La Olla — "the pot" — sits on the road that runs east along Lago Llanquihue toward Ensenada, about ten minutes by car from Puerto Varas. It is a big, busy, mid-range restaurant specialising in southern Chilean seafood: paila marina (a creamy seafood stew), pastel de jaiba (crab gratin), grilled congrio, and curanto en olla (the steamed Chilote version of the famous seafood-and-meat stew).
The dining room is unfussy and packed at weekends with Santiago families. The view across the lake to Osorno from the windows is a bonus. Reservations are advisable in summer; prices are moderate.