Quito Restaurants

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This tourist-filled place in La Mariscal has good food, for only slightly more than some of the other area restaurants. I had a glass of their hour red wine for $2.99 that was actually pretty good along with a zucchini and yogurt soup and, for the main course, some mussels in a spinach sauce (pictured below). Everything was good and the total was under $20.

The atmosphere is pleasant, but far from local or authentic, but then again, the location in La Mariscal should make that obvious right away.

This restaurant is tucked in Quito, near the gringo quarter, but on a side alleyway. Despite its more remote location, it is a favorite with tour groups and visitors. The food is pretty delicious, authentic re-creations of Ecuadoran cuisine. And on some nights, Sunday I know of for sure, there are dancers and musicians from Ecuador. It is quite a show, a flurry of beautiful dancing with indigenous music from the region. Despite it being a fairly tourist-place, it is worth seeing.

Pim's restaurant is located on the Panecillo, a hill overlooking Quito. It is a beautiful restaurant, and the views of the city will take your breath away (try to get a table on the porch overlooking the city). It is a pretty formal restaurant, and the food is expensive for Ecuador, but reasonable if you come from the US or Europe (about what you'd pay back home).

The food is a selection of various dishes, but aim for the platos typicos of Ecuador. They make several delicious dishes, and well worth it. And make sure to stretch your belt for some appetizers.

Overall, Pim's is a good experience in Quito, from the ambiance to the views to the food. A great introduction to the cuisine of Ecuador.

Favorite Dish: When my group ate there, we started with several appetizers. These included two kinds of empanadas (one of white corn called "molochitos", and one of plantains), and a selection of home-made sausages. For the main course, I had a dish of chorizo sausage with potato-cheese pancakes, cabbage and a fried egg. The whole meal had a salsa on the table called aji, made from tree tomatoes. It had a distinct aroma and flavor, and it was put on virtually everything we ate.

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I had never had ceviche before. All I knew was it was raw fish or seafood that was "cooked" in lime juice. I was keen on trying it, so we went to this fast-food type cebicheria in downtown Quito. My one complaint I have with this restaurant is the confusing system of keeping track of the white, yellow, and pink colours of the receipts to get your order to you. The service was very fast.

Favorite Dish: They always serve a basket of popcorn with roasted kernels together with banana crisps as something to snack on before your meal gets here. Sometimes they serve fried yucca sticks which are okay- they taste like the American tater tot. The ceviche arrives together with ají and a lime. First, I had the large shrimp ceviche. I loved it with the ají and the lime juice. It tasted even better putting the banana crisps in, serving as crackers or croutons. Next, I had a smaller portion of the fish ceviche, again adding the ají, lime juice, and banana crisps.

Sometimes the best restaurants are small, hole-in-the-wall places like Empanada Boliviana. Restaurants like these that do one or a few things do them well because you know everything is fresh and good. These folks only do beef and chicken empanadas with a little ahí on the side if you want it.

Favorite Dish: I had 2 beef empanadas with some ahí on the side and some Güitig to wash it down. This $3 meal was better than some for which I have paid more than $15.

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This was my first go of Colombian cooking. A friend of Sergio's recommended this restaurant for fine food at a reasonable price. So, I treated Sergio for lunch. The restaurant had quite a lot of atmosphere and they were showing news from Colombia on TV in the background. The service was very attentive and fast.

Favorite Dish: With every meal, they serve one empanada per person as an appetiser and some ají on the side. The empanada seemed to be of potatoes. Sergio recommended the ajiaco (a typical Colombian soup made with chicken, three types of potatoes and corn) and the bendeja paisa (a plate that includes blood sausage, a more traditional garlic sausage, ground beef, yuca, and a green banana. All that is served with a corn cake called arepa. Believe it or not, folks, these were half-sized portions. I would have had to buy a second seat on the flight back if I had gone whole hog. There is a certain way to eat ajiaco. They present it with a plate of rice (garnished with avocado) and a cream sauce with capers. A little bit at the time, add the rice, cream sauce, and capers to the soup. The rice gives it more texture, the cream sauce gives it more body, and the capers give it more flavour. I asked Sergio if there was a special way to eat the bandeja paisa. He said, "With a knife and fork." I washed all that down with a typical Colombian soft drink called Postodon (apple flavour). The drink wasn't bad, but I've had better. Over all, it was a great first experience with Colombian food. Sadly, as of November, 2007, there aren't any Colombian restaurants in the Richmond area. In terms of bang for the buck, this has to be the best in town.

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Sergio, Christina, and I went here for coffee while we were shopping at the Esquina Shopping Centre in Cumbayá. It is a typical coffee house with all manner of confections and even ice cream. Coffee sure feels good during the nearly inevitable afternoon rains. Corfu is run by the same folks as Cyrano bakeries. At shopping centres with one, there is usually the other not far away.

Favorite Dish: The lot of us had cappuccino. Mine was a little too frothy.

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Before I left for this trip, a friend of mine asked me to describe how the spices and aromas here are different than in the United States. One whiff in front of El Brasero would answer his question. There is nothing more inviting than the aroma of chicken on the barbecue infused with garlic. These barbecue places are fairly common here, but this one smelled best. These folks don't need contact cards- they can just fire up the grills. I had great service here on a frustrating day when I was in downtown Quito. Not only was it fast, but when the steamed potatoes that come with the chicken were presented with a mayonnaise sauce (not mentioned on the menu) the waiter gladly took it back in favour of an unadorned steamed potato.

Favorite Dish: Disgruntled with the other events of the day, I wasn't terribly hungry. So, I had the quarter chicken served with a consomé, steamed potato, rice, and salad. Of course there was ají on the side, which was spicier than usual. So, it was a good thing two pieces of bread came with it. The consomé is a hot, clear soup served with huge chunks of chicken liver. It's the type of soup that would feel good going down on a cold fall day. The chicken tastes as good as it smells from down the street. The rice, potato, and salad (with the help of the ají) were good accompaniments to the chicken. All of this came to $3.45!