Eating Out
Price Categories
Categories are based on the cost of a meal for two people, excluding wine:
$ = under $10
$$ = $10–30
$$$ = more than $30
Ecuador has a rich and varied gastronomic culture, different from that of other Latin American countries. Ingredients and seasonings from other parts of South America and from Europe have blended to create some exciting tastes. The following local dishes are well worth trying:
Asado (“roasted”): generally means whole roasted pig.
Ceviche: raw seafood marinated in lemon, orange, and tomato juice and served with popcorn and sliced onions. Types of seafood include fish, shrimp, mussels, oysters, lobster, or octopus. Very popular on the coast and usually only eaten at lunchtime.
Cuy: whole roasted guinea pig is a traditional food dating back to Inca times. Not always served in fancy restaurants, but quite commonly at markets and street stands.
Empanadas de morocho: a delicious small pie stuffed with pork, fried, and served with hot sauce.
Empanadas de verde: a pie of green plantain, filled with cheese or meat.
Fanesca: a rich fish soup with beans, lentils, and corn. Eaten mainly during Easter week.
Humitas: a pastry (sweet or savory) made from choclo (corn), crumbled cheese, egg, and butter and wrapped in a corn husk.
Lechón hornado: roast suckling pig; a specialty of Sangolquí, near Quito.
Llapingachos: potato and cheese pancakes usually served with fritada (scraps of roast pork) and salad.
Locro: a yellow soup prepared from milk, stewed potatoes, and cheese, topped with an avocado. It may also contain watercress, meat, lentils, and pork skin.
Seco (stew): it can be based on gallina (hen), chivo (goat), or cordero (lamb) and is usually served with plenty of rice.
Tamales: a pastry dough made from toasted corn flour or wheat flour and filled with chicken, pork, or beef, wrapped in a leaf and steamed.
Tortillas de maíz: fried corn pancakes filled with mashed potato and cheese.
At the coast, seafood is very good. The most common fish are corvina (white sea bass), camarones (shrimp), and langostas (lobster). Look out for encocada (coconut) dishes, and the sal prieta of Manabí, a sauce of peanut butter and corn flour.
A surprisingly tasty dessert (postre) is helados de paila, ice cream made with fruit juice and beaten in a large brass pot (paila), which is rotated in another pot filled with ice.
Where to Eat
Quito has a very good selection of restaurants, serving everything from local dishes to international cuisine. Surprisingly, there are few good restaurants in Guayaquil, apart from in the bigger hotels. In the provinces it is possible to eat well at reasonable prices. A restaurant need not be fancy to serve delicious and healthy food. Most of the best restaurants in Quito are in the New Town, around Amazonas, Colón, and 6 de Diciembre. There are several outdoor cafés along Amazonas where you can take in the sun and street life during the day.
In Quito and Guayaquil there are some very expensive restaurants, but in a good restaurant you can have a full meal for approximately $10–15 plus 20 percent service charge and tax. If you order a bottle of wine, however, the bill will be much higher, because wine is imported. It is customary to leave an additional tip of 5–10 percent for the waiter if you have had especially good service.
Restaurants are open for lunch from noon until about 3pm. They often offer inexpensive “executive lunches.” Many local comedores serve good, set three-course lunches (menu del día) for as little as $2.50. Dinner is from 7pm until midnight. In the evening, ordering is à la carte. Most restaurants are closed on Sunday or Monday, but hotel restaurants are open every day.
Drinking Notes
There is an amazing choice of juices (jugos) such as mora (blackberry), naranja (orange), maracuya (passion fruit), naranjilla (a local fruit tasting like bitter orange), and papaya. Beers like Pilsener, Club, and Loewenbrau are quite drinkable; all other beers are imported and rather expensive. The usual soft drinks are known as gaseosas, and the local brands are very sweet. The excellent mineral water is called Guïtig (pronounced “gwee-tig”) after the best-known brand.
Coffee is often served after meals. A favorite Ecuadorian way of preparing it is to boil it for hours until only a thick syrup remains. This is then diluted with milk and water. Instant coffee is common. Espresso machines are found only in the better hotels and in a very few restaurants and cafeterias.
When it comes to alcoholic beverages, rum is cheap and good (often drunk with Coca-Cola in a cuba libre); tequila is also cheap; whiskey is fairly expensive, and imported wines (from Chile and Argentina) cost much more than they do in their country of origin. Local wines cannot be recommended.
Quito
La Bodeguita de Cuba
Reina Victoria 1721 and La Pinta
Tel: 02-254 2476
Good Cuban food served in a pleasant atmosphere. $$
Ecuadorian and Fusion
La Boca del Lobo
José Calama 284 and Reina Victoria
Tel: 02-223 4083
Chic, fashionable vibes and bright décor attract a crowd of beautiful people. Serves Ecuadorian and international fusion dishes. $$
Café Cultura
Robles 513 and Reina Victoria
Tel: 02-222 4271
A beautiful hotel serving delicious breakfasts, with a dining room that is also open for lunch and afternoon English tea. Fireside dinners by reservation. $$
Café del Fraile
Pasaje Arzobispal, 2nd floor (off the Plaza de la Independencia)
Tel: 02-251 0113
Highly recommended for both lunch and dinner, this excellent, welcoming restaurant is set around an interior courtyard just off the Plaza de la Independencia. Their locro is a specialty. $$
Café del Tianguez
Sucre and Cuenca, below the Iglesia de San Francisco
Tel: 02-223 0609
Ecuadorian specialities served in a casual, cozy atmosphere under dimmed lights and with an interesting ethnographic collection for decoration. $
Ceuce Wine Bar
Mall El Jardín, Av. Amazonas and República
Tel: 02-298 0259
Excellent fusion dishes in a funky, elegant setting blanketed in white. The focus is on the vast wine list. $$$
La Choza
12 de Octubre 1821 and Luís Cordero
Tel: 02-223 0839
Among typical, rustic decoration from the Sierra, you can enjoy the best of traditional Ecuadorian cuisine. This restaurant has been in business for over 30 years, and is known as one of the best for Ecuadorian food in Quito. $
Mamá Clorinda
Reina Victoria 1144 and José Calama
Tel: 02-254 2523
One of the best choices in Quito for traditional Ecuadorian fare, this restaurant often has live music and is a good first stop to familiarize yourself with the local cuisine. $$
Mare Nostrum
Mariscal Foch E10-5 and Tamayo
Tel: 02-252 8686
Beautiful in its cuisine and in its atmosphere, Mare Nostrum goes for a medieval theme (armour, old stone walls) in which to serve some cracking seafood. $$
El Pobre Diablo
Corner of Isabel la Católica E12-06 and Galavis
Tel: 02-223 5194
A cool jazz bar/restaurant that serves an excellent menú del día at lunchtime, and also has a good à la carte menu. Delicious Ecuadorian specialties cooked incredibly well, and several sorts of piqueos (snacks). $$
La Querencia
Eloy Alfaro 2530 and Catalina Aldaz
Tel: 02-244 6654
This place is an ultra-typical Ecuadorian eatery, transferred to top-table environs. Ceviche and cuy are both good options here. $$
Las Redes
Av. Amazonas 845 and Veintimilla
Tel: 02-252 5691
Las Redes – the nets (referring to the fishing nets used in the decoration) – serves some of the best seafood in Quito. Delicious ceviche and other seafood specialties are served by friendly staff in informal surroundings. Be sure to book: this is a small restaurant that often fills up. $$
Su Cebiche
Juan León Mera 24-204 and José Calama
Tel: 02-252 6380
A great lunch spot serving Manabí-style ceviches and seafood in an unassuming location in the Mariscal. $
Vista Hermosa
Calle Mejía 543 and García Moreno
Tel: 02-295 1401
This is the perfect place for your first night’s dinner in the Old Town. The views are spectacular, and the menu and service are excellent. Servings are large. $$
Zazu
Mariano Aguilera 331 and La Pradera
Tel: 02-254 3559
One of the leading New Andean restaurants in Ecuador, with a global wine list. This is where Quito’s brightest young things meet up. $$$
French
Rincón de Francia
General Roca 779 and 9 de Octubre
Tel: 02-255 4668/222 5053
This French restaurant has been part of the Quito dining establishment for a quarter of a century and has an excellent reputation for the finest cuisine. Reservations necessary. $$$
Greek
Café El Mosaico
Manuel Samaniego 8-95 and Antepara, Itchimbía
Tel: 02-254 2871
This restaurant serves all the regular Greek specialties and has an extensive menu of cocktails, but the real draw here is the astounding view from the hillside terrace which seems to hang right out over Quito’s Old Town. This is the perfect place to sip an early-evening drink as the lights begin to sparkle in the valley below. $$
International
Magic Bean
Mariscal Foch 681 and Juan León Mera
Tel: 02-256 6181
Café/restaurant serving coffee, brownies, pancakes, felafel, salads, kebabs, and pizzas. Great meeting place with a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. $$
Mea Culpa
Palacio Arzobispal, Plaza de la Independencia
Tel: 02-295 1190
A strict dress code is enforced at this, perhaps the best and most expensive restaurant in the city: it overlooks Plaza de Independencia from the Palacio Arzobispal, which was constructed in 1545. Serves an array of international and Mediterranean dishes. $$$
Theatrum
Manabí, between Guayaquil and Juan José Flores
Tel: 02-257 1011
Set inside the Teatro Nacional Sucre, this is one of the hottest new restaurants in the city, with numerous creatively prepared, contemporary international dishes. $$$
Zocalo
José Calama 469 and Juan León Mera
Tel: 02-223 3929
Inexpensive terrace restaurant and bar with a wide menu of international food, although the night-time atmosphere in the bar is a bigger attraction than the dining. $
Italian
Al Portico Trattoria
Orellano 1130 and Eloy Alfaro
Tel: 02-237 3659
Now in its thirteenth year, this wonderful Italian restaurant is not only a stylishly rustic eatery away from the downtown hubbub, but sources its food from its own vegetable garden where possible. Various farmyard animals in the grounds add to the appeal. $$
Il Risotto
Eloy Alfaro and Portugal
Tel: 02-224 6850
Authentic Italian cooking in a pleasingly casual atmosphere. They serve great homemade pasta and good tiramisu. Closed Sat. $$
Oriental
Sake
Paul Rivet N30-166 and Whymper
Tel: 02-252 4818
Very hip, upscale Japanese restaurant with a creative selection of sushi rolls, sashimi, and other Japanese dishes. Said to be the best sushi in Quito. Certainly a place to see and be seen amongst the smart Quito crowd. $$$
Siam
José Calama E5-10 and Juan León Mera
Tel: 02-379 2035
This is Quto’s most popular Thai eatery with cool East Asian decor and a terrace overlooking the center of the Mariscal. There is a wide selection of dishes, though beware the Thai/Ecuadorian penchant for über-spicyness. $$
Peruvian
Astrid y Gastón
Av. Coruña N32-302 and Av. González Suárez
Tel: 02-250 6621
A clone of the enormously popular restaurant in Lima, Peru, which pairs South American dishes with a contemporary touch and a hip, elegant setting. Somewhere to spoil yourself for a special dinner out. $$$
Steakhouses
Adam’s Rib
José Calama 329 and Reina Victoria
Tel: 02-256 3196
Excellent steakhouse serving large portions of down-to-earth meaty fare. Conveniently located in the heart of the Mariscal Sucre district. The desserts are divine. $$$
Shorton Grill
Eloy Alfaro and Urruita
Tel: 02-224-7797
This great Argentine steak-house serves some of the city’s best steaks, a variety of parilladas, and has a large wine list. For those who do not fancy steak, the menu also includes a number of fish, seafood, and international dishes. $$$
Vegetarian
El Maple
Joaquin Pinto E7-68 y Diego de Almagro
Tel: 02-290-000
Veggie-friendly café with innovative meatless takes on the traditional Ecuadorian dishes.
Cafés
Café Galletti
Av. J. Carrión y Juan León Mera
Tel: 02-252 7361
Another spot to try good-quality Arabica Ecuadorian coffee.
Cafecito
Luís Cordero and Reina Victoria
Tel: 02-223 4862
Popular café with good service and atmosphere. Great light meals, cocktails, and scrumptious homemade deserts.
Coffee Tree Foch
Plaza del Quinde (Plaza Foch)
Enormously popular café with good coffee, juices, sandwiches, and snacks.
Kallari
Wilson E4-266 and Juan León Mera
Tel: 02-223 6009
A coffee shop and handicraft gallery specializing in fairtrade and organic coffee, which it serves with some fine cakes and brownies. Breakfasts here are excellent. Profits benefit farmers and artisans in Napo province, who grow the cacao for the chocolate that is also sold here.
The North and the Central Highlands
Otavalo
Aly Allpa
Plaza de los Ponchos
Tel: 06-292 0289
Local dishes such as trucha (trout) prepared in a number of ways, plus reasonable set meals. $$
Shenandoah Pie Shop
Plaza de Ponchos
Tourists rave about the excellent pies at this shop on the plaza. It also serves milkshakes and desserts, plus a decent breakfast. Just the place to fortify yourself before some serious handicraft shopping. $
Cotacachi
El Colibri
End of Calle 10 de Agosto
Tel: 06-291 5237
Gourmet restaurant set in the gardens of the lavish La Mirage hotel and spa. It’s worth making the hour-and-a-half drive from Quito just for lunch. $$$
Ibarra
Café Arte
Salinas between Flores and Oveido
Tel: 06-295 0806
Artsy bar-cum-café-cum-restaurant-cum-theater space. $
Café Floral
Bolivar and Gómez de la Torre
Friendly café serving a number of dishes including crêpes and fondue. The Swiss owners make their own cheese. $$
Ambato
El Alamo Chalet
Cevallos 17-19
Tel: 03-282 4704
Another Swiss-owned restaurant, this place serves a variety of tasty Ecuadorian and international dishes. Open late. $$
Baños
Asadero Dulce Carbon
12 de Noviembre 558 and Oriente
Tel: 03-274 0353
A great traditional, meaty grill. They do what they do excellently, and that is grilled meat, so not an option for vegetarians. $$
Café Blah Blah
Ambato and Haflants
Small sidewalk café serving light meals and coffees. $
$$
Mama Inés
Ambato and Halflants
Tel: 03-274 2912
This is down-home style cooking in a friendly atmosphere with good service. Ecuadorian specialities, as well as pizzas and pasta. $$
Pancho Villa
Montalvo and 16 de Diciembre
Tel: 06-274 2870
Good variety of Mexican food in a pleasant atmosphere. Makes a nice change from the other places in town. $$
Le Petit Restaurant
Montalvo and 16 de Diciembre
Tel: 03-274 0936
With a great garden setting and Parisian owners, this is the best restaurant in the city. Serves a variety of international dishes as well as French dishes that could not be faulted on the streets of Paris. $$$
Restaurant Regine’s Café Alemán
Caserío Chamana-Ulba
Tel: 03-274 2671
It is not just German specialties on offer here, as the menu is quite international, but you would be silly not to try the excellent strudel. $$
Riobamba
D’Baggio Pizzeria
Av. Borja and Miguel Angel León
Tel: 03-296 1832
Wood-fired, Neopolitan-style pizza in a modern setting; also serves excellent pasta, delicious salads, and there’s even tiramisu for afters. $$
The Southern Sierra
Cuenca
Aguacolla Café
Bajada de Todos Santos
Tel: 07-282 4029
Great-value and great-tasting vegetarian lunches are served here. There’s also a climbing wall on site, but climb before you fill up on a big, healthy lunch. $
Café Austria
Benigno Malo 5-99
Tel: 07-284 0899
Excellent corner café/restaurant serving hot drinks, cocktails, pastries, and light meals. It’s a popular choice with locals and tourists, and has a pleasantly lively, but relaxed, atmosphere. A wonderful place to while away a Cuenca evening or two. $
Café Eucalyptus
Gran Colombia 9-41 and Benigno Malo
Tel: 07-284 9157
Sparkling, colonial-style bar and restaurant that has been visited by presidents and celebrities, and a Cuenca institution. They serve excellent international cuisine, from curries to pad thai to lasagne, and there is a lengthy cocktail list. Hosts a lively salsa night on a Saturday. $$$
El Cafecito
Honorato Vásquez 736 and Luís Cordero
Tel: 07-283 2337
Popular place for a light meal, coffee, or beer, particularly with the younger crowd. $
Goda Restaurant and Delicatessen
Gran Colombia 7-87 and Luís Cordero
Tel: 07-283 1390
Situated in the El Dorado Hotel, this place has two sections; a good deli for soups and sandwiches, and a trendy, modern eatery with some of the most cutting-edge dishes in town. $$
Guajibamba
Luís Cordero 12-32
Tel: 07-283 1016
If you want to try cuy (guinea pig), this is one of the best places in Ecuador to do so. Cuy takes an hour to prepare, so call in your order unless you don’t mind waiting that long. $$
El Jardín
Calle Larga 6-93 and Presidente Borrero (in Hotel Victoria)Tel: 07-282 7401
This is one of Cuenca’s best restaurants; pricey but worth it. Serves a variety of international dishes. $$$
El Jordán
Larga 6-111 and Presidente Borrero
Tel: 07-285 0517
Arabian dishes are paired with a few Ecuadorian ones and served in an elegant setting with hand-painted murals on the walls and views over the Río Tome-bamba. The lamb moussaka mahshi is said to be legendary. There are live shows with Arabian belly dancing every Friday night. $$$
El Maíz
Calle Larga 1-279 and Calle de los Molinos
Tel: 07-284 0224
Set in historic El Barranco, close to the Pumapungo ruins, El Maíz presents itself as the true bastion of Cuencaña cuisine. Serves typical Andean delicacies such as alpaca, cuy, tamales, and humitas, but really this is Ecuadorian-European fusion food $$$
New York Pizza Restaurant
Gran Columbia 10-43
Tel: 07-284 2792
This fun and funky place is a good, value-for-money option serving enormous pizzas and filling calzones. $
Raymipampa Café
Benigno Malo 859
Tel: 07-283 4159
This institution is popular with locals, and serves inexpensive steaks and braised chicken and chips. The chocolate milkshakes are to die for. $$
Restaurante Mangiare Bene
Bolívar 14-011 and Estévez de Toral
Tel: 07-282 6233
You really do eat exceptionally well at this stylish but informal little restaurant attached to the Posada del Ángel. Their homemade artesanal pastas are melt-in-the-mouth delicious, and they also do good meat dishes with an Italian flair. $$
Sankt Florian
Larga 7-119 and Luís Cordero
Tel: 07-883 3359
Casual restaurant/bar on the Barranco, popular with a young crowd, serving tasty international dishes. The steak with green pepper is a speciality. There’s often live music here at night. $$
Tutto Freddo’s
Benigno Malo y Simon Bolivar
The city’s most popular ice cream joint. $
Loja
Diego’s
Calle Colón, between Sucre and Bolívar
Tel: 07-256-0245
Elegant Ecuadorian dining in a restored colonial house. $$
Salon Lolita
Salvado Bustamente Celi at Guayaquil, La Valle
Tel: 07-257 5603
This is the best place in town to try local specialties including cuy and cecina (salty fried pork). The portions are vast, so go on an empty stomach. Located north of the city center in the La Valle district. $$
Vilcabamba
La Terraza
Vega y Bolívar
Occupying a sidewalk setting on the main plaza with good Mexican and international dishes. Popular with backpackers. $
The Oriente and the Pacific Coast
Puyo
O’Sole Mio
Pichincha and Guaranda
Tel: 03-288 4768
Reputable Italian restaurant with sublime pizzas and pastas. $$
Coca
Parrilladas Argentinas
Cnr Inés and Cuenca
This Argentine-style grill/steakhouse is considered the best restaurant in town, with plenty of cuts to tempt meat-lovers. $$
Tena
Café Tortuga
Orellana s/n
Tel: 06-529 5419
With a great location on the malecón (waterfront), this Swiss-owned café is a breezy place to hang out and drink delicious fruit frappes, while you browse the enticing, international menu. $
Esmeraldas
Chifa Asiático
Mañizares and Bolívar
Tel: 06-272 6888
The best of the chifas (Chinese restaurants) in Esmeraldas. $
Las Redes
Bolívar, on the main plaza
Tel: 06-272 3151
A tiny but popular café/restaurant serving inexpensive fish dishes. It is open only for lunch. $
Restaurant El Manglar
Quito 303
Tel: 06-272 7112
Serving a wide menu of seafood, steaks, pizzas, and pastas, as well as Esmeraldas specialties like pescado encocado (fish with coconut sauce) this is deservedly the most popular restaurant in Esmeraldas. $
Bahía de Caráquez
Muelle Uno
On the pier for the San Vicente boats
The best grill and seafood restaurant in town, with a number of wonderfully prepared dishes to choose from. $$
Manta
El Marinero
Malecón and Calle 110
In Tarquí, this is one of the better typical Manabí seafood restaurants. The menu offers a choice of good ceviches and other seafood dishes. $$
Martinica
Umiña 2, Mz I Road to Barbasquillo
Tel: 05-261 3735
Manta’s best restaurant by a distance: the interior resembles the haciendas of old but the food is as state-of-the-art as can be. It’s not complicated: just good seafood and grills – but few places in Ecuador can do them so good. There is an excellent range of Chilean and Argentine wines too. $$$
Montañita
Restaurant Bar Karukura
Guido Chiriboga Parra and Costanera
One of the liveliest spots in town, beside the Hotel Montañita, this restaurant does good French/Ecuadorian food and amazing cocktails.
Tiburón
Calle Principal s/n
Well-run restaurant serving ceviche, fish dishes, and seafood empanadas. Also good for drinks and cocktails. $$
The South Coast
Guayaquil
Aroma Café
Jardines del Malecón 2000
Tel: 04-239 1328
Pleasant café on the malecón overlooking a small pool and gardens. The kitchen serves mostly Ecuadorian food and also has a children’s menu. $$
Asia de Cuba
Datiles 205 and Calle Primera (Urdesa)
Tel: 04-600 9999
This Latin-influenced Asian restaurant serves Japanese-Thai-Chinese-Indian-Cuban-Peruvian fusion food amidst super-stylish decor. There’s also an extensive wine list. $$
Blu Restaurant
Víctor Emilio Estrada 707 and Ficus, Urdesa
Tel: 04-288 4954
Blu serves up slightly overpriced Mediterranean and international dishes together with a wine list that hails from Chile, Argentina, California, France, Spain, and Italy. Low lighting and candles on the tables add a romantic ambience. $$$
El Cantonés Internacional
Av. Guillermo Pareja and Calle 43, La Garzota
Tel: 04-262 7613
Reasonably priced chifa (Chinese restaurant) with the usual bright decor and a pleasant atmosphere. $
El Caracol Azul
9 de Octubre 1918 and Los Rios
Tel: 04-228 0461
This smart, white-tablecloth place with a Peruvian chef at the helm is popular with the business crowd. The menu sports fusion Peruvian-French haute cuisine: mostly seafood, though there are also meat dishes on offer. $$
La Casa del Cangrejo
Av. Plaza Dañín
If you are keen on eating crab, then this is the place to come. They serve all sorts of imaginative crab dishes and other seafood to complement it. $$
La Pepa de Oro
Boyacá entre Clemente Ballén and 10 de Agosto
Tel: 04-232 9690
Located in the Grand Hotel Guayaquil, this is the place to sample Ecuadorian hot chocolate, made with locally-grown cacao, and the sandwiches plastados (squashed toasted sandwiches) for which the city is famous. There’s a swimming pool outside for your convenience. $$
Escalón 69
Cerro Santa Ana
Tel: 04-230 9828
This is a welcoming local spot which serves delicious Ecuadorian specialities just off the steps of Las Peñas. It is decorated with bright indigenous textiles and hammocks, and feels suitably exotic. $
Guayaquil Club Naval de Yacht
Malecón Simón Bolívar and Aguirre
Tel: 04-244 6366
A nice place for the happy hour or sunset. Serves international dishes and seafood. There is also a smaller, but less atmospheric, restaurant on the first floor with very economical menus. $$$
Lo Nuestro
Víctor Emilio Estrada 903 and Higueras, Urdesa
Tel: 04-238 6398
Guayaquil’s best Ecuadorian restaurant is a place for a long, slow repast rather than a quick meal. They serve excellent seafood but also meat; the seco de chivo (goat meat stew) is a house specialty. $$$
La Parrillada del Ñato
Víctor Emilio Estrada 1217 and Laureles
Tel: 04-238 7098
This is a popular Argentine-style grill which serves up huge portions of meat in a friendly, down-to-earth atmosphere. It’s also a child-friendly restaurant and offers small portions for little ones. $$
Amador’s
Urdaneta 104
It may not look like much from outside but inside, this serves the best Ecuadorian streetfood not served on the street. $
Trattoria da Enrico
Bálsamos 504 between Ebanos and Las Monjas
Tel: 04-238 7079
This is a friendly, rustic Italian eatery with a menu that is big on seafood, but also includes excellent pastas. Try the Spagetti Pirata (Pirate’s Spaghetti) or pulpo a la brasa (grilled octopus). $$
Tsuji
Víctor Emilio Estrada 813 and Guayacanes, Urdesa
Tel: 04-288 1183
Exquisite Japanese food served in a stylish atmosphere. Specialties are sushi, sashimi, noodle, and tempura dishes. $$
Salinas
La Bella Italia
Malecón and Calle 17
Tel: 04-288 4954
As well as great pizzas and pasta, the menu here has a good selection of international dishes and is of course big on seafood. Very popular. $$
Mar y Tierra
Malecón and Valverde
Tel: 04-277 3687
Perhaps the best seafood restaurant in Salinas. The ceviches are a delight, and the menu offers a number of good meat dishes as well. $$$
The Galápagos Islands
Santa Cruz
The main area for restaurants and cafés in the Galápagos is along Avenida Charles Darwin in Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz.
Angermeyer Point
Punta Estrada, Puerto Ayora
Tel: 05-252 7007
Directly overlooking the water, this restaurant can only be reached by water taxi across Academy Bay. It serves fine international cuisine leaning towards Thai and Japanese, offering freshly caught fish and seafood. $$$
El Chocolate Galápagos
Av. Charles Darwin, opposite fishermens’ dock, Puerto Ayora
Tel: 05-252 6993
Recommended for snacks and delicious chocolate cake. $
La Garrapata
Av. Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora
Tel: 05-252 6264
Popular meeting place for travelers serving sandwiches, main dishes and à la carte dishes for lunch and dinner. $$$
Hotel Sol y Mar
Av. Charles Darwin and Binford, Puerto Ayora
Tel: 05-252 6281
A good place to enjoy breakfast on a terrace visited by iguanas. $$
Limón y Café
Av. Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora
Popular thatched bar serving drinks and snacks. Open evenings only. $$
Red Sushi Bar & Restaurant
At the Red Mangrove Inn, Av. Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora
Tel: 05-252 7011
Japanese restaurant with a long sushi and sashimi list. They will also deliver to your hotel or yacht. $$$