My spouse and I dined at Gatsby Express for breakfast on two different days in late March 2017. Note that the staff speaks limited English at the airside locations, but no English menu is available. Although we are not Spanish-speakers, we were able to communicate adequately with the staff. (In general, we found a lack of English speakers in the landside restaurants, whereas at the airside establishments, the staff spoke a little English.)
Gatsby offers several locations in airport: one on the
fourth level landside near the international security gates that looked like it
had the best buffet, another location landside on the third level of the
domestic terminal that had a small buffet; one location airside on the third
level of the domestic terminal that does NOT have a buffet; and a fourth
location airside on the third level of the international terminal. (Basically,
wherever you are in the Santiago Airport, rest assured that you can dine at
Gatsby’s!) We visited only the airside location in the domestic terminal, which
is located near two sundry shops, a small Starbucks location, and across from a
set of restrooms. The cozy restaurant is enclosed by glass walls, so although
the space is not large, it feels bigger than it actually is. Other locations (besides the airport) include Antofogasta,
Calama, Puerto
Montt, Talcahuano, Temuco, and several
locations around Santiago (mostly in shopping malls).
As previously mentioned, at the Santiago Airport, three of
the four outlets (excluding the airside domestic location) offer buffet
stations. Unfortunately we did not dine at one of the three, and so we ordered
from the regular menu. The “miga” was the smallest sandwich offered (sort of
like a grilled cheese), with other choices served on baguettes and in tortilla
wraps, and served with a few potato chips. We asked to omit one ingredient from
a sandwich, but our server indicated that the food was already prepared
(perhaps delivered there from one of the other airport locations and then
heated up). The salads looked enormous. Gatsby offers a good selection of
desserts, with choices arranged in a glass-fronted display case. Although the
food was not inexpensive, it was on par with other dining choices. On our first
visit, we spent about $50 US for a lengthy meal (our flight was delayed by two
hours) of two breakfast sandwiches, three rounds of sodas, and one dessert. On
our second visit, we spent about $30 US for two breakfast sandwiches and two rounds
of soft drinks. (Alcohol is available, but we did not purchase any.) When it was
time to pay our bill, the server motioned that she would add a 10% gratuity if
acceptable, and when we indicated that it was, she ran our credit card through
a portable machine that she brought to the table.
We were satisfied with our breakfast choices at Gatsby
Express, one of only two table service establishments in the domestic terminal.
(The other is Café Tamarugo; in addition, there are a few counter-service food
options including Starbucks, McDonald’s, and an independent vendor.)
