Andean and coastal cuisines have helped one part of the continent become one of the world's most respected food regions over the past two decades, drawing on extraordinary biodiversity and indigenous tradition. A different country further south offers an entirely different but equally serious culinary identity built around beef.
The destinations on this list range from tasting-menu restaurants built around native ingredients rarely seen outside the region to steakhouse culture, where the quality of the meat itself does most of the talking.
Booking well ahead is essential at the continent's most celebrated restaurants, several of which regularly rank among the best in the world and fill up months in advance. Visiting during the week rather than on weekends also tends to make securing a table at the most in-demand restaurants noticeably easier.
