Cafeography
Santiago · Barrio Brasil & Yungay

Cafés in Barrio Brasil & Yungay

Plaza Brasil, Ricardo Cumming and the protected streets of Yungay, west of the center.

Photo: Nikolai Kolosov, Pexels License

Barrio Yungay is named for the Chilean victory at the Battle of Yungay on 20 January 1839; President Joaquín Prieto made the name official that April, and the streets were laid out on the old estate of the Portales family.1 Barrio Brasil grew from the same subdivision and was an upper-class district from the mid-19th century, which explains its mix of neo-Gothic, neoclassical and traditional Chilean houses.2 The aristocracy moved east after 1940, and the area slowly declined.2

Since 2009, Brasil, Yungay, Concha y Toro and Parque Portales have formed a protected Zona Típica of 113.53 hectares.2 Universities, cultural centers and restaurants now fill the old mansions, and Wikivoyage sums up Barrio Brasil as a neighborhood of students, artists, cheap restaurants and happy hours.23 The cafés are small and spread out, with a cluster on Avenida Ricardo Cumming.

Local tip: Cafetería Popular, at Erasmo Escala 2317, opens every day from 09:30 to 20:00, so it works for a Sunday coffee before the Museo de la Memoria.

At a glance

25Cafés listed
1With opening hours
09:30Earliest opening
20:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Cafetería Popular, from 09:30 (Daily 09:30–20:00).
  • Most listed streets: Avenida Ricardo Cumming (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (12%), indoor seating (8%), bakery café (4%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Santiago.

Getting to Brasil and Yungay

Cumming station on Line 5 opened in 2004 and has drawn new residents and visitors to Barrio Brasil.42 Santa Ana, opened in 2000, is one stop east, and Quinta Normal, from 2004, one stop west.4 Yungay itself is bounded by San Pablo to the north, Ricardo Cumming to the east, the Alameda to the south and Matucana to the west.1

Plaza Brasil, Plaza Yungay and the museums

Plaza Brasil stands on land once occupied by the Brazilian embassy; the state bought it and opened the square in 1902, naming it for the friendship between the two countries.2 The Basílica del Salvador, finished in 1932 and a national monument since 1977, was badly damaged in the 1985 earthquake and closed.2

In Plaza Yungay stands Virginio Arias's Monumento al Roto Chileno, a tribute to the ordinary working Chilean.1 The barrio's institutions include the Biblioteca de Santiago, the Museo de la Educación Gabriela Mistral, the Museo del Sonido and the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos.1 Michelle Bachelet opened the last on 11 January 2010 to remember the victims of human rights violations under the 1973–1990 dictatorship.5

Ricardo Cumming, Compañía and Concha y Toro

Ricardo Cumming, the line between Brasil and Yungay, has more cafés than any other street here: Forastero at 54, Café Copenhague at 270, Café Brazil and Mozaiko, which has seating inside and out. Compañía de Jesús has Café Cupido, a bakery café at 2131, and Cité.

Concha y Toro, the small barrio of shops with homes behind them that grew out of Barrio Brasil, has Amelia at number 42.2 Cafetería Incuba is at General Bulnes 72, Café París on Huérfanos and Un Café y Algo Más on Catedral.

Yungay's western streets

West of Cumming, Café Yungay is on Maipú, Bar literario La Canela on Maturana and El Ancianito on Matucana. On Erasmo Escala, Cafetería Popular at 2317 opens daily 09:30–20:00, Sundays included, and a second café, Caffeteria, shares the street.

The old houses have needed their neighbors. After the 2010 earthquake, residents formed Brigadas de Emergencia Patrimonial (heritage emergency brigades) and organized mingas, community work days, to restore the barrio's buildings.1

Sources

  1. Barrio Yungay, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  2. Barrio Brasil, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  3. Santiago (Chile), Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
  4. Santiago Metro Line 5, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Museum of Memory and Human Rights, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Santiago

Lastarria & Bellas Artes

55 cafés

Bellavista & Patronato

27 cafés

Barrio Italia & Bustamante

67 cafés

Santiago Centro

105 cafés

Providencia

217 cafés

Ñuñoa

80 cafés

Las Condes

98 cafés

In Barrio Brasil & Yungay, also browse: Outdoor seating Bakery cafés

FAQ

Barrio Brasil & Yungay cafés: questions

Why is Barrio Yungay in Santiago called Yungay?

Barrio Yungay is named for the Chilean army's victory at the Battle of Yungay on 20 January 1839, in the war against the Peru-Bolivian Confederation. President Joaquín Prieto made the name official in April 1839, and the streets were laid out on the former estate of the Portales family. Barrio Brasil grew from the same subdivision.

Which Metro station serves Barrio Brasil in Santiago?

Cumming station on Line 5, opened in 2004, is the stop for Barrio Brasil and the cafés on Avenida Ricardo Cumming. Santa Ana, opened in 2000, is one stop east and Quinta Normal one stop west. Yungay lies between Ricardo Cumming and Matucana, from San Pablo south to the Alameda.

Are Barrio Brasil and Barrio Yungay in Santiago protected heritage areas?

Yes. Since 2009, Barrio Brasil, Barrio Yungay, Concha y Toro and Parque Portales have formed a Zona Típica, a protected heritage zone of 113.53 hectares. After the 2010 earthquake, Yungay residents formed heritage emergency brigades and organized community work days to restore damaged buildings.

For café owners

Own a café in Barrio Brasil & Yungay?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design