The Best Traditional Restaurants in Quito

La Casa Los Geranios, located in the cobblestoned historic district of La Ronda, serves traditional Ecuadorian dishes with flair. Executive chef Juan Carlos Córdova uses only the freshest ingredients to prepare typical dishes like locro de papa, fritada, and llapingachos. Fresh fruit juices, like babaco and naranjilla, are prepared on site. The beautifully apportioned, modern dining room is warm and welcoming.

While it may look like a tourist trap at first glance, the Restaurant Leña Quiteña offers delicious traditional foods at a great price. The best seats in the house are upstairs on the outdoor porch with a view of the cobblestone streets below. Indoor seating is highly prized on the nights with live music. Budget-conscious travelers should visit at lunchtime and ask for the menu of the day.

If you truly want to feel local, head over to Palacio de la Fritada in Cumbaya. This restaurant is consistently packed with Ecuadorians ordering some of the best fritada in town, complete with choclo, mote, sweet plantain, and fried potato pancakes. Grandmas who long for a great caldo de patas but don’t have time to make it at home, order it here. Just remember, this is a lunch only establishment.

Vaco y Vaca, located in just about every shopping mall in Ecuador, is a go-to favorite for families celebrating birthdays. This very popular restaurant serves the most basic of Ecuadorian food—chicken, pork, or beef, sliced thin and pan fried, served with french fries and a side of beans called a menestra. If you want to order criollo-style, your meat will come topped with fried onions and a fried egg.

If you want to try traditional Ecuadorian food, one of the best places to head to is the market at Iñaquitos. The food court inside the market is comfort food heaven. Vendors selling sliced pork from an entire roasted pig are lined up along one wall; next come the fritada vendors selling chunks of fried pork with all the fixings; a few vendors sell secos—stewed meat served with a side of rice and fried, sweet plantains. The staff works hard to keep the communal dining area neat and clean. This is fast-food at its finest.