Quito Restaurants

One of Quito's finest dining experiences can be found at La Querencia. Here you can sample local dishes like seco de chivo, lamb stewed with fruit or ceviche, marinated fish. Other Ecuadoran dishes include papas con cuero, pork skins with potatoes in a peanut sauce, and arroz con menestra, a juicy filet served with rice, lentils, and fried bananas. Dine inside next to the cozy fireplace or take your meals outside in the beautiful garden.

For a nice romantic dinner visit the Il Risotto. Relax with your loved one at this cozy Italian restaurant where candles and fresh roses are on every table. Start your meal with the shellfish salad, then follow that with the lobster on a bed of pasta pomodoro, or a chicken roll with spinach and ricotta cheese. Save room for dessert, order crêpes suzette with grand marnier, or try the tiramisu with a chocolate and cognac sauce.

The Las Redes restaurant offers great seafood at affordable prices. Start your meal with the house specialty, the gran mariscada, an enormous platter of assorted sizzling seafood. Try the arroz con mariscos, yellow rice with peppers, onions, mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, octopus, and crayfish is also delicious. The decor in this restaurant makes you feel as though you are actually at a seafood restaurant on the coast.

While planning your trip, please see Quito Vacation, Quito Hotels and Quito Tours.

• La Querencia Phone: 02-2446-654
  • Frommer's Highly Recommended:"On the inside, you'll find large picture windows, which open onto a garden; brightly colored walls decorated with typical Ecuadorian crafts; a fireplace; and charming, large-planked hardwood floors."

• • Fodor's Choice: "[This] restaurant has excellent views of Quito from its rustic fireside dining room."

• Mea Culpa Phone: 02-2951-190
  • Frommer's Highly Recommended: "This refined restaurant commands one of the most beautiful settings in Old Town."

• Theatrum Phone: 02-2571-011
  • Frommer's Recommended: "Housed on the second floor of the Teatro Sucre, this elegant restaurant is more style than substance."

• Mare Nostrum Seafood, Phone: 02-2528-686
  • Frommer's Very Highly Recommended: "Some nights the friendly waiters can be heard singing along to soft Ecuadoran music as they roam the restaurant."

• • Yahoo! Travel 4.0 Stars (Note: Community rating; may change)

• Rincón La Ronda Restaurante Ecuadorian, Phone: 02-2540-459
  • Frommer's Highly Recommended: "The restaurant feels very Spanish colonial, with thick white-stucco walls, red carpeting, sloped wood ceilings, brick archways, dark-wood high-back chairs, and iron chandeliers."

• Il Risotto Italian, Phone: 02-224-6850
  • Fodor's Review: "Fresh roses adorn candle lighted tables and prints of northern Italy and opera programs from Milan's La Scala decorate the walls, providing a romantic mood at this excellent Italian restaurant."

• Las Redes Seafood, Phone: 02-2525-691
  • Frommer's Highly Recommended: "You can order any type of ceviche, from clams to octopus to fish or shrimp. The chefs here also do an excellent job with all sorts of seafood."

• • Yahoo! Travel 4.0 Stars (Note: Community rating; may change)
• Café Mosaico International, Phone: 02-2542-871
  • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: "Much more than a cafe and more like an elite gathering place, Mosaico is perhaps the most spectacular eatery in Ecuador."

• Café Tianquez Ecuadorian, Phone: 02-2954-326
  • Frommer's Highly Recommended: "This is the perfect place in which to have a quick meal when you're spending the day in Old Town visiting the sights."

• Red Hot Chili Peppers Mexican, Phone: 02-2557-575
  • Frommer's Recommended: "Although this is principally a Mexican restaurant renowned for its massive and mouthwatering fajitas, by night it is also a small and relatively laid-back bar serving the best frozen margaritas in the city."

• El Maple Phone: 02-2231-503
• El Holandes Phone: 02-2522-167
• HappyCow: Quito Vegetarian Restaurants
• VegDining.com: Quito Vegetarian Restaurants