Borago – I figured out why people either love or hate this restaurant

Borago is a restaurant in Santiago, Chile that has consistently ranked among the World’s 50 Best. It currently sits at #29. However, when I was researching the place, I saw that people either love or hate it. This made me curious, and to be honest, I was leaning more towards preparing myself for disappointment after dining there. I had been to these restaurants before, all style no substance. However, I finished the dinner with a realization which is what this post is about. The meal starts with a pop up card which describes the restaurant’s philosophy. They want to highlight and use Chilean ingredients. This is something I respect.

Our first course was brought to the table beautifully presented, and we were told to untie the shells.

Inside was a beautiful presentation of Chilean abalone on one side and seaweed on the other. After my first bite, I realized why people don’t like the restaurant. If you are expecting a ton of umami, satisfying carbs, and/or lots of fat, this isn’t the restaurant for you. The flavors are clean and they let the ingredients and presentation speak for themselves. The flavors won’t make you say “wow” or blow you away. However, if you have a sophisticated palate, then you will understand what is going on here.

The next dish was Chilean oysters on a crispy leaf with some bread underneath. The bread DID have some umami to it as did the leaf. This dish was a little over seasoned.

The next dish was a beauty. A bee made of ricotta, Chilean alfalfa and truffle.

It came with a bowl of almond milk. We were told to bite the bee from the back, then dip the rest in the milk. After, drink the rest like a soup. Again, the flavors were clean but not “punch you in the face delicious”. It was still an enjoyable dish when the presentation was combined with appreciation for the ingredients.

The next dish were flowers on spaghetti sticks coated in tomato powder. They reminded me of tomato pocky sticks. One flower was made from berries, another mushroom and the last a root. Each one had a “fruit roll up” type cup that gave it a fun texture while chewing. The mushroom one was savory while the root was very floral and acidic.

The next dish was a scallop crudo.

It was presented with this seaweed tube filled with an acidic sauce that I was told to pour over top the scallop prior to eating. There was a delicate crunchy cracker underneath the crudo.

After the crudo was consumed, we were told to take the green leaf beside the rock the crudo was sitting on, and mop up the plate! I thought this was genius! I had thought the blue on the plate was painted and part of the design of the plate! It was actually a sauce!

The next dish was a “creme brulee” of veg broth and clams. The broth “custard” had a lot of umami.

After this came the bread course. It was a potato bread and butter. The bread was delicious and served very very warm.

The dish after that was probably the only miss of the night and I did not get the concept at all. Basically, they brought a bowl lined with pesto and some kind of local herbs. They then poured a broth of kollof roots into the bowl. I was told that it would taste like soy which they thought was weird because soy is fermented and the broth was not. Anyway, we were told to mix everything together and drink. The broth tasted more like a clam broth to me than soy. Also, I didn’t get the concept of mixing pesto and the leaves in which I thought added no value to the dish; some of the leaves tasted like sour grapes too.

After this it was time for the main course. King crab! The crab was cooked in seaweed and presented tableside.

It was to be placed on a plate of sea carrot custard cream and eaten all together. The crab was really good.

The final savory dish of the night was also the most beautiful in my opinion. First, a salad inspired by a famous Van Gough painting.

Then a slow cooked piece of lamb. The lamb was very tender with a good crispy crust. It was a bit over salted.

Moving on to dessert. We were presented with this shell, and inside, there was ice cream! It was a unique combo of three flavors including seaweed lemon. It was quite good.

After this, a mushroom ice cream bar.

…and finally, these one bite meringues that tasted like mint and had smoke coming out of my mouth for about 30 seconds. Very Fun!

As a side note, we also did the wine pairings which were all from Chile and I enjoyed every one. Service was almost flawless – 95%. They didn’t ask if we wanted still or sparkling water at the start. That was probably the biggest flaw in service. Presentation, as you can see from above, was stunning and fun. The dining room was modern and the perfect setting for this type of meal. Which leaves me to conclude on the food. If someone was looking for a restaurant to have their one “big” celebration meal of the year, or to get really full, or to get flavors that punch you in the face, this won’t be the restaurant for them. I think that if someone came to this meal and had not visited many other Michelin star or Top 50 restaurants, they would be disappointed (as there are many where the taste WILL blow you away). I think that if someone were starving, they would not be quickly satisfied here (although at the end, I was pretty full). Lastly, I think that if someone were expecting the flavors to blow them away, this is also not the spot. However, if someone has already visited a number of highly ranked restaurants and is looking for something unique where they can taste Chilean ingredients presented in a way that lets the ingredients shine, then they will appreciate what this restaurant is about. I would not return simply because it is an experience. A VERY VERY good one at that. However, I would encourage the right kind of diner, someone who I knew would appreciate the beautiful presentations and then cooking methods, to give it a try.

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