One of Talca's most popular restaurants is a huge, clattering, low-roofed canteen out of town alongside the Río Claro. Dour waiters take forever to bring out the house specialty, pollo mariscal (chicken in a brandy and seafood sauce), but it's worth the wait and big enough to share.
To get there, leave town heading west along 4 Norte (Av O'Higgins), cross the Río Claro bridge, keep right, then stay right at the fork in the road.