We stopped by Mercado Central on a Monday afternoon and it wasn't a fun experience. We were going to go to Donde Augusto inside for lunch. The moment we stepped inside every single restaurant was AGGRESSIVE and tried to harass us into dining at their establishment. You have to be VERY firm in saying no because they're practically trying to drag you into their restaurants. After we found Donde Augusto and asked one of their staff for seating, someone from another restaurant still tried to poach us from their staff and started arguing with our server over us, it was WILD. I can't say I was a fan overall. It's not super big and smells very strongly of fish. There was a cute little stand that had very reasonably priced souvenirs inside but they only took pesos so bring cash. read more

Maybe I went at a bad time, but the market was pretty empty and half dead. The entire building smells like dead fish. The fish stalls seemed to be operating fully, but there were very few other vendors of flowers, fruits, or crafts. It was just underwhelming. Be prepared to have many people try and scoop you into their restaurant or shop while you walk around, much like a salesman at a car dealership. read more

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Excellent spot for purchasing fresh fish. Our food tour made a long pass through here late morning. Lots of fish from many different vendors. Some were pleased to see a tour come through and some were less pleased as we were blocking traffic while obviously not buying any fish. Many different varieties and species of fish, displayed on ice. Some whole, some pieces. All sorts. We made our way from the actual vendors side to the restaurant side. Yes, the hawkers are persistent. Ignore them. read more

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Great place to get a seafood meal for lunch! Came here at the recommendation of our tour guide to get a seafood lunch. The market itself is actually pretty small, just a main hall with lots of shops selling souvenirs. It's a total tourist trap, but hey you gotta buy gifts for friends and family back home right? We walked around the main hall for a bit and find that alot of the vendors are selling the same trinkets. We had way more fun over at the seafood section of the market. There were tons of vendors selling fresh fish and seafood, and fresh live sea urchin, one of my favorite things to eat. The vendors would score the sea urchin and open it up, clean it and give you the uni meat all for $2.50usd, such a great price. The quality was very good and fresh, the urchin was still moving. There was also many seafood restaurants in the same section, and alot of the restaurant staff will stand outside and try to get you to dine with them. We went through all the rows in the section and decided to go with a non-assuming, kind of rundown little shop full of locals eating there. Most of the other ones were empty, so that's never a good sign. We got one of the last seats left and ordered a seafood soup, calamari, and a seafood empanada to share. It was amazing! The flavors exploded in your mouth and was absolutely delicious. The seafood empanada was very interesting, it had alot of seafood pieces and was somewhat soupy inside as well. The calamari was more of a stew and was cooked in lime spice which is special to Chile. They also gave us complimentary bread with two kinds of dipping sauce that was addicting. We were thoroughly stuffed and it only cost as $19usd. Highly recommend, need to try the seafood! read more

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*review as a tourist destination* The market is WAYYYY too busy on the weekends, I would recommend to avoid at all costs. It is unlike many many other markets in all parts of the world that I have visited. If you walk slowly by the fish stalls or stop by one of them to gaze at fish you haven't seen before expect a push or a very unpleasant yell at your back. Sales assistants will certainly show you how displeased they are with your presence. The central hall is beautiful wood work which you again cannot enjoy because a cavalry of two dozen hosts from a handful of restaurants will rush towards you even if you avoid eye contact or tell them polite no. No doesn't cut it as an answer here. From what I've glanced passing by portions seemed huge buckets of deep fried touristy fare, nothing really looked appetizing. We actually were starving but both agreed to look for food elsewhere. Overall we spent about 20 min inside and I could not wait to get out, it was so crowded, noisy, rushed and unpleasant read more

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The place is a total rip-off (though the seafood was pretty good). I've seen more honest used car salesmen then the crap they pulled here. Tried to rush us to order - then got pegged for $150 for lunches and a few drinks. Yeah - my fault (buyer beware crap) but still ... There are many other and better options down the street and all over the city! Just don't go here unless your actually buying fish! read more

Small fish market. Appalled at the bombardment and harassment of the seafood restaurants nagging me to eat at their..Restaurants. Their annoying behavior made me want to avoid them all. My guide had informed me that that the restaurants in the fishmarket are more expensive and catered towards the tourists. He suggested going to recoleta on the other side, by the fruit and veggie market, it's more reasonably priced. read more

A must see while you are in Santiago. It's interesting to walk through the seafood market and see the different varieties of fish, crabs, etc. As you walk through the market, you will notice little places to eat. Probably the most annoying part of walking through the market are the people trying to get you to eat at their restaurant. If you only speak English, no problem. Some places have menus written in English. CASH ONLY. I would not recommend getting the uni. It's definitely not like the high quality uni you would find in a Japanese restaurant. The uni here is not as good quality and a little too (as Andrew Zimmern would say) 'oceany' for my taste. But if you are just looking around to see what kind of seafood the market offers, you should definitely check this place out. read more

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I read in Food & Wine magazine that this was a must for any trip to Santiago, and I'm not quite sure if that's true unless you are specifically looking to buy some seafood. It could be worth the stop for lunch since there are a lot of places to eat in here that I'm sure are great (but picking which one would be really difficult!) but we stopped by mid-afternoon and there wasn't much to look at just walking around (and yes, there was the obvious stench!). It was a large fish market, but not as impressive as say, Seattle, where I do agree it's a place you must visit if in town. read more

Love it here. Make sure you do a few circles around to find a good place to eat. Avoid the main dining hall (the one with all the gringos) and opt to eat upstairs. The food and atmosphere are much better there. I traveled there alone and it was a really safe place. read more

Mercado Central - Farmers Market Near Me - Santiago, RM

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A great place not just to buy seafood, but to eat it. There are several restaurants there, along with the places selling fresh fish and seafood, plus other stuff, like seasonings, meat and even chicken. Try to arrive early, the place gets really hot and crowd around noon. Take a walk around, see everything there is to be sold there and then choose your restaurant. You'll probably fell tempted to try the giant crab, but it's really expensive, so just consider it if you're with a big group. And don't feel intimidated by all those waiters inviting you to eat at their restaurants: this is how they do it. Just thank then very politely and go on with your tour to see all kinds of seafood - some of them are still alive, like the lobsters - and the several types of fish caught in the Pacific. read more

This is a cool place to experience the local culture and get a sense of the amazing seafood options. You will be hawked here. Choose your restaurant in advance. read more

A central market that offers all types of seafood. Several fish vendors and several restaurants throughout. Had dinner at one place which was ok.. Wasn't happy they didn't take credit cards. What pissed me off the most was going to use the banos (bathroom), they wanted CP$3000 ! At that price, the bathroom should have been sparkling marble with incense to mask the smell. read more

Not sure which one to pick for lunch, we ended up eating in the restaurant in the central court, and we were very disappointed with the food. None of the dishes were flavorful. The fish dishes we ordered were fresh but fried and tasteless. The seafood stew was very fishy and mainly consisted of small mussels. The wrought-iron structure of the market, however, is worth a look. read more