Quito Restaurants

  1. Café Amazonas

    An Amazonas classic with outdoor tables, this is a favorite haunt for everyone from petroleros (oil industry folks) to travelers.

    Read more about Café Amazonas

  2. Café del Fraile

    Old World atmosphere and balcony seating make this café-cum-bar the perfect spot for evening hot chocolate or a stiff cocktail. Sandwiches, snacks and desserts are quite good too.

    Read more about Café del Fraile

  3. Café Galletti

    Nuclear-physicist-turned-coffee-roaster might seem like a recipe for disaster. Not here. This Ecuadorian-/US-owned café offers excellent organic espresso drinks.

    Read more about Café Galletti

  4. Café Mosaico

    Sure the drinks are overpriced, but you won't find a balcony view like this anywhere else, and tourists are a rarity. This is a must for an evening cocktail or a midmorning coffee (when you'll likely have the balcony, the stunning views and your banana pancakes all to yourself).

    Read more about Café Mosaico

  5. Café Quiteño Libre

    For those pinching pennies, you'll find good family-style food and cheap almuerzos (set lunches) here in the brick-wall cellar of the Hotel San Francisco de Quito.

    Read more about Café Quiteño Libre

  7. Café Sutra

    With its dim lighting, mellow music and cool crowd, Café Sutra is a great place for a snack and a beer before a night out.

    Read more about Café Sutra

  8. Cafetería Modelo

    Opened in 1950, Modelo is one of the city's oldest cafés, and a great spot to try traditional snacks such as empanadas de verde (plantain empanadas filled with cheese), quimbolitos (a sweet cake steamed in a leaf), tamales (cornmeal stuffed with meat and steamed in a banana leaf) and humitas (similar to Mexican tamales).

    Read more about Cafetería Modelo

  9. chiQuito

    This intimate and artsy café makes for a perfect lunch or coffee break during a leisurely walk down to Guápulo.

    Read more about chiQuito

  10. Coffee Tree

    This place is fast becoming a Mariscal hit, thanks to its house-roasted coffee, good food and outdoor tables.

    Read more about Coffee Tree

  11. Motes de San Juan

    Businessmen, nurses, cops, laborers, families, you name it - everyone comes to this hole-in-the-wall eatery, high on a hill in San Juan neighborhood. Why? They all swear it's the best mote (hominy, served with fried pork, toasted corn and hot sauce) in town. Fifty years cooking Quito's most traditional dish has to mean something! Take a cab or kill your legs hiking up José Riofrío.

    Read more about Motes de San Juan

  12. Advertisement

  13. Sakti

    This caféteria-style restaurant serves cheap, wholesome soups, veggies, fruit salads, pastas and lasagna to a faithful crowd of lunchtime locals.

    Read more about Sakti