Valparaiso

Valparaiso es fantastico, coming from a trusted source Zama Ranaooo!
I love a place where the owner is hands on, what’s more he’s called Julio!!! Über cool non?
Chilean food, if this restaurant is anything to go by is all about seafood. Starters include fish soup, fresh mussels and smoked duck-​breast. The mains carry bit of diversity. The minced beef has rich texture and has sweetcorn sprinkled on. The paella Valparaiso also looked rather appealing, saffron rice, seafood and shredded beef in a tortilla wrap… how can you possibly say no to that!!!
Now I can’t wait to visit the country. Who knows I might bump into my childhood hero Ivan Zamarano!!! Isn’t that a beautiful thing? Go bless Globalization. Cheers Julio!!!

Valparaiso is the only Chilean restaurant in Liverpool, and I have heard many people question why. I’m not sure why they query this, as how often do you hear people suggest getting a Chilean for dinner tonight…
Anyway, to the restaurant… it seems like everyone else who has already reviewed, I was disappointed. I am a lover of trying new things, cuisines etc. and I do like South American food. This place just really didn’t do anything for me.
The food was bland and really, urm, sloppy I guess is the only word I can use to decribe it. The staff were rude, long waiting times, and pretty much every other cliché problem with a restaurant.

Chilean food is not something I’d normally think of when deciding where to eat but Valparaiso gave me good reason to keep it in mind from now on. It is a quirky place on Hardman street which has been around for over twenty years and it shows, this is a well run eatery which puts real effort into it’s’ food. There is a function room available upstairs if you feel like hosting a special event with a south American twist to it and Valparaiso definitely plays on all of its’ South American flair from food to decoration and generally everything about the place.
The food itself is okay and there is a large range of sea food available which I didn’t realise was a staple of the Chilean diet nonetheless it was impressive as was the variety of food available. The place is cosy and warm and was established by an actual Chilean refugee meaning that it really is an authentic place to eat your food.

Like Emma’s experience my first, and last, visit to Valparaiso was disappointing. I had heard excellent things about the fish but was dismayed to find that fish was, in fact, off that particular evening. I soldiered on manfully — I have wanted to eat Chilean food even since on a day wrapped in a duvet on the sofa and feeling sorry for myself I saw a TV special on the cuisine of the country. I ordered a steak and a glass of red wine which was, it must be said, excellent.
The steak was a long time coming — I’m not one to advocate that restaurants attempt to turn customers around quickly and of course people should be given time to enjoy the restaurant experience but this was just ridiculous. Almost forty-​five minutes I waited for the steak with no acknowledgement from the staff of the wait. By the time it came it was a decent enough steak, if a little bit greasy, but little care had been put into the accompanying food on the plate — it may just be me but as far as a steak goes, a little onion does a lot of work.
I’ll admit I lost my patience a little bit and decided to just get the bill. On the subject of the bill, as Emma says while not extortionate the prices at Valparaiso are hardly budget which wouldn’t be a problem if only the quality and service matched the price.

Oh dear… I really wanted to like Valparaiso, especially since I’d heard good things about it. Not for me, unfortunately. The staff struggled like crazy and waiting a whole half hour to be offered a drink is pretty spectacularly bad. It’s a very slow service here, I’d like to think it was just a bad night but I’ve done research and apparently this is a common problem.
The meat dishes tend to be rather overdone and the veggie options are a bit… bland. It’s a great shame because I’d been wanting to try Chilean food for a long time but this isn’t the greatest of examples. A lot of stuff tastes rather samey, smacking of mass-​produced sauces (I’m not saying they’re not homemade, I just think they cut corners by varying the same sauce a few ways). It wouldn’t be so bad if it was a cheap restaurant but it’s certainly not the most inexpensive option in Liverpool, so I was left mighty disappointed.
The music is a little obnoxiously loud, and I was upset to find that most of the fish dishes were off the menu too. Hopefully it’ll make some improvements quicksharp because it’s a great location and certainly has potential.