cats drinking coffee

If your looking for something a bit different from the Mariscal’s hamburgers, hotdogs and French fries selection of food you may want to try Siam – a Japanese and Thai restaurant which an authentic ambience.Siam is on the first floor on the corner of Calama and Juan Leon Mera, the heart of the Mariscal action. The best tables are by the windows where diners can watch the bustling Quito nightlife go on below their feet while enjoying the delicious cuisine of Thailand and Japan.Without being too pretentious the presentation of the plates make the rolls look sumptuous. With a choice of salmon, crab, octopus and eel the choices of the food are mouth wateringly good and taste does not disappoint. Readers of The Ecuador Reporter get a 2 for 1 deal on rolls, ranging from $5 - $12. Other dishes range from a variety of choice including soup, rice, curry, cocanet fish.Ultimately whole event is an experience and one can finish up the night with a cocktail or coffee before piling in to one of the plentiful nightclubs right on its doorstep.

Bungalow 6, always busy, with a vibrant mix of locals and foreigners is the place to be at night in Quito. Its central location just off the Mariscal on Calama is the perfect spot for those looking for a big night out after spending a relaxing evening eating and drinking in the Mariscal. It was opened by two Americans, ex travellers with a love of Latino culture, who have created the atmosphere of a western club incorporating perfectly a dash of the local culture. The bar was lovingly developed section by section, decorated with a range of inspirational modern art. The ceilings are adorned with beautiful hand made lampshades and the walls with impressive paintings. Cosy couches are complemented by large dance floors and an extremely well stocked bar. A lively mix of salsa music and pop ensures that everyone who comes here is up and dancing within seconds. Crowds of people fill the dance floors every night, meaning bungalow 6 is never a dull place to be. The huge popularity of the Mariscal has resulted in increasing competition over the recent years, which has prompted Bungalow 6 to hold ladies night on Wednesdays. Between eight and ten, women get in for free and drink for free as well. After ten, the men flock in and the fun begins! The night had proved to be highly popular with both men and women, and a huge success for the club. Anyone looking for a place to dance until the early hours should head down to Bungalow 6 where they can meet friendly people, make friends, drink copious amounts and, of course, dance to their hearts content. And, ladies, get yourselves down there on a Wednesday evening to take full advantage of the free bar!

Opened in November 2005, Hauaki has been dishing up fusion Japanese-Ecuadorian food to the people of Quito for some time now, so they should know what they’re doing. Located on Joaquin Pinto in a beautifully restored 1940’s casa, Hauaki also doubles up as a hostel, but it’s the restaurant that has been making a name for itself. Opened by big time sushi fan Oscar Ardualo Borja, the Japanese and Ecuadorian chefs take the best of both cuisines and mix it up to create tasty yet healthy food, a far cry from the rabbit food that other healthy eating establishments like to peddle to unassuming customers. Leaving our shoes at the door (tradition, not just cuisine have been imported from Japan) we enter the dimly lit venue and are nearly decapitated by the low hanging drapes, all part of the effect we are to understand, to make one ‘chill out’ and ‘relax’. Taking it as a cue to sit down and get comfortable we perch cross legged on the cushion strewn floor and huddle around the table. The crimson hue and candlelit surroundings indeed make for tranquil surroundings and a great place to enjoy the company of close friends and while away the languorous wait for the food. After getting tipsy on a few of Hauaki’s staple cocktail recipes, the food finally arrives. The menu is small and limited, but being so cheap it is easy to simply select a wide variety of dishes and get stuck in. Tuna or salmon rolls are no more than $3 per portion and it’s easy to forget how filling sushi can be, although this may just be my mind playing tricks on me as I forget about my stomach and focus all my efforts on the chopsticks, implements I doubt I will ever master. And go careful on the wasabi sauce, the mermaid of condiments which always seems to lure me inexplicably into its grasp, scarring my tongue for the rest of the evening. Pinto y Reina Victoria

Uncle Ho’s RestaurantThe People’s restaurant that is preferred by Quito’s IntelligentsiaA lushly wooded facade casts a willow shade over this friendly restaurant, where plumes of fire from the chef’s saucepans herald a taste of Southeast Asia at its finest. “Southeast Asian food is among the best in the world,” says Patrick Madden, whose business partner, Kevin Sheehy keeps a friendly atmosphere at the bar. The tables outside provide a great place to read, work or just watch the world go by over a cool drink provided by the friendly staff who speak Spanish, English and French. With a fresh food menu ranging from spare ribs to summer rolls with dipping sauce (abound with steaming rice and organic vegetables), it is no surprise that Uncle Ho’s has become such a popular place to hangout. The opulence of the cuisine, meanwhile, is disguised beneath the Communist price tags. The bar, gleaming with the pastel colours of glass liquor bottles, clamours with lively conversation in the evenings and the 4 – 7pm daily happy hours (or all day on Saturday). The restaurant is particularly lively every Monday evening, when the kitchen breaks with tradition to provide steak and mash with gravy. The chefs have turned their skilled hands to this weekly commission with remarkable success. If Soviet scientists had followed Western technology as well as Uncle Ho’s chefs have managed to, Russia would surely have put men on the Moon by now. “I started cooking in restaurants when I left school aged 18” says Bladymir, the head chef, who ensures that food standards remain high. Paper lampshades decorated with pressed grasses and leaves adorn the bar and outside eating area, while a wireless Internet connection and patio heater provide excuses to stay all day. The interior is garnished with the countenances of Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap and a massive dragon on the ceiling. The extensive drinks menu is abundant with names such as ‘Napalm in the Morning,’ and ‘Good Morning Vietnam.’ Located on Jose Calama & Diego De Almagro, Uncle Ho’s is open Mondays to Saturdays, 12:00 – 10:30pm. Price ranges from $3,00 for an appetizer to an average of $6 for a main course.

Cafes. An Old Town Atmosphere? With hundreds of restaurants in Quito, it is sometimes hard to decide what places to patronize when you w