Notes- Most dishes are a bit more, so see the photos, but not by much…read more
I have been to this Ecuadorian restaurant twice at this point, though last time was long enough ago that even with my usual vast food memory, I barely remember what we ordered outside of it all tasting good. The most recent time was a few days ago, and it was excellent. The staff is nice, and the portions are generous for the price point, with two of us taking home leftovers out of the four people dining. To drink, three of us had shakes, or rather batidos, with the prices being $7 en agua or $8 en leche. I went with Lulo, which is listed as Solanum online, but really refers to naranjilla. As per the name, it means a little orange, but it is closer in flavor to a mix between pineapple and lime. Others had Maracuyá/passion fruit and Guanábana/soursop, and everyone enjoyed their drinks. They gave us some chulpi/corn nuts on the table, along with some aji verde, a lightly spicy green sauce which went with some of our heavier appetizers.
Our heavier appetizer was two orders of the Bolón Mixto for $10. Bolon refers to a green plantain ball, and they offer the traditional cheese version along with chicharron, or with camarones/shrimp. The mixto combines the cheese and pork, and it was delicious, but very filling. One was more than enough, but we still enjoyed it, with the aji verde helping to reduce the overall richness.
There was also the $6.50 Yapingachos/Llapingacho, or pan-fried potato cakes. These came two to an order and came topped with an onion and tomato salsa, along with some lettuce below. The potato cakes were a lot lighter by comparison to our other appetizer, but still flavorful. I would recommend them, as with other people who go here.
Our smaller main dish was the Ceviche de Pescado for $17.00, or fish cocktail served either with rice or, as our choice, chifles or fried plantain chips. This was also available as a mixto, but I didn't order it as I have a pulpo allergy. There was a large amount of fresh fish inside for the price, making it very worth it. As with most ceviches, there was some sourness from the lime along with some fresh chopped herbs, onions, and tomatoes. It lacked a bit of heat I usually prefer, but I still liked it, and the whole thing was devoured quickly.
Our other main dishes were all $19. My favorite of the bunch was the Seco de Chivo, with goat stew slowly cooked in home-made sofrito and beer, served with yellow rice, sliced avocado, and sweet plantain. The goat was cooked down until it was extremely tender, but still had a bit of chew, and there was a good amount of meat, even with the amount of bones in there. The broth was savory and mildly sweet, being warming, comforting, and perfect on top of the rice. This was excellent.
For most of the other group, their favorite was the Chaulafan, a mix of stir-fried rice with chicken, beef, shrimp, egg, and veggies served with sweet plantain and avocado. The rice had a nice texture with some lightly crispy portions and was mildly salty. The meat inside was mostly very tender, regardless of what meat it was. This was excellent as well.
The remaining dish was the Sango de Camarones, listed as a tropical dish and a purée of green plantains, slowly cooked in peanut sauce and shrimp, and topped with citrus red onions served with yellow rice and sliced avocado. The dish had a unique, almost gruel-like texture, which was a bit off-putting to some, but others like myself liked it. The shrimp inside was tender, and the dish felt a bit richer than the other mains. This was probably our least favorite main, but it was still good.
We were quite full, but got some $7 Flan for dessert, which is in-house made. It wasn't overly sweet, which is my preference, and the texture was semi-soft. It was a good version, and the portion was large for the price. We liked this as well.
Not many complaints here. Friendly service and good, reasonably priced food.