Ecuadorian cuisine is maybe not so known, and fore sure not known regarding what it should deserve!
You have to know that locals, culturaly never went to restaurant for tasting but rather for feeding.
The more food, the best it will be so that locals want feel cheated!
This is why you will also find a lot of little restaurants located in a garage, or on inapropriated locations, without decoration or whatever…
Anyway, in the last 5 years, this trend has changed a lot!
So where can we recomand you to go for a lunch or for a dinner in Guayaquil City?
We do consider that these two diferent meals deserve two diferent reviews!
Some are not open, some do propose food not easy to digest before sleeping, …
For lunch:
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For sure go to a place called “calle Panama”, a pedestrian aerea, just beside the Nacional Cocoa Museum with plenty little cosy places to enjoy lunch on a terrace or inside for AC (from dicember up to april, it may be usefull.)
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The best place to enjoy SEAFOOD is to go to Marrecife (search on google maps for its location). This is for far THE place to be for seafood!
Only fresh and the best! That is the reason why it is not open for dinner!
- If you to dare to go local (and would like to invite you to dare), go to the local market named “Mercado Sauce 9” after a visit to the market, enjoy a ceviche at “Gusts conchas ceviches” All kind of tipical ecuadorian ceviches (Shrimp, Oysters, octopus, Squid, crab, fish, black clams, lobster, mixed, or many more …)
For lunch or dinner:
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If you would like a FULL experience restaurant, we can recomand you “Lo Nuestro” witch means “ours”. So it is going to propose you all kind of local food: of course seafood, but do have also poultry and meat… Carefull big portions are served, and the best part still has to come: the incredible dessert trolley!
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Empanadas Media Luna is a good oportunity if you are no hungry and do want to taste some local stuff.
For dinner:
- A nice place for dinner is to go to “Puerto Santa Ana” a new pedestrian aerea with lots of open air restaurants along the waterfront.
Chose out the one fits beter to your budget or stomac.
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Orther place is to go to “Plaza Lagos” where numerous restaurants are located to. But, there is a little Miami look a like, so you can expect similar budgets overthere for, let me be honnest, a higher quality of restaurants!
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The place to be for fine dinner is “La Barca” also located at Puerto Santa Ana. But this is a pier and has a very nice lounge bar . Be dressed up because shorts, t-shirts, sneakers will no be alowed!
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The local speciality for dinner with frends is “una cangrejada”. This meal is of red mangrove crab. Dno’t expect to eat it with fork and knife, no! This you will eat with a little hammer! Smash (gently) de claws and legs, suck out the (sweet and salty) meat out of it and enjoy. Because this will take a while, enjoy en good cool beer with it like locals do! A good place for it is “Pata Gorda” just beside Parque de las Iguanas! If you don’t like crab, don’t expect any thing else in these restaurants!
Would you rather eat foreign cuisine:
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Best Sushi: Isao has two locations! Real Japanese chef
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Best vegetarian or indian food: Mantraa. Realy flavourfull
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Best Italian: Carla y Carlo. Yes the names tell you all the story!
If you want some more advise, or rather updated info, [REDACTED]
