Four Favorite Quito Restaurants
Getting to know Quito before or after your time at the Galapagos Safari Camp is an urban safari that goes beyond the guidebooks.
The capital has a colorful history, fascinating culture, and off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods worth exploring. The city is also home to an up-and-coming, internationally recognized restaurant scene that’s putting great food back on the map.
Keep reading to find out more about the in-the-know favorites that are at the forefront of Quito’s food renaissance.
Zazu
The Relais & Châteaux rated Zazu puts the food first, bringing an international flavour to the farm-to-table concept in Ecuador. It’s the place to celebrate and relax, leaving the travel clothes at home.
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Together with Chef David Picco, he keeps the food scene moving, taking the best ingredients and serving inspired cuisine to foodies from all around the world.
The menu includes pistachio-crusted tuna, Galapagos lobster, and new interpretations of traditional Ecuadorian and Peruvian dishes. The chef’s seven course tasting menu is a favorite; letting you try seasonal delicacies such as stone crab ceviche, suckling pig taquitos, and a hard-to-beat beef carpaccio.
Mariano Aguilera 331 & La Pradera,
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Each team creates their own combination of big and small plates to choose from, complete with cocktails and infused juices.
Lizardo García between12 de Octubre and Tamayo
(02) 255-4365
Website
Viola
Located on a quiet tree-lined residential street in a popular neighborhood north of the new town, Voila is the place for an intimate romantic evening or a festive night out with friends.
The fondue menu hits the right marks with a sophisticated selection of cheese and meat combinations. Wine comes by the bottle or glass; refilled by the European owner who oversees a staff of two others.
The ambiance is classic; small tables are scattered throughout the covered, open-air dining area in clusters. Each party is shown how to prepare the fondue using the burner at the center of the table, served with a watchful eye and a touch of old school charm.
What takes the cake at Voila is the quality of the ingredients. Finding good cheese in Ecuador is a rarity. The owner-chef of Voila has connections, and uses a variety of different kinds to create mouth-watering flavors.
Coruna N30-88
Quito,
Chipotle’s cuisine is Mexican. Their menu consists of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads prepared with fresh ingredients employing classic cooking methods. The customer proceeds down an assembly line choosing the various components of their meal as they proceed. They have recently created a children’s menu offering smaller portion sizes. They offer three types of meats: chicken, beef, and pork. Condiments include fajita vegetables, rice, two types of beans, four different salsas, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, and lettuce.
Everyone wants their food to taste superb when going out to eat. Both restaurants served excellent homemade chips and salsas as well as queso dip. Reading the menu to order was no problem and both places had a wide variety of options to choose...
Popular main dishes include lechón asado (roast pig), bictec de palomilla (sirloin steak), ropa vieja (shredded beef), and pollo asado (roasted chicken); these are accompanied by arroz blanco y frijoles negros (white rice and black beans), and if it is cooked together congri or moros y cristianos (black beans and rice). Desserts are rich and very sweet. After meals at home, in restaurants, at work, and at any time and everywhere Cubans love to drink café Cubano, the strong and bittersweet coffee.
There are specials offered at every meal depending on the season and the catch of the day. Chef Vanzile says that he plans the menu around what fresh fish and produce look the best rather than what is trendy. However, there is still a great deal of ambition evidenced in the menu. Some recent specials included Mahi chowder and blackened salmon with Romesco cream as well as more expected fare such as sautéed crab cakes and a shrimp omelet. Fish and chips were the special on St. Patrick’s Day, an Irish themed-meal for diners to enjoy.
Lunch consists of empanadas, chicken or meat turnovers, or cuban sandwiches. The sandwich could be a media noche (midnight sandwich), consisting of a slice of pork, ham, and swiss cheese and then topped with pickles and mustard on sweetened egg bread. The pan con bistec is a thin slice of palomilla steak on Cuban bread garnished with lettuce, tomatoes, and fried potato sticks. One may also order a side of mariquitas, thinly sliced plantain chips, to accompany their hearty sandwich.
cakes among many other freshly made recipes. They have a special cookbook for all of the fancy
The menu is concise and easy to understand: burrito bowl, burrito, soft or crispy tacos, chips and guacamole, salad, and choice of beans, and meats,
An important fact is that rice is not used to accompany the hot plate; on the contrary, the hot plates are used to accompany the rice. The broths and soups, unlike the West, are served several times as other foods. Soup usually is accompanied with fruits. On the table there should be 3 glasses of different sizes, the largest is used for drinking water, the medium for rice wine, and the smallest for liquor. The basic cover consists of a bowl, a plate, a pair of chopsticks, cup of tea and a porcelain spoon. Chopsticks are used to eat and to take food, but after lunch, they never are left in the plate, but next to the plate. People should not drink until the host has not raised his glass. A person never serves in its own glass; instead he serves to someone else, while that person will return the kindness. People should not be surprised if someone is slurping the soup while making a loud noise; it is the right way to prove that the soup is
Cilantro Tamales isn’t a typical Mexican restaurant. Upon entering you are immediately greeted with warm smiles, and are led to a bamboo chaired table with all sorts of hot sauces and other sizzling toppings to greet you. The air is filled with spices. The cinnamon and jalapeño aromas mingle and make the mood rich. Every dish on the menu seems delicious and it is always difficult to decide what to order. I always think that any dish which I don’t try gives me the excuse to come back again. Everyone who eats at Cilantro Tamales gets to have an unlimited amount of their fresh, homemade salsa with warm, salty tortilla chips. The thick chunks of tomatoes and onions with hot peppers and cilantro make a perfect combination for anyone’s taste buds. The waiters and waitresses carry immense trays burdened by the weight of great tasting meals, and each dish has enough on it to make mountains jealous. The delicious food is not the only reason Cilantro Tamales stands out. The restaurant itself is rich with culture and flavor. All the walls are a shade of bright yellow or sun burnt orange and red, which add to the Mexican feel. On the walls are historical black and white pictures of Mexico and its people which act as cultural memories of times past. The Latin and Mexican dance music can always be heard in the restaurant. I sometimes can’t help but move to its invigorating rhythm. An interesting facet to the restaurant is the hand crafted pottery.
As you enter into the restaurant, you many notice Five Guys’ core objective hanging above the “Order Here” sign. Their main mission is to produce quality food that is not only very flavorful, but leaves the customer wanting to come back with a smile on their face. As you may guess, everything is prepared there for you to sit and enjoy, or take-out during your busy day.
Lorson, Jennifer R. "A “Brief” History of Peruvian Cuisine." La Vida Comida. La Vida Comida, 13 May 2011. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
Italian-owned with a cozy atmosphere, this restaurant is the definition of authentic food. Each bit of every dish is flavorful and mouth-watering, leaving you incredibly satisfied and full. Your kids will love their options on the kid's menu. They can choose from spaghetti with meatballs, cheese ravioli, tortellini, chicken tenders and personal pizzas.
We present best quality of food to the regulars customers with best presentation and excellent way of service.
The hosts come to our table and escort us to the buffet. The buffet is set up in a different room adjacent to the dining room. A long table is covered with a white table cloth. Large white plates start off the buffet line followed by multiple silver chafers. I pick up my plate and make my way down the line. Apple roasted pork shoulder with pan jus fills the first chafer, with beef tenderloin in the next. As I continue, I scoop garlic whipped potatoes onto my plate along with bacon maple balsamic Brussel sprouts. Continuing with the exceptional staff, bus boys line the room making sure the chafers never run low on their content. I head back to the dining room anxious to begin devouring my