The best restaurants Quito

El Mariachi Taco Factory is a good Mexican restaurant located in the Mariscal around the famous Foch square. Here, you can eat very good Mexican specialties: tacos, tortillas, guacamole, fajitas... there is something for everyone (generous portions). The meat is also very good. It's a good place to start the evening, right in the center of the Quito nightlife. Many Quiteños meet here on football match nights, in a more intimate atmosphere than on the plaza Foch. The staff is very friendly.

Notice to the gourmets! A very pretty and well decorated café serving superb cakes and chocolates. The place is perfect for breakfasts and snacks and offers a wide range of variations on cheesecake. Cheesecake with Jamaican flowers, figs, passion fruit or blackberries compete with the succulent brownies prepared on site with quality products. Some excellent sandwiches will delight the hungriest. But beware, the desserts are copious... a little nap may be in order!

If you're in the mood for a good Italian meal, look no further than La Briciola, where you'll feel like you're in Italy from the moment you walk in. The staff are professional and friendly, and the tables are well spaced. We recommend the wood-fired pizzas or the lasagne baked in the pizza oven, which are excellent! If you're looking for a more gourmet meal, try the rabbit with peppers, for example, after a good plate of fresh pasta. Agnolotti, tortellini and ravioli are homemade with quality local ingredients. A good choice.

Here's the nugget of the year, a stone's throw from the historic center. A small restaurant that can accommodate a dozen people in a small, well-decorated room, where dishes are concocted using local produce of excellent quality. Vegetables and meats are lightly smoked in the in-house smokehouse, sauces are all homemade and the welcome is particularly friendly. Soft music accompanies the excellent salads, pizzas and sandwiches.

Whether you are a vegetarian or not, you will love this restaurant which serves excellent Indian food at unbeatable prices. It is located in the patio of a beautiful colonial house that serves as the premises of the Krishna community of Quito. A small store of Indian products opens on the same patio, one would think in India! Fresh and organic products on the menu, served by a follower of the community who does not proselytize. We feel at ease here, the decor is very pleasant and the calm absolute, sometimes punctuated by the songs coming from the floor. A good choice.

This restaurant, which boasts of having hosted politicians, bullfighters, wealthy businessmen and even heads of state, is a favourite meeting place for Quito's wealthy population. The Rincón de Francia offers fine dining in a classic and elegant setting. The chef, Mario Aragón, prepares dishes with French and Spanish influences. Among the specialties of the house are the mousse de hígado al Cognac, the pangora natural (marinated meat with steamed vegetables) or the lomo fino a las tres pimientas (filet mignon)

There are also seafood specialities in a carefully decorated decor. Good table, well attended.

This chain of cevicherías has the rank of Les. Freshness and quality. Service limited to lunch.

This cevichería with a large terrace is one of the best places to try the specialties of the Esmeraldas region. Lively all day long, you can taste excellent fresh ceviches (fresh soups with lime, tomatoes, coriander and onions), shrimps(camarón), shellfish(conchas) and fish. There are also hot dishes, such as the famous arroz, a kind of paella in the tropical style, with shrimps, crabs and patacones. The owners have multiplied the experience in most of the commercial centers of Quito (El Recreo, El Jardin, etc.).

A central cevichería that declines the coast's specialities in an elegant setting.

Nestled on the 2nd floor in a @ (or even daunting) building, this popular restaurant and bar offers a varied menu of Ecuadorian, international, Mexican, Italian and Italian dishes. The decor is colourful and warm, the music is a bit too strong to exchange real conversations. It is more for the festive atmosphere than for the kitchen itself. Please note: excellent fruit juices, happy hour every evening and competitive prices. Often full.

Meat and grilled meats are excellent and generously served; so we recommend half-servings to normal appetites! The atmosphere and the cosy atmosphere are pleasant, but the place is devoid of character. Prices are quite high compared to other establishments, but meat quality justifies them.

The prices are a bit high, but the setting and the atmosphere raise the note of this establishment very appreciated by a young and cool international clientele. Located in the heart of the Mariscal, it is an ideal place to take a break during the long days of discovering the city center. The breakfast is a must, appreciated by travelers and Quiteños alike who often meet here before their day of work. The pancakes served at breakfast are gargantuan and the coffee carefully selected. Nice room with fireplace and warm colors.

Located in the pleasant Hotel Patio Andaluz, this restaurant serves cuisine that stands up well. It's a meeting place for the Quenña bourgeoisie, who like to enjoy the pleasant surroundings. Prices are very reasonable given the standing of the place. The shrimp ceviche is well worth the detour, and for the main course, we highly recommend the shrimp and fish encocado , a coconut-flavored specialty served with succulent tacones, the famous banana-based side dishes. An address not to be missed on the fine dining circuit.

This restaurant in the warm wood frame offers good traditional pizzas (and calzone) made in front of you with fresh ingredients. Several pasta styles and four pizza sizes are available. You can also choose a dish of lasagna, to accompany with a glass of sangria or Argentinian wine. The room is not very large and it is not always easy to have a place.

In the same spirit as the previous one on the second floor of the patio. The emphasis is on Ecuadorian specialities, including typical Sierra soups and the very popular «wind empanada» (a chausson of cheese and onions, fried and sprinkled with sugar).

Opened in 1963, this is a restaurant set up in a vaulted room by a bullfighting fan, as the décor proves. The menu is appetizing and offers a good alternative to Ecuadorian cuisine. Well located, just a few cuadras from Plaza San Francisco. The carne with mushrooms or the excellent typical Ecuadorian dish, seco de chivo, a well-spiced lamb stew, are succulent. The paella is also very good, in short, the choice is wide and the taste is top-notch.

A Spanish tavern in the centre of the modern city. There is a traditional Spanish style, tapas and cuisine, spécialités specialities, ink squid and fajitas. Selection of good Iberian wines.

A friendly restaurant held by a Swiss who prepares specialities from his country: fondues, conveyors and meat. Interesting and cheap for lunch. The atmosphere is friendly and casual.

Fast service. Rest of the day, vegetable hamburger and other international vegetarian specialities.

Fondues, conveyors, to reserve for the harsh evenings of the capital. Warm decor and mountain scenery.

To vary the pleasures! In the heart of Gringolandia, this restaurant offers various Swiss specialities - the fondues of the fondue - in a minimalist modern decor. Cheese or meat, chocolate and even the dish of her, there are for all tastes. Against all odds, Ecuadorians are part of the clientele of this place that contrasts. Good wine card.

A small churrascaria (restaurant specializing in red meat, chicken and pork grills), which offers a map of Brazilian specialities in a classic decor. Try feijoada with caïpirinha.

Overlooking a pretty courtyard, this colourful restaurant offers good value for money, but be aware that it is (very) touristy. You can choose between pasta, sandwiches, salads and empanadas, meat, fish and seafood dishes... Don't hesitate to try the fritada quiteña, a delicious local speciality that is very copious here. Vegetarians will appreciate the tallarines salteados con verdura. Good to know: Café del Fraile is also a nice place to have a drink in the evening, with a wide choice of cocktails on the menu.

In the heart of the Floresta district, this cozy eatery with its bobo decor of wood and bric-a-brac concocts tasty cuisine with Andean and Ecuadorian costeña influences. The produce is often organic and the recipes original. The setting is as pleasant as the service is friendly, and it's a popular spot for breakfast (several formulas are available), as well as lunchtime, when the starter/main course/drink menu offers excellent value for money. Home-made jams and other artisanal products for sale on site.

In the Floresta district, a restaurant in the most subdued setting (it almost lacks light!) that fuses Japanese and Peruvian cuisine. Admittedly, prices here are higher than elsewhere, but the quality and freshness of the produce are unmistakable. On the menu: ceviche, sushi, maki, temaki, tempura, gyozas... all sprinkled with an Andean touch, bearing in mind that Peru has very close ties with Japan. Beware, portions are small... A "chic" table that also prepares good cocktails.

A real favorite of the year in Quito, this is a lovely restaurant on the banks of the Floresta where Chef Santiago offers fusion cuisine to share with friends, often served on beautifully decorated planks. From smoked swordfish with Japanese-style sweet and sour sauce, to octopus in garlic sauce, to a range of succulent meats, the chef offers rare inspiration in an atmosphere that locals and travelers alike appreciate. This restaurant has become the "canteen" of some of the neighborhood's executives. Recommended!

A very popular table in La Floresta for eating lamb a la parrilla. The latter is prepared here in all its forms, in sauce or grilled, without forgetting to mention the delicious lamb chops. The restaurant is run by Germans who settled in Ecuador and who started breeding lamb on the slopes of Sincholagua about fifteen years ago, with the help of Mexican breeders specializing in Peliguey lamb. Prices are a bit above average, but worth the detour. If you don't like lamb, don't go.

Without doubt one of the most creative restaurants in the city. Urko offers a beautiful culinary experience aimed at sublimating regional products. From the specialties of the coast to the Andes and the Amazon, you'll love it. If your budget allows it, let yourself be tempted by one of the tasting menus, a real trip for the taste buds! The theme of the restaurant is the Andean cosmovision, the basis of the indigenous beliefs and the menus are built around the 4 seasons of the cosmovision which correspond to the agricultural cycles.

Ceviche lover, you will be delighted in this small restaurant in the heart of the modern city. Only one dish on the menu: ceviche! The principle is simple, you choose among 4 flavors with funny names: Rompe Colchón, Mata Suegra, Levantamuerto or natural. You then choose fish, shrimp, squid, crab, shellfish, octopus, or even a combination and finally your accompaniment. The dishes are prepared to order and are a real delight. Beware, the Levantamuerto flavour lives up to its name, it is spicy enough to wake the dead!

Chef Carlos Fuentes studied culinary arts in France. Passionate about local flavors and culinary history, he offers us an original menu in the lovely patio of the Bolivar Theater, an Art Deco building constructed in 1930 that also houses a fine art gallery. The dishes are sophisticated and, based on traditional recipes, offer us flavors revisited with talent. If you like fish, we recommendaji de corvina, a grilled curry with a delicious peanut sauce.

Everything here exudes luxury and voluptuousness. Large rooms with superb tables laid out in squares, impeccable staff - we're in one of the capital's finest restaurants! Don't miss the Pandora crab, a delicious crab mille-feuille with passion fruit vinaigrette... a delight. The rest of the menu is on the same wavelength, and even if the bill is a little steep, the quality of the dishes and produce more than justify it. Recommended.

Here's an excellent option, right in the heart of the Mariscal, for visitors wishing to enjoy gourmet Ecuadorian cuisine at an affordable price. The friendly staff will guide you through an experience rich in colors, flavors and aromas. Dishes are prepared mainly with local produce, with a touch of originality that denotes a real chef at the helm. The crunchy cuy is the best cuy preparation we've tried anywhere in the country, and the rice pudding for dessert is well worth the detour.