Punta Arenas’s fast-improving gastronomic scene ranges from fast food to haute cuisine. With the appreciating Chilean peso, prices are increasing rapidly.

Quijote (Lautaro Navarro 1087, tel. 061/241225) serves inexpensive lunches. Upstairs in the Casa del Turista, at the entrance to Muelle Prat, Café Puerto del Estrecho (O’Higgins 1401, tel. 061/241022) has a variety of espresso-based specialty coffees, such as mocha and amaretto, plus snacks and desserts to accompany them.

Punta Arenas’s best fast-food alternative is Lomit’s (José Menéndez 722, tel. 061/243399), a dependable sandwich-and-beer chain that’s almost always packed. Sandwiches cost around US$5. La Carioca (José Menén- dez 600, tel. 061/224809), by contrast, is a one-of-a-kind sandwich outlet that also serves passable pizza, pasta, and draft beer.

Despite a slight name change, Dónde Mariano (O’Higgins 504, tel. 061/245291) continues under the same management and delivers on its modest pretensions, serving fine if simply prepared fish entrées, including a side order, in the US$7–10 range. The decor has improved, and the service is adept.

On the former site of the landmark restaurant La Luna (and under the same management), O Sole Mio (O’Higgins 974, tel. 061/242026) serves a diversity of pastas with creative touches—spinach gnocchi, for instance—and excellent seafood sauces. Prices are moderate, around US$7 per entrée, and it’s kept most of the old La Luna’s informal atmosphere and decor, including classic (and newer) movie posters.

In a new location half a block south of its old haunts, La Luna (O’Higgins 1017, tel. 061/228555) still buzzes with activity—pins stuck on wall maps indicate the origins of their clientele—but the transition seems to have cost it some of its informality. Even the chupe de centolla (king crab casserole, US$11) isn’t quite what it was, but it’s too early to write the place off.

Stick with the meat at El Estribo (Ignacio Carrera Pinto 762, tel. 061/244714); their fish is only so-so, but the beef and lamb dishes, in the US$7–12 and up range, are consistently strong, and Patagonian game dishes have earned a spot on the menu. The English menu translation is occasionally hilarious, but the service is attentive.

Locals recommend the recently opened La Marmita Bistro (Plaza Sampaio 678, tel. 061/222056) for creative vegetarian plates and other specialties. For US$22, Sabores (Mejicana 702, 2nd floor, tel. 061/227369) serves a four-course “Magellanic menu” (US$22) that includes both king crab and salmon, as well as a pisco sour and half bottle of wine; Wednesdays are all-you-can-eat pasta nights (US$7 pp).

In the opinion of many, Punta’s best is Damiana Elena (O’Higgins 694, tel. 061/222818), where reservations are essential on weekends and advisable even on weeknights. Decorated with antiques, this restored period house serves beef and seafood specialties in the US$8–13 range—modest prices for the quality it offers—with unobtrusive service. There is limited tobacco-free seating, for which reservations are particularly advisable.

Another good choice is the nautically themed Puerto Viejo (O’Higgins 1205, tel. 061/225103), doing bang-up business with an almost exclusively seafood menu. Open for lunch and dinner, with knowledgeable waiters and terrific service, it serves specialties such as centolla (king crab) and merluza (hake). On the down side, the pisco/calafate sours are mixed in advance, though they’re still pretty fresh.

Under the same management, a couple kilometers north of the plaza, Los Ganaderos (Avenida Bulnes 0977, tel. 061/214597, www.parrillalosganaderos.cl) is a classy parrilla specializing in succulent Patagonian lamb grilled on a vertical spit—for US$15 tenedor libre (all-you-can-eat) per person. There is also a more diverse parrillada for two (US$25), and pasta dishes in the US$8 range. Try the regional Patagonian desserts, such as mousse de calafate and mousse de ruibarbo (rhubarb).

Four blocks south of the plaza, the creative La Leyenda del Remezón (21 de Mayo 1469, tel. 061/241029) serves game dishes (beaver and guanaco are now being farmed in the region) in the US$20 range—not cheap, obviously, but unique. Seafood specialties include krill, king crab, and spider crab.

Under a new concessionaire, in the old Centro Español, the upstairs La Tasca (Plaza Muñoz Gamero 771, tel. 061/242807) has been reborn as a cheerful midrange to upmarket Spanish restaurant with creative variants on traditional dishes, such as merluza (hake) stuffed with king crab and avocado (US$11). The pisco sours are excellent, and the wine list far better than it once was.

Promising Brocolino (O’Higgins 1049, tel. 061/710479) serves a fine risotto with centolla and scallops, along with beef, lamb, and pastas in the US$10–12 range. Traditionally, Sotito’s Bar (O’Higgins 1138, tel. 061/245365) has set the seafood standard here, and it still deserves consideration.