Other restaurants in Ecuador
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Marea
Down a side street towards the beach is Marea, the place for brick-oven pizza.
reviewed
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El Maíz
Billing itself as purveyor of the ‘new Ecuadorian cuisine,’ El Maíz takes traditional ingredients like quinoa and chochos (marinated lupine beans) and turns them into modern and delicious fusion dishes. This restaurant feels more upmarket than its prices suggest.
reviewed
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Pim’s
Inside the Parque Itchimbia, this new outpost of the Pim’s chain offers fantastic views over the city. Enjoy tasty traditional Ecuadorian fare, plus sandwiches and cocktails in the elegant, if somewhat stuffy, dining room, or on the outside patio.
reviewed
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Café Tortuga
A Swiss-run riverfront spot where tourists plan their next move. Start the day with pancakes and fruit, crepes or espresso. Post–river trip, try a house specialty: beer floated with vanilla ice cream and fresh pineapple.
reviewed
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Arena Bar
Chow down to international rhythms and casual surf decor. Pizza is the staple, but the salads, spruced up with olives and cheese, make a nice change from the norm, as do the homey grilled cheese sandwiches.
reviewed
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D’Camaron
As the name implies, shrimp is the specialty at this casual open-air spot near the water. Order them grilled, with a cocktail, and enjoy the ocean breezes.
reviewed
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Delicias del Paso
This cafeteria has all its tasty quiches and cakes in the display out front, and you can order them to go right from the street.
reviewed
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Tiburón Restaurant
Enormous seafood and chicken empanadas, as well as omelets and ceviches are on the menu at Tiburón Restaurant.
reviewed
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Café Hola Ola
For a few Israeli-inspired dishes, large breakfasts and grilled meats and seafood, try Café Hola Ola.
reviewed
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Uncle Ho’s
Sleek and slender, Uncle Ho’s whips up tasty bowls of pho (noodle soup), sea bass with chili and lime over rice noodles, glazed spare ribs and other Vietnamese hits. Eat at the counter or grab an outdoor table on the quiet street in front.
reviewed
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Heladería Rosalía Suárez
Teenage boredom inspired Rosalía Suárez to invent ice creams in the kitchen back in 1897, when she was just 17. Her experimentation led to a discovery – the best ice cream had no cream at all. Rosalía decided to share the sweet treat, and her shop Heladería Rosalía Suárez has been a sensation for more than a century. Helados de paila are actually sorbets stirred with a wooden spoon in a large copper bowl (the paila ) and cooled on a bed of straw and ice. The shop, now run by her grandson, claims the recipe requires pure juice from tropical fruits and egg whites. It’s not entirely possible to imitate – ice from the first versions was brought down from the glacier o…
reviewed
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A
Octava de Corpus
For a completely different dining experience, head to this little-known restaurant hidden inside a colonial home on lovely Junín. Artwork covers every surface of the place, and there’s a homey lounge with an enormous wine cellar featuring more than 230 vintages from both the new and old world. The menu features classic meat and seafood (all grilled or steamed). Free transport is provided with a reservation (which is recommended).
reviewed
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La Choza de Don Wilson
Almost everyone comes to this honky-tonk restaurant for an excellent fillet of trout and shots of aguardiente (sugarcane alcohol) to beat off the chills. You’ll find it at the juncture with the road to Termas de Papallacta. Cement-floor rooms out back are plain but clean (per person $15), with views of the village below. An enclosed hot pool is a bonus. Situated 40km along the Quito–Baeza road.
reviewed
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Los 7 Santos
Near 10 de Agosto, and thoroughly out of place in Guaranda, Los 7 Santos offers all that you would expect from an artsy café in Quito. The coffee’s not quite up to snuff, but the cool atmosphere is a great place to pen your next novel – or just sit comfortably and read one. There’s breakfast in the morning and small sandwiches and bocaditos (snacks) all day.
reviewed
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Yolanda’s Chicha de Yamor
Yolanda Cabrera has become famous for delicious local fare such as tortillas de maiz (corn tortillas), mote (hominy), empanaditas (Spanish pies) and the local favorite of fritada (fried pork). Of course, the real attraction is her chicha de yamor, which Yolanda stirs out back in large bubbling cauldrons over smoky fires.
reviewed
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Patacon Pisa’o
Looking for a little variety in your almuerzo (set lunch)? Nothing more than a few small outdoor tables, it serves delicious Colombian specialties such as crepes, arepas (maize pancakes) and its namesake dish: large, thin, crisply fried plantains with your choice of meat topping. Good for breakfast, brewed coffee and an afternoon hang out.
reviewed
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Marquis Grille
With white tablecloths, classical music and attentive service, this is the most formal restaurant for miles. Browse the Chilean wine list then choose from steamed tilapia, rich pastas and lobster. The ocelot skin, which offended many patrons, has been replaced by murals depicting regional mythology. If you’re lucky, the resident sloth will be ‘active.’
reviewed
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Maytos
Serves maitos (fish grilled in palm leaves) Huaorani-style, but with a garlicky twist. Wrapped in banana leaves and steamed over hot coals, the flavors steam into the moist, flaky fish, served alongside patacones (plantain fritters) and rice. Perfect with a tall, cold brew. Next to the Texaco station, just over 3km out of town.
reviewed
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B
El Buen Sandwich
Secreted inside a shopping gallery, the unassuming El Buen Sandwich has just three things on the menu: secos de chivo (goat stew; one of Ecuador’s most traditional dishes), ceviche and sanduches de pernil (ham sandwiches). All are quite good, and the garrulous owner has many talents – his artwork fills the restaurant.
reviewed
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Hotel Ali Shungu
Food with gourmet touches (and higher prices) is served up in a greenhouse-like setting decorated with Andean crafts. The menu caters to homesick visitors, with waffles in raspberry syrup, roast-beef sandwiches, curries, enchilada casserole and New York cheesecake all on offer. Check out the impressive jewelry case while you wait.
reviewed
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Antojitos de Mi Tierra
The place for traditional snacks such as chicha de arroz (a sweetened rice drink), tamales, humitas (small tamales wrapped in corn husks), morochos (meat turnovers) and quimbolitos (corn dumplings steamed in corn husks or leaves). Owner Marta Jduregi is a well-known local historian and chef.
reviewed
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Kirutwa
Kirutwa is a big, new, comparatively swanky restaurant right up on the crater rim. Offering classics like locro de papa (potato soup with cheese) and choclo con queso (corn on the cob with cheese), Kirutwa is run by a foundation that returns much of the revenue back to the local community.
reviewed
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C
El Puerto Callao
Overlooking a small plaza, this cozy slightly upscale restaurant serves a good mix of classic Peruvian staples. Start with the pulpo al olivo (marinated octopus and olives) or papa rellena (mashed potatoes stuffed with seasoned ground beef) before moving on to ceviche, grilled shrimp or seafood with rice.
reviewed
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D
Cafetería Fabiolita
For more than 40 years, Fabiola Flores and her daughter Margarita have been serving up the city’s favorite secos de chivo, in this immaculate little shop beneath the cathedral, still the most authentic place to try this dish (9am to 11am only). Its famous sanduches de pernil even humble city politicians.
reviewed
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E
Naranjilla Mecánica
This self-consciously hip restaurant attracts a fun, mixed crowd gathering over inventive salads, tasty sandwiches and satisfying mains such as grilled haddock with capers. The menu comes in hardback, comic-book form and the decor is Bohemian chic, with an enclosed patio in back that gets swelteringly hot on sunny days.
reviewed
