Saturday in Santiago: Boudoir
First things first, all of the pictures in this photo were taken by Kyle, so a) enjoy the gorgeousness and b) don’t get used to it. I haven’t magically become a professional photographer overnight.
Kyle and I hit up Boudoir, a new bar in Bellavista, because we’d heard it was fabulous and stylish and that there was champagne involved. We were meeting Oneika, who is also fabulous and stylish, although due to a cold she did not involve champagne on this particular night, so it seemed appropriate. Before I get into a review of Boudoir, I would like to review Oneika. All I really have to say is that she’s just as fun and easy to talk to as you’d imagine from her blog, and I’m excited that I get to meet up with her when we travel to London in December! These are the perks of having jetsetter internet friends all over the globe.
Boudoir is beautiful, there’s no doubt about it. The different rooms are done in different colors, but the overall style is one of opulence. Even the bathroom was pretty, and that’s always the real test. How many times have you felt like you were in an interior designer’s dreamland only to open the door to the ladies’ and be transported back to an office building straight out of 1995? None of that happening here.
The cocktail menu isn’t hugely extensive, but there are some creative options. However I will admit that at $4.500+ a pop – over US$9, which is all kinds of expensive for Santiago – I limited myself to just the one drink. My pisco punch, a tropical twist on the margarita-like pisco sour with pisco and lime juice plus a splash of pineapple, was good and went down easily.
Kyle’s champagne cocktail won prettiest drink of the night with its flower garnish, but sadly it let her down in taste. The champagne was flat, and although our waitress did top it up with some fresh champagne, she first insisted that the champagne was from a brand new bottle and explained that since it was a cocktail, it wouldn’t be as fizzy as straight bubbly. First rule of customer service: bitch to the barman, not the client.
The food was more reasonably priced (is this becoming a trend in Santiago’s restaurants?), and my falafel sandwich was solidly good. Oneika went for the French onion soup, which she seemed to like, although the truth is that I forgot to ask for any more detail than that, and Kyle was disappointed to have to add the entire pepper shaker to her chorizo chowder after the menu promised spice but otherwise enjoyed the flavor. I don’t know that the food is the main draw here, since I got more of a bar vibe at least from the decor of the room we were in, but the offerings are respectable.
The owner came over and chatted to us in what quickly turned into a trilingual conversation. A Parisian with a Chilean father, he started Boudoir a few months ago and seems very hands-on, certainly as far as decoration and social media go. I might encourage a little more hands-on time with the staff, however, since both Kyle and I agreed that the service, while not bad, didn’t seem up to the standard set by the general vibe of the place.
I’m all for this sophistication of Santiago, and I love that a place like Boudoir exists. Honestly though, my salary hasn’t changed, and if I wanted to pay $9 for a drink I’d move back to San Francisco. I’m not going to be a regular purely based on price. I do, however, enjoy the chance to treat myself to a little luxury that’s still pretty cheap within the grand scheme of things. But I want the experience to be top notch – perfect cocktails, delicious food and service that makes me feel like I am, just for a moment, sitting in the lap of luxury.
It was a fun evening, but perfection wasn’t quite there. That said, it’s new, so I hope that a few more months in business will iron out the faults and make Boudoir into the luxurious escape it’s obviously intended to be.
More in this series:
Saturday in Santiago
Kyle’s photos ARE amazing! As are your posts. You are a great writer. You girls look like you’re having so much fun! I hope you went out for more (cheaper) drinks afterwards!
Aww, thank you! That really means a lot coming from a fancy editor
LOL. I was going to ask if you got a new camera.
Haha, and some new skills to go with it?
I would like to review Oneika too. I love her. The end.
And I would like to add my comments to this review…I really disliked Boudoir! The thing is, if the service had been great, and the cocktails good and the food outstanding, I would be happy to pay a higher price. But since we were in essence paying for the same thing we could get anywhere else in Santiago for half as much, it just made me feel like Boudoir was really pretentious and trying to be all New York-y, when in reality it’s just another Santiago same old same old bar.
I agree – I’ll pay for quality (sometimes…I won’t lie and say always!), but I don’t want to pay just to sit in a prettier room. I think my living room is pretty, and I can sit there for free.
Aww, Kyle!!! The feeling is mutual, trust me! I’m still trying to devise a way to get you out here before the year’s end!!!! Make it happen, captain.
I will do my best to kidnap her and stuff her in my suitcase, but I’m not making any promises
I love the decor. It’s so over-the-top luxurious. I wouldn’t want to live in it, but I’d definitely want to visit it. Were the servers extremely attractive and “cool”? Some places make that a bigger priority than actual service-industry experience, which is a pretty quick way to make me not a regular. Sounds like a fun night though!
I didn’t notice the servers being particularly cool (and I know what you mean with that comment), they just weren’t very good at service.
The decor was great though, as was the company.
I like that there are so many new places in Santiago. Not just the standard hotelbars. But I get the impression that price has nothing to do with quality nowadays. Specially when it comes to drinks. I find it hard to find places that are worth the while when in Chile. But I like your reviews! Its fun reading about the evolution of Santiago when I’m all the way in Stockholm
I LOVE that there are always new bars and restaurants now, but you’re right that price and quality aren’t necessarily linked. The good news though is that it just makes it that much more exciting to find a really great new place.
Just read this last night but didn’t have the time to comment until now… Haha, what a FANTABULOUS time with you ladies and I am so darn excited for you to get to London! I’m going to scope out cool places for us to sample and review when you get here!
But more about Boudoir. Yes, while the company was fantastic and the decor and menu offerings impressive at first glance, I do have to agree that the taste of the food/drink and the service did not measure up. The soup was decent, but lacking in flavour (though that may have also been because I had such a terrible cold)! To be honest, price-wise I didn’t realized that things were expensive, but that’s because half the time I couldn’t remember the Chilean Peso-Dollar conversion.
While the French/Chilean guy was nice (and handsome), I don’t particularly remember any of the wait staff being particularly attentive. The food also took an exceptionally long time to come. I wasn’t a fan of all of the people drifting in and out of the room to check out the decor either. While we are friendly, sociable gals, I don’t think I would recommend this place to a couple looking to have a romantic, intimate dinner, what with all the pedestrian traffic in and out of the eating area!
Anyway, I love this review, Emily, it is so witty and well written and made me laugh out loud the first and second time I read it! You rock and can’t wait to see you in December!!!
Seems like we were all on the same page in terms of Boudoir being more appearance than substance.
I agree about the people wandering through too. I understand wanting to show off the decoration and the different styles of each room, but as a customer, if I’m interested, I’ll just pop my head into the other rooms. I don’t need a formal tour of a restaurant, and I agree that it was a bit weird to have people coming by our table.
Mmmm – everything looks so fresh and delicious! The decor is fantastic – it’s a shame when service doesn’t match the price or surroundings, though.
My sandwich was good, but it sounds like the soups were a little bland. If everything had been as good as the decor, this place would be amazing, but sadly it’s not the case.
Ummm, you and Kyle need to start a blog together!!! Loved this post! Wish I had been on that date though. Kyle needs to do a boudoir shoot in boudoir. Em, you should be the model.
Currently my plan is just to make Kyle take the pictures for my blog – does that work?
And a boudoir shot and Boudoir would be hot!
Wow, what a beautiful place! I have to visit it! (Just found your blog & I <3 it
)
Beautiful but sadly not that great. There are better places in Santiago!
When I saw the title and “photography by Kyle” I TOTALLY expected to see an Emily Boudior photo shoot, haha!
I love the decor in this place. It’s true, you can always tell a place by how awesome the bathroom is. So cool you guys went on such a fancy girl’s night; sorry the service and all wasn’t up to standard. I’d expect more with a $9 cocktail in Chile too!
Sorry to disappoint!
Great review, Emily! It sounds like a really fun place. Kyle’s photos are gorgeous, too!
We had a great time, despite the hiccups in service.
OOooooooooh this place looks so beautiful and deliscious!!!Definitely on my list of places to try out when I’m back in SCL
Although re-reading your post, i’m thinking the prices might divert me in another direction :S
Yup, it’s beautiful, but I don’t know that I’d make it a priority for your next visit.