Typical Cuisine
1. Marrecife
A devoted champion of his country’s coastal identity, Iván Grain reclaims the flavors of his childhood with a full menu of crab, fish, octopus, and shrimp. It’s an excellent place to try sangos and mixed rice dishes that never lose their homemade roots. Tradition and memory meet here, in the steady pulse of Guayaquil’s mangrove laden coast.
Bambú Bar has been a Quito classic since 1982. In Cumbayá it has stood the test of time with traditional cooking that preserves flavors of the past: Quito style ceviche and near extinct dishes like ají de queso or beef. Its patio, centered by a centuries old tree, makes it a refuge of Ecuadorian taste.
La Pata Gorda is one of Ecuador’s great crab altars, and few match its flavor and flair: carapachos cracked open with a hammer, the famed Chopsué Criollo, abundant seafood grills and crab soups... From Guayaquil to Quito’s La Floresta, its deep rooted Guayaquileño identity has turned crab into an Ecuadorian legend.
Montuvia, brainchild of chefs Sebastián Revelli and Valentina Álvarez, brings Manabí to Cumbaya with a singular centerpiece: the manaba oven, clay and wood fired, standing in the dining room as an ancestral emblem. From it emerge duck tongas, seven sea cazuelas and the garabato, dishes filled with memory and flavor.
Guayaquil lives and breathes mangrove crab, and Red Crab has staged it as culinary theater since 1997. Coastal tradition meets a polished setting where cangrejo entero, ceviches, rice dishes, seafood platters—even steaks—arrive with bravado. It’s more than a meal; it’s a dive straight into Guayaquil’s restless, briny identity.
6. Kriollo
7. La Choza
8. Negrita
9. Cristo del Consuelo
10. La Chichería
