Mercado Central

By Peter Anderson

All photographers and seafood lovers visiting Santiago, Chile should head along Calle Puente to the Mercado Central (Central Market). This market is not only a culinary feast, but also a sight and sound fiesta.

A striking wrought-iron building, built in England and assembled in Chile, houses the city’s principal food market. The seafood is shipped in every morning. With 4,300 kilometres of coastline, Chile offers an impressive variety of seafood from which to choose, and every day this treasure trove of fresh sea-fare makes its way to the Mercado Central. So varied is the selection that you can even find 10 different types of clams.

The pack of hawkers and fishmongers vying for your attention can at times overwhelm the senses, but the noise and the colours are part of the market atmosphere; be sure to bring your bargaining skills. In the morning hours the market overflows with Chileans shopping for the fresh daily catch of fish and local produce. A number of places also double as restaurants, so you can choose your fish, then sit down and take a bite right out of the ocean. Just remember to order your fish a la plancha (grilled)—otherwise the waiter will assume you want it fried. The market is also a great place to sample some of the country’s national dishes. Erizo (sea urchins) and loco (abalone) are popular, as are fried congrio (an eel-like fish with thick white meat) and corvina (sea bass).

Originally built as an exhibition hall for Chilean painters and craftsman, Mercado Central was artfully constructed and offers its own unique architectural edge. Its life as an artists’ market was short lived, however, and the government soon determined the building would better serve the community as a central market place for the hodgepodge of vendors and sellers scattered throughout  the city’s streets and plazas.

Not far from Mercado Central, and just across from the Plaza de Armas, via Ahumada and Huérfanos, is a pedestrian-friendly district packed with dozens of small shops, restaurants and, of course, the city’s famous “coffee with legs” establishments, so called because the waitresses wear eye-catching mini-skirted uniforms and serve coffee to locals on lunch breaks. Most coffee stands do not have chairs, so patrons simply stand, sip and watch the world go by (or at least watch the waitresses go by).  If you visit one establishment regularly, you will be surprised that the charming, mini-skirted girls will take time to have a friendly chat and offer advice on where to eat and what to see.

A cosmopolitan city, equipped with enough museums, restaurants, and artists’ haunts to rival any other world class metropolis, Santiago also plays host to a number of slightly more understated, but certainly no less interesting sites and sounds. The hectic Mercado Central is one such place, and a visit here is best savoured with an early morning stroll, mid-day side of fresh seafood, and perhaps, a late afternoon cup of java-with-legs.