ranked restaurant Le Central didn't make the cut, alongside 55 other former entries.
OAD's 2025 South America edition represents the most dramatic year-over-year change in the ranking's history for this region. The complete absence of carryover venues—zero restaurants retained from 2024—means establishments like Le Central, Mil Centro, and Boragó, which previously anchored the list, have been replaced entirely. The geographic distribution shows concentration in traditional culinary capitals: Chile claims three spots (La Calma by Fredes, Bocanáriz, both in Santiago), Peru also takes three (Mauka in Cusco, plus Lima's Lady Bee and Panchita), Argentina lands two Buenos Aires entries (Roux and Julia), and Brazil splits its two placements between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The top 10 skews toward smaller, more intimate venues compared to previous editions that emphasized destination fine dining. Ecuador's inclusion with Casa Julián in Guayaquil marks a notable shift, as the country has historically had minimal representation on the list. The 11-restaurant count represents a significant contraction from previous editions, suggesting either stricter evaluation criteria or a narrower surveyor base. With 56 restaurants dropping out and 11 new entries appearing, the list effectively resets the conversation about what OAD reviewers consider essential South American dining experiences.
