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La Cocina de Francy
Instead of Spanish fare, this tasca -style restaurant specializes in delicious Venezuelan cuisine, rooted in ancestral recipes. Check out, for example, the pelao guayanés, a soulful chicken stew laced with herbs and olive oil. For dessert don't miss the quesillo de jojoto, a creamy corn flan.
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La Estación del Pollo
This popular dining hall has racks upon racks of chickens roasting over coals and attentive waiters rushing them to your table, along with the obligatory side of yucca laced with guasacaca (peppers, onions and seasonings) sauce. Alternatively, order a parrilla to have steaks and sausages grilled by your table.
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La Ghirin Café, Dely y Restaurant
Hidden from the road by a wall of palms, this open-air café is worth a stop any time of day: for a criollo (Spanish) breakfast, five-course set lunch, or candlelit evening meal. There's a big selection of tropical fruit juices, sandwiches on homemade bread, sublime desserts - all with an emphasis on fresh, healthful ingredients and served by extremely affable waiters.
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La Gorda
La Gorda 'The fat lady' has been serving traditional Venezuelan dishes for decades. For something really special, try the bollos pelones, a regional variation on hallacas (filled corn dough steamed in banana leaves) filled with seasoned ground beef and laced with tomato sauce.
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La Guayaba Verde
This trendy lunch restaurant offers large portions of lip-smacking Venezuelan home-cooking in cool lime-green surroundings with ceiling fans shooting you a breeze. Local gourmands crowd the place daily to sample an ever-changing set menu (to check the week's selections, go to the restaurant's excellent blog and click on 'Menú de la Semana').
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La Rica Chicha
Just above the Hotel Ritz, a nice old man serves ice-cold chicha - basically rice pudding you can drink - from a big yellow thermos.
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La Romanissima
A small, romantic location perfect for an evening tête-à-tête, La Romanissima serves quality home-style Italian pasta and risottos in a mellow, low-lit environment.
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Lai King
Located next door to the Chinese social club, this large Chinese restaurant seems more authentic than most, judging by the number of Asian patrons. So besides lo mein and wonton soup, you can enjoy mustard greens in oyster sauce or fish-stuffed tofu. But careful how you order: portions are huge.
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Las Cancelas
This tasca (Spanish-style bar-restaurant) breathes tradition, with a bullfighting gallery and an extraordinarily long bar, and serves some of the better paellas in town.
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Lunchería Doña Agapita
Excellent cachapas (corn pancakes) with ham and/or cheese can be had at this tiny, no-nonsense spot off Plaza La Candelaria.
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Mokambo
Expertly fusing Mediterranean and Caribbean elements, Mokambo has dishes you didn't know you craved - such as yucca gnocchi or octopus carpaccio - and others you know and love, like three-cheese ravioli with Kalamata olives. Dine in the cool, safari-themed interior or on the terrace, surrounded by tropical foliage.
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Nonna Bella
For well-prepared risottos, raviolis and pizzas, check out this pleasant open-air Italian restaurant occupying a large court in the Chacaíto shopping mall. Though it's on the slick side, the kitchen still retains the spirit of 'beautiful Grandma,' as the name translates.
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Padre Sierra
A block from Plaza Bolívar, this bright, busy restaurant serves a bit of everything, from arepas (hamburger-size corn pancakes stuffed with juicy fillings) to steaks, even after everyone else has closed.
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Panadería Noyer Deli
This particularly appealing café/bakery near the Plaza Bolívar has fantastic apple strudel, among other sweet things.
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Papa Grill
For quick eats, try this stand where a wacky grillman clangs a big bell when your order's ready. Their signature snack consists of grilled shredded beef on a bed of yucca which you can garnish with various tasty sauces from squeeze bottles.
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Pollo en Brasas El Coyuco
This classic spot is often packed with locals chowing down on lusciously seasoned roasted chicken and yucca within a rustic, log cabin setting.
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Punto Criollo del Este
Though easy to overlook, this hole-in-the-wall kitchen on the east end of the district is a locally recommended purveyor of reasonably priced comida criolla lunches.
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Restaurant Beirut
This atmospheric lunch place serves northern Lebanese cuisine, accompanied by belly dancing Thursdays and Fridays.
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Restaurant da Marcelo
For quality Italian fare at the lower end of the price scale, check this unpretentious place hidden down a sidestreet.
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Restaurant El Coyuco
Mouthwatering grilled chicken is served in this vast, smoky dining hall on the main drag. Order your bird con todo for sides of yucca, salad and an hallaquita (mini tamale).
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Restaurant El Presidente
This simple, checkered-tablecloth spot fills up quickly at noon, when locals pour in for its home-style set-lunch menus.
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Restaurant La Estancia
Famous for its grilled meats of every cut and style, La Estancia is one of the best spots in Caracas for carnivores. It's situated in a hacienda-style building with tables around a jungly courtyard.
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Restaurant Les Grisons
Visit this rooftop restaurant at Plaza Catedral Hotel for the excellent views rather than the unremarkable food. The Alpine posters are the only trace of the Swiss chef who departed long ago.
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Restaurant Real Past
Catering to students and other cash-strapped types, Real Past has some of the cheapest and most appetizing pasta and pizza around, though none of the swanky setting.
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Restaurant Terra Park
Bow-tied waiters shout orders at thunderous volumes at this bustling open-air Spanish restaurant on a broad, breezy ground terrace beside the Torre Oeste. It's a great place to chow down in the Parque Central; the menú del día will leave you contentedly stuffed.
