Operation "Find good cerveza"

enjoying a Stout at St. Adrew's in Cumbaya

Coming from Colorado where there are lots of microbrews, Ecuador has been a huge letdown. There are 3 local beers (Pilsner, Club and Brahma) and they are all watered down and light. I'm a dark beer fan so they just don't do it for me. The local beers are cheap, about $0.70/beer (regular 330mL or 11oz) or $1.25 for a large beer (550mL or 18.6oz) at grocery stores and about $1.25-$2.00 ($3 at a restaurant/bar is about the most expensive I've seen) at restaurants and bars. Even though they are cheap, they are all light and just don't have enough flavor for me. Out of the 3, Club is my favorite, it tastes like a watery Heineken. Since I've been here, I've been on a quest to find better, darker beer in Ecuador and here is what I've found so far (ranked in order)

Turtle's Head - #1

They have 2 locations, one in Quito off of Amazonas and La Nina(a block south from the JW Mariott) and the other in Cumbaya. I've been to the Quito location twice now. Its an English pub and it has a nice ambience. There are some T.V.'s to watch sports, 2 dartboards, a pool table and a foosball table. The place is a bit dark though as they are only a few windows in the front.

 

They have 3 types of microbrews, a pilsner, red and a stout. Their pilsner is nothing to rave about, the red was okay but the stout was pretty good. Its pricey though at $6/pint. Even the local Pilsner is $4.40/pint. They have a large licor selection, mostly whiskeys but they are pricey. Their food selection is okay and I had the fish and chips and it was one of the best I've had. It was seabass instead of the usual Cod (I think thats what they normally are). I've been here twice now, once on a Monday afternoon around 5:30pm and the place was nearly empty and again on a saturday night at 8pm. It was empty that night till about 10pm. People tend to go out late here and don't really do the after work hour happy hour thing. I don't think they have happy hour deals here anyways. So far this is my favorite bar in Quito. Btw, Finn McCool's (irish pub in Mariscal that is so popular), doesn't have any good beer. They serve local beer or they have Guiness (in a can) for $14! Turtle's head is way better in my opinion. Better beer and better ambience.

Its located on La Nina and Amazonas, prety close to the Marriott hotel.




This is the Cumbaya location, it was closed when I was there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Corner Pub in Mariscal #2

I just stumbled into this place without ever hearing about it. They had a decent stout at a decent price (for microbrews in Quito anyways). Pints for $4, pitchers for $12 and a jirafe (1.5 liters) for $15. Their stout was not as smooth as Turtle's Head but it was almost as good and definitely cheaper ($6/pint at Turtle's). Its a pretty simple bar, a "corner pub" as you will. They had some outdoor seating as well. Their food menu is pretty limited though, like 5 things. Its pretty centrally located in Mariscal off of Amazonas and Jose Calama.

 

Hotel Savoy - #3

This place is a bit of a hidden secret. No one I talked to had heard of it but they have good beer, probably equal to Turtle's Head, just not as good of an atmosphere. The restaurant is located in the basement of this hotel, which is kind of old and in an odd part of town kind of near the airport.
They also have 3 beers, a light, red and a stout. I found the stout tasty and smooth but didn't care for the light and the red that much. The beers were $3.50/12oz. Its a hotel restaurant and not a bar so don't expect a happening scene. I went there on a Monday night around 7pm and we were the only ones there. They have 1 T.V. but thats about it. Come here for the beer, not for the bar.

 

 

 

St. Andrew's in Cumbaya - #4

This place isn't in Quito but in Cumbaya, a suburb just outside of town. Getting there was an adventure. I took a bus there and didn't know where to get off and went past Cumbaya and ended up in the next town Tumbaco before I asked someone on the bus. This place also had
the 3 beers, light, red and dark. I had the stout and it was okay but not as good as Turtle's Head or Hotel Savoy. It was also the most expensive at $6.50/pint but they do have happy hour (Mondays 4-11pm, Tue-Sat 4pm-7pm) which is 2 x 1 draft beers. They have a good Scotch Whiskey selection (Glenlivet 12 yrs $14) and a decent food selection. Its located right in the central park (Turtle's Head is on the other side of the park).

 

 

Santa Espuma - #5

There was nothing special about this restaurant/bar. The beers were not that good. The stout tasted a bit bitter, they were out of the red and the light was just light. They didn't have that big of a food selection either and it was pricey. Beers were the cheapest at $4/pint though. The bar atmosphere was okay with a few T.V.'s but it was more of a restaurant. I went on a Wednesday afternoon at around 5pm and they were just opening up. It was empty till about 6:30pm when a few other folks walked in.

Its located on Whymper off of Orellana near the Pekin restaurant.

Cherusker- #6

I really wanted to like this place. Its located in Mariscal and its a big house that looks impressive from the outside. Inside, it wasn't that impressive. There are both indoor and outdoor seating but it wasn't really that comfortable. There were no bar games and no T.V.'s to watch games but just loud music. It was overly crowded on a Friday night and I couldn't find a seat. The beer (stout) was bitter and not smooth. It was also expensive at $6/pint (I think). After standing around, a table opened up. I sat down with my friends only to realize what looked like was vomit below the table. Yup and it was.
This place is centrally located (across from Finn McCool's) but its definitely a loud, party bar. Not my kind of place.