Castillo Forestal, Restaurant and toy museum building in Parque Forestal, Santiago, Chile

Castillo Forestal is a two-story building at the northwest corner of Parque Forestal, facing the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Its 2011 renovation by Mathias Klotz and Lilian Allen exposed the brick walls, removed false ceilings, and added large windows forming the main dining room, a bar, and a 200 m² terrace. The building houses a French restaurant, an ice-cream shop, a souvenir store, a small toy museum in the basement, and an exhibition room.

The building was constructed in 1910 as a boathouse next to a navigable lagoon and kept original features like gargoyles and boat mooring rings. It later served as a water management office before becoming what it is today.

The basement contains a toy museum with objects from early 20th century Chile that reflect how children played and what daily life looked like. These pieces show the games and objects that families valued across several decades.

The Brasserie du Castillo Forestal serves the same open menu from 8:00 to midnight, seating 250 people across 450 m². The 200 m² terrace faces the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. The toy museum occupies a 50 m² basement room reached by stairs, so visitors with mobility concerns should plan accordingly.

The building still shows original boat mooring rings embedded in its walls from when it served as a boathouse, visible to those who look closely. These metal rings are a reminder that water once occupied the space beneath the park and the land had a completely different purpose.