The best bars and cafés Ecuador

This cool bar boasts an original setting and decor (elves, fairies and satyrs adorn the walls). You enter into a room with a bar, where you can dance to music ranging from salsa and rock to hip-hop, reggae and electro. Behind, in a courtyard with a large log fire in the middle, there's a second bar. Here, you can chat over a drink, meet new people and sway to the beat. The atmosphere is always good. Interesting choice of cocktails, both classic and inventive (the Bob Marley, for example).

In the heart of the Plaza Foch, the nerve centre of the nightlife in the La Mariscal district, this is an excellent place to enjoy excellent home-made beers. The turtle pale ale, the black bird stout and the red llama ale are among the beers produced at the casa! All of them are named after an emblematic animal of the country, they are a bit more expensive than the usual beers served but you won't be disappointed. Good dishes on the go are also proposed.

If you feel like crossing the river, which we recommend since the opening of the Aerovia, which offers a real trip in itself, here is a small address at the entrance of Duran, a district that is gradually opening up to tourism. Open from early morning to late evening, it will be the ideal stopover when you arrive on this side of the Guayas. You will be able to eat good local cooking or simply drink a small cerveza there by taking council with the owner for your visit of this district which conceals still small secrecies! We recommend it.

An authentic pub like you like, with a British garden, a fireplace, a billiard table and a game of darts. Obviously, here we do not speak Spanish, but English! A warm and friendly atmosphere perfect for a beer… or a pint!

The Wunderbar is an institution in Cuenca since 1995. It is a simple place with a rustic decor (stone and brick walls, wooden tables) where you can relax and enjoy a cold beer or a canelazo, meet other travellers and Cuencanos... and play a game of pool. The place is also recommended for a quick lunch; if the weather is good, you can even sit outside in the small garden. Live music from Thursday to Saturday, with a very modern and eclectic program. Good atmosphere guaranteed!

El Barquero, opened 20 years ago, was the first bar on the island of San Cristóbal. The establishment has become a very pleasant place of entertainment. It is a place where you can enjoy good cocktails and listen to a variety of music, some of which is live. All the celebrities who come to San Cristóbal pass through here and leave their mark in a vast collection of photographs. The atmosphere is friendly and cosmopolitan, favourable to meetings between locals and tourists, as everyone passes through El Barquero at the end of the evening.

On the edge of the beach, this open-air restaurant-bar-discotheque (and hotel) is very nice. With your feet in the sand, sitting around a barrel as a table, you can enjoy a good house cocktail while listening to good music. The atmosphere is relaxed and people meet there to listen to live music every weekend. The owner is very friendly and the barmaid is top notch. (She is nicknamed La Gata) You can also enjoy good veggie lasagna, chicken and shrimp dishes. Happy hour at the end of the day.

Since 2009, this bar has been all the rage on Isabela. Noralma and Ché welcome you for lunch and in the evening for a drink and a party with your feet in the sand. It is the meeting point of the local youth who mingle here with the tourists. The atmosphere is festive, relaxed and conducive to meetings with regulars and visitors alike. You can sit outside under the awning or have a drink inside. Small dance floor where Latin rhythms (and international variety) are played at full speed during the evenings organised on a regular basis.

This small cafe adjacent to the Hotel Darwin is without any claim. A few tables are laid under a palm canopy and sand pyritic the ground. Good seasonal fresh fruit juices, breakfasts and salads, brochetas (chicken and fish). For a menu of the day, count $ 4. 

One comes here to have breakfast, a drink while checking one's emails (wifi connection), to spend a good moment with friends after a day of excursion or to have dinner. The menu is complete: pasta, salads, sandwiches... and house specialities such as quesadillas or wraps or, more locally, Pulpo the rock (octopus with olive tapenade). A tempting selection of cocktails, including the Orgasmo Galapágos, The Rock Tropical Shake or the Blue Boobies Margarita. Don't miss the happy hour, if you can find a seat.

A new bar-restaurant concept in Quito, Le Zinc attracts a wealthy clientele. Modern industrial decor, subdued lighting, velvet seating, cocktail bar with a wide choice of drinks that change with the seasons (high prices)... Adjacent to the bar is the restaurant. On the menu are international dishes(picadas as starters) and local dishes such as ceviche or lomo latino, as well as pizzas, salads and burgers. A chic and trendy place. Too bad it's so noisy and only open 4 days a week.

A small friendly place perched above the church of Guápulo offering a superb view from the terrace. Two Ecuadorian friends, who fell under the charm of Guápulo, opened this place about twenty years ago. An alternative and "arty" place where the local youth and some tourists who passed the word. They serve pizzas and calzones as well as delicious meat or chicken empanadas. The liquor list is quite complete, offering wines, beers and various cocktails. Live music on some nights.

A micro-brewery that has been offering craft beer in its name, from dark to white, for almost 10 years. To accompany these good beers, the Compañia offers pizzas and very good variations on the cheesecake theme. Lovers will ask for the red fruit cheesecake, prepared on the spot of course, with red fruits harvested in the region. You can eat very good small snacks here, as an aperitif or as a meal. There is a pleasant games room with the traditional pub game of darts.

Located in a pretty square, Goza Café is an Espresso-bar, one of those places that not only serves coffee, but also offers a great menu from breakfast to dinner! We love the large terrace, where you can enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Cuenca. In the evening, the square becomes a favorite meeting place for the city's artists and skateboarders. During the pandemic, Goza opened two other establishments in Cuenca, demonstrating its determination to become the most widespread restaurant/cafeteria in Equatorial cities. Already two other addresses in town.

For those who want to get off the beaten track a bit, this is one of the most typical places in the city, in terms of neighbourhood bars. Here, you can meet after work, with friends or family to have a drink (or two...), chat and watch the game during the football nights. A wide range of Ecuadorian craft beers is offered here. Nothing to do with the more touristic bars located only a few meters away. Very good atmosphere to meet the inhabitants of Quito!

Contrary to its name, the Beer garden is a closed room and not a garden. A very pleasant place to spend an evening eating tapas while listening to a concert. And of course with a good beer! Beer garden features an excellent craft beer made in Riobamba called Mestiza (the half-breed), a sure bet. Here too, you can come and watch most of the football matches played by the national team in a good atmosphere conducive to meeting the locals.

El Chiplote looks like a night bar from the outside, but not only! It is above all a very good Tex-Mex restaurant where you can taste very tasty tacos, burritos and quesadillas while having a drink with friends or during a sports event broadcasted live on big screens. It's a good place to meet other travelers or chat with locals who come here in large numbers for lunch or dinner. The atmosphere is very good and the service very friendly.

The flag of Ecuador decorates the pretty façade of this rustic bar. Inside, there is everything, we feel the experience of the place. Many vinyls remind us that this place has been a music place for many years, so much so that in October 2021, for the restart of the district, which had suffered a lot from the lack of tourists during the pandemic, the vinyls were in the spotlight for a whole evening for the greatest happiness of the turntable lovers. The Taberna is also one of the favorite bars of the locals on the evening of football match! Atmosphere guaranteed.

If you love coffee, you won't be disappointed at this beautiful finca in the heart of the cloudforest, offering a tasting area for the coffee produced on site. The owner is Colombian by birth and has won several international awards for his coffee. On site you will also find a variety of activities for young and old, allowing you to spend the day on site if you wish. Canopy, swings, games for children are available in this case. You can of course buy the coffee of the house at the price of 20 US$ per kilo.

Next to the main square, the Fútbol Times has set up shop in an unattractive building. On the wall are photos of sportsmen (Maradona, Neymar, Michael Jordan, Zinedine Zidane, etc.). Numerous screens broadcast and re-broadcast sports matches from all over the world. At the bar, there are many drinks. During certain evenings (see the Facebook page), you can enjoy several concerts and animations, especially on weekends. On the food side, you can enjoy relatively simple but well prepared dishes!