‹ Study abroad on a budget › Chile
Student eats · November 2026
Studying abroad in Santiago
Every meal here costs CLP 10.000 or less.
About $10 US. Typical prices, checked November 2, 2026.Santiago eats big and cheap at lunch: huge sandwiches, completos (Chilean hot dogs), empanadas de pino and the set menu at the market cocinerías.
A day of eating for CLP 15.000
- Lunch, CLP 9.000: Fuente Mardoqueo, a sandwich of lomito or churrasco
- Dinner, CLP 6.000: Dominó, two completos italianos (avocado, tomato, mayo)
Lunch and dinner: CLP 15.000, about $16.
Eat for CLP 10.000 or less
1A photo like it
CLP 9.000Lunch
Fuente Mardoqueo
Get: A sandwich of lomito or churrasco
A sandwich shop with huge Chilean sandwiches and a loyal following.
2A photo like it
CLP 9.500Lunch
Fuente Alemana
Get: A lomito completo (pork with avocado, tomato and mayo)
A sandwich counter since the 1950s, where cooks slice pork in front of you.
3A photo like it
CLP 5.000Snack
Emporio Zunino
Get: Two empanadas de pino, hot
Making empanadas since 1930, near the central market.
4A photo like it
CLP 6.000Dinner
Dominó
Get: Two completos italianos (avocado, tomato, mayo)
The completo is Chile's hot dog, and Dominó is the classic chain.
5A photo like it
CLP 5.000Late
La Piojera
Get: A terremoto (wine, pineapple ice cream and grenadine)
A rowdy old bar where the 'earthquake' cocktail was born. One is enough.
The market
Every day, mornings best
La Vega Central
Recoleta, across the river from Mercado Central
Get: Fruit and vegetables for very little; set lunches at the cocinerías inside
Mercado Central is famous for seafood but pricey for tourists. La Vega is where locals shop and eat.
The supermarket to find
Líder, Jumbo, Unimarc
- Marraqueta bread rolls, cheap and everywhere
- Avocados (palta), the base of every Chilean breakfast
- Manjar (dulce de leche) and sopaipillas
Líder is usually the cheapest supermarket. Ferias (weekly street markets) are cheaper still for produce.
How students save in Santiago
- Look for 'menú del día' or 'colación' at lunch: soup or salad, main and juice for a set price.
- Street completos and sopaipillas are the cheapest snacks in the city.
- Ask your university about student cafeterias (casinos), where lunch is very cheap.
More for Santiago
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Prices are typical, checked November 2, 2026, and move; places with branches all over (chains) are named so you can use any of them. "A photo like it" is the same kind of food, not from that place. Chef Amazing is not paid by any place on this page.
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