Cafeography
Panaderías y pastelerías · Quito

Bakery cafés in Quito

Panaderías and pastry cafés, from a 06:00 bakery on Reina Victoria to cake shops in La Carolina.

Photo: hissetmehurriyeti, Pexels License

Ecuadorian café baking runs on corn, cassava and cheese as much as wheat. Pan de yuca is a puffy, slightly gooey roll of cassava flour eaten hot, and a glass of drinkable yogurt is its usual partner.1 Humitas, fresh ground corn mixed with cheese, egg and lard and steamed in corn husks, come savory or sweet.2

La Carolina and La Mariscal have the most bakery cafés in Quito. The earliest is La Unión, a bakery on Reina Victoria that opens at 06:00 every day; in the Old Town, Las Delicias de la Maru on Avenida Mariscal Sucre opens in two shifts, 08:30–12:00 and 16:00–20:30, Monday to Saturday.

Local tip: In the last week of October, look for guaguas de pan and colada morada at bakery counters; they are eaten together on 2 November.

Where these cafés are: La Carolina (5), La Mariscal (4), Centro Histórico (2), Iñaquito & El Batán (2).

At a glance

13Cafés listed
8With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
22:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: La Union, from 06:00 (Daily 06:00–22:00).
  • Closes latest: Tres Gatos, until 22:00 (Mon–Sat 09:30–22:00 · Sun 15:00–19:30).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (62%), brunch (31%), vegetarian options (23%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Quito.

Quimbolitos and corn cakes

The quimbolito is a sweet cake of flour, eggs, sugar and butter or lard, sometimes with corn flour, cheese, raisins or a little liquor, wrapped in achira leaves and steamed.3 Coffee, chocolate, milk or an herbal tea go with it.3

In May 2024, at Sweeties in the Teatro Bolívar, a humita cost US$2.80 and a quimbolito US$2.50, and at Alma Quiteña on Venezuela a slice of banana cake was US$2.81.4 At Café Guayasamín in September 2026, a humita or a brownie cost US$2.75.5

Guaguas de pan and colada morada

A guagua de pan is a large sweet bread, usually of wheat, shaped and decorated like a small child (guagua means baby in Quechua) and sometimes filled with jam.6 In Ecuador it is eaten on 2 November, the Día de los Difuntos (All Souls' Day), with colada morada.6

Colada morada is made with black corn flour, sweetened with panela (unrefined cane sugar) and flavored with fruit, herbs and spices, and belongs to the week before All Souls' Day.1 Families also bake guaguas at home and give them to relatives, friends and godchildren.6

Bakery cafés by neighborhood

In La Mariscal, La Unión on Reina Victoria opens daily from 06:00 to 22:00. El Cafecito, a café-bakery on Luis Cordero, opens Monday to Saturday 08:30–21:00, and Tres Gatos on José Tamayo bakes vegan as well as regular cakes.

La Carolina leans to cakes and pastry: Icing Bakery Shop in La Pradera (Tuesday to Saturday 09:00–19:00), Cheesecake Planet Experience (closed Mondays), Chiche Bombon on Avenida Naciones Unidas (Monday to Saturday 09:00–20:00), Las Violetas Pastry & Gastro Lab on Whymper, and Coffee Factory in the GAIA building, open weekdays.

In the Centro Histórico, San Marcos Café is on García Moreno, and Las Delicias de la Maru is at Avenida Mariscal Sucre S9-409. In Iñaquito, to the north, there is a Panadería y Pastelería La Unión as well.

Bread at the specialty end

Several roasters bake too. Fankør, the light-roast café on Whymper that came second in South America's 2026 ranking, makes its own pastries and bread.7 Benchtime Bakery & Café, the Korean-inspired place now in Cumbayá, sells a cookie filled with sweet bean paste and walnut for US$3.5

Sources

  1. Ecuadorian cuisine, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Humita, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  3. Quimbolito, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  4. Cinco cafeterías en el Centro Histórico, cerca a la estación San Francisco del Metro de Quito, Primicias (May 10, 2024), accessed October 2026
  5. Las cuatro mejores cafeterías de Quito | Son parte del ranking 100 Best Coffee Shops de Sudamérica, Primicias (September 23, 2026), accessed October 2026
  6. Guagua de pan, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  7. Dos cafeterías de Ecuador están en el Top 10 de las mejores de Sudamérica, una en Quito y otra en Riobamba, Primicias (September 21, 2026), accessed October 2026
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By area: Centro Histórico La Mariscal La Carolina

FAQ

Bakery cafés in Quito: questions

What is pan de yuca, the bread sold in Quito bakeries?

Pan de yuca is a puffy, slightly gooey roll made from cassava flour and eaten hot, usually with a glass of drinkable yogurt. Alongside it, Quito bakery cafés sell humitas, steamed fresh-corn cakes that come savory or sweet, and quimbolitos, sweet cakes steamed in achira leaves and eaten with coffee, chocolate or milk.

What are guaguas de pan in Quito?

A guagua de pan is a large sweet bread shaped and decorated like a small child; guagua means baby in Quechua. In Ecuador it is eaten on 2 November, the Día de los Difuntos, with colada morada, a drink of black corn flour sweetened with panela and flavored with fruit and spices. Families bake them at home and give them away.

Which bakery café in Quito opens earliest?

La Unión, a bakery on Reina Victoria in La Mariscal, opens at 06:00 every day and closes at 22:00. In La Carolina, Icing Bakery Shop opens Tuesday to Saturday 09:00–19:00 and Chiche Bombon Monday to Saturday 09:00–20:00; in the Old Town, Las Delicias de la Maru works two shifts, 08:30–12:00 and 16:00–20:30.

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