Circular, un buen lugar para comer pescado en Valparaíso

You don't need much to create a good dish. The cooks of the small fishing coves, known in Chile as "caletas," know this well; they're used to facing the pot with just the bare essentials. Conger eel stew, one of the emblematic dishes of Chilean seafood cuisine, is the best example.

The conger eel is a fish that has always been present in Chilean waters, and three types are recognized: black, red, and golden. The red conger eel (Genypterus chilensis) is the most prized in kitchens for its striking reddish flesh, firm yet tender texture, and unmistakable shrimp-like flavor. It is the only one endemic to these waters. After the palometa, the vieja, and the pejesapo, it is, in my opinion, one of the best fish in Chile.

The preparation begins by simmering the heads to obtain a milky broth. Next, a sofrito is prepared with finely chopped onion and garlic, carrot, bell pepper, peeled and chopped tomatoes (seeds removed), and torn bay leaves. The strained broth is then poured over this sofrito. Julienned potatoes are added, followed by the pieces of conger eel. White wine is added for the final boil, and the dish is served with freshly chopped cilantro in preheated earthenware bowls.

The dish is strikingly simple, yet delightful and evocative in the version at Circular, Cristian Gómez's restaurant on Valparaíso's touristy Yugoslavian promenade. The difference lies in the quality of the fish, which flakes so easily it melts in your mouth, revealing its freshness. They use fresh fish, which they clean and portion right there in the restaurant, something unusual in Chilean kitchens, which are accustomed to working with frozen fish.

The sea rises up the hill

Cristian Gómez is a well-known chef from Playa Ancha, one of the hills of Valparaíso, who previously worked on projects like Turri and Tres Peces. His life has always been connected to the ocean. His father worked at sea for forty years, and his uncles are also fishermen. The basic principle of his work is to showcase Chile's marine diversity and highlight the work of fishermen.

In addition to the red conger eel stew, I also tried fresh clams, harvested that day, cultivated by Aldo Madrid, a fisheries engineer who runs Granja Marina, an aquaculture and live product marketing project. Few things are better than eating raw, fresh clams. I also enjoyed a perfectly cooked and juicy grilled albacore (swordfish), which is in season until October.

The menu consists of a few dishes and the preparations are simple, but well executed: ceviche, grilled, fried or canned fish, raw seafood, some rice, stew or chowder, plus a bento, the Japanese compartmentalized box that contains small bites of fish and seafood, usually raw, vegetables, seaweed and rice.

The wine list needs improvement; it's flat and limited, especially considering the excellent wines available in the Casablanca, Leyda, and Aconcagua valleys near the restaurant. The side dishes are much the same. Potatoes with mayonnaise and Chilean salad are a safe bet, but there's no need to be so old-fashioned. Albacore tuna of that quality deserves better.

Circular is a seafood restaurant specializing in market cuisine, offering simple dishes: pure, unadulterated ingredients. It's an easy-to-recognize and understand concept, and it's here to champion the traditional coastal dishes that, it pains us to admit, are being executed worse and worse along the Chilean coast.

Its main strength lies in its extensive and diverse network of suppliers. Every other day, it receives seafood from the south, oysters, clams, mussels, sea squirts, and large mussels, and from the north: razor clams, clams, and scallops. From the Juan Fernández Islands, it receives octopus and, in season, grouper, amberjack, scorpionfish (Sebastes capensis, a relative of scorpionfish), and sole. In addition, it receives albacore tuna, bluefin tuna, and sunfish, if available, as well as pompano and hake in season.

Some large specimens are shipped whole and frozen by fisherman Daniel González from the Juan Fernández archipelago, a 24-hour boat ride and about three-hour flight from Valparaíso. His fishermen's union implemented a freezing tunnel for ultra-freezing, which prevents damage to the fish's cellular tissue from the formation of ice crystals.

Circular is one of the few restaurants in Valparaíso with an ocean view. At Cristian Gómez's restaurant, the sea truly matters.