We had only one evening in Guayaquil, ecuador after disembarking our cruise and heading to Peru the next day, so we opted to head to what was rated the topo place in tow.
On our full day of touring the entire city, our guide Leticia suggested lunch as Lo Nuestro which has amazing huge dishes and three of us went for seafood and crab dishes while Sam loved his soy, rice and veggie dish. We were quite full so we moved dinner to 8pm and headed over to the other side of the river to Hotel del Parque where Casa Julian sits in an 18th century mansion on the river converted to the hotel's restaurant. It is quite large with a huge bar and tons of outdoor seating which was completely full, so we headed to the cooler more comfy indoor tables well spaced. All folks wear masks here indoors and outdoors and Ecuador is doing an amazing job keeping infection levels down and we felt completely comfortable everywhere we went.
As we were seated the hostess brought us small paper bags(think airplane sick bags) for our masks, and all the dining spots here clean and bag the silverware and napkins so nobody is touching them before we use them! We perused the menu and all ordered yummy Pisco Sours(we head to Pisco in Peru next week, so need to start comparing!). There were a la carte items, tapas and a tsting menu of 5 courses for $55 with paired wines for EVERY course at an additional $15. WHAT A STEAL. Samuel asked if a veggie option could be done and they checked and said yes, so we proceeded to settle in as the warm bread and focaccia arrived with a local cheese spread with some type of fruit jam on top; YUMMY!
The first course was on the main menu as was the dessert, but the three in between were completely new for the chef and everything was amazing and delicious and full of flavors and new foods and spices for us(we were googling a lot of items with not tons of luck). Charcoal roasted Plantain Tartare came with cured Egg Yolk, Almond Chili Relish and "Salprieta" (typical side dish from the province of Manabí, Ecuador, used as condiment and contains equal parts of toasted corn and toasted peanuts, both ground to a coarse powder; then mixed with finely chopped coriander, dried oregano, salt and black pepper. Achiote oil can be added to give color to the mixture.). It was divine and was paired with a refreshing bright Armonia Rose from Dos Hemiferios winery in Ecuador(as all the paired wines were and they were all fab!!).
By this time there seemed to be a thumping loud disco music coming from outside and competing with the more mellow elevator music indoors. It grew to an almost cacaphony, but luckily subsided within 30 minutes, or we might have gone deaf.
Pargo (porgy) was the fish in our Ceviche with Mango Sauce and Avocado Mousse that was another revelation while Sam had a veggie version with superb local ripe tomatoes(all photos on FB). He was loving the local Pilsener Beer while we enjoyed an Enigma Chardonnay.'
Armonia Chardonnay from the same vineyard was next with a bright sour apple taste and was paired with our favorite dish all night. White Tuna with Manaba Butter which was extremely rich and obviously something that is so local, we could never replicate it at home. Sam had the same sauce loaded with amazing wild mushrooms hazelnuts and crushed that he loved ( a revelation in itself as he does not usually care for mushrooms) due to this brilliant sauce.
Armonia Merlot 2019 arrived to pair with our Osso Buco with mashed Mashua (a truly alliterative dish from a local tuber that is like no other) over Fava Beans and sprinkled with Onion Ash!! Sam had the same Mashua but with Roasted Cauliflower that he loved.
Dessert was a Coconut Cloud with Banana Jelly with Cocoa Nibs, Biscuits, and Spice
d Ice Cream (with pieces of dried orange and fruit peels). It came in a huge hollowed coconut shell and was superb with a paired Demi-Sec Cava from Dom Potier in Spain.
We were full, but were told the taxi would take about 25 minutes so Sam & I ordered Caipiranhas(odd they came with a sugared rim) and Will a Campari & Tonic, which we ended up gulping down as the taxi arrived in 15 minutes.
Only one night here in Ecuador, before heading to Lima today and the wolrd famous Central Restaurant for dinner tomorrow!
