Where to Find the Best Hamburgers in Quito

While El Corral is a chain restaurant, they make hamburgers that are in a different league from your average fast-food restaurant. Burgers are made to order and come in various styles such as the Hamburguesa Criolla with grilled onions and a fried egg. French fries are crisp and always delicious. Hours differ depending on location.

American Rusty Miller relocated from Santa Barbara, California to Quito, Ecuador in 1979 and opened his first Ecuadorian restaurant, Hamburguesas de Rusty. Today, with three locations, Rusty has built a dedicated base of fans for his American-style burger and fries.

The casual hamburger reaches new heights at La Burguesa, a restaurant specializing in upscale burgers and fries. First, there is a choice of buns, from brioche to whole wheat. Next, there is a choice of cheese, from classic cheddar to Roquefort blue. Then come toppings, from traditional to extreme, such as green olives, guacamole, and grilled mushrooms. Order by the ingredient or a favorite chef combo. Sweet potato fries, regular fries, and onion rings are hand-cut and deep-fried on-site.

The American-style BBQ restaurant Lucia Pie House makes a thick and juicy hamburger served with huge wedge-style French fries. The restaurant also offers other BBQ specialties, such as ribs and pulled pork, as well as excellent pies. There are multiple locations, including Quito proper and Cumbaya.

With a name like Top Ten Burgers and Fries, it’s easy to top the list of best hamburger restaurants in Quito. Luckily, their hamburgers live up to the name. This hyper-popular fast-food restaurant serves single, double, triple, and yes, quadruple burgers, including a choice of veggie burger. Bring your ravenous appetite.

Always a local favorite, Café de La Vaca serves a burger so big that you won’t leave hungry and so juicy that it requires a ton of napkins. To help wash it down, Café de La Vaca makes some of the best milkshakes in the entire Andean Sierra.

The ever-popular food truck Inka Burger has a permanent home in the Quito Beer Garden, a food park in North Quito not far from the Brazilian Embassy. Hamburgers with traditionally Ecuadorian names—Taita Inka, for example—are loaded with extra ingredients such as tapenade, provolone cheese, and steak sauce. Inka Burger is also famous for their Jack Daniels Sauce and thin cut, crispy fries.