Cafés in Centro Histórico

Getting to the Old Town by metro

The metro's single underground line has run since 1 December 2023, with 15 stations over 22.6 km, and San Francisco station, at Benalcázar and Sucre, is the stop for the Old Town.⁴ A single ticket was set at 45 US cents in November 2021.⁴

Distances from the station are short. Cafetería Modelo and Casa Gangotena, on Plaza San Francisco, are about two minutes on foot; Sweeties, in the Teatro Bolívar, about seven; and Alma Quiteña, at Venezuela and Carchi, about 17.²

Churches, plazas and La Ronda

The city was refounded on this site on 6 December 1534, and the San Francisco convent, begun in January 1535, was the first of about 20 churches and convents built in colonial times.¹ La Compañía de Jesús took 160 years: work started in 1605, and its facade was finished in 1765.¹

La Ronda's official name is Calle Juan de Dios Morales. Its colonial and republican houses keep wooden balconies and inner patios, and in the 20th century the street was known for its nights and for the artists, musicians and poets who gathered there.⁵ Restoration began early in the 21st century, and the houses now hold restaurants, cafés, craft workshops and galleries.⁵

Where the Old Town cafés cluster

García Moreno has more cafés than any other street in the Centro Histórico. El Palomar, at N9-59, opens daily 08:00–20:00; Crustum Café is at N7-35, and Café del Fraile and Querubín share the address N5-62. Venezuela comes second: Dulcería Colonial Coffee, at N3-147, opens at 07:00 every day and stays open until 23:00 on Saturdays.

Around the corners of Venezuela with Chile and Carchi are Alma Quiteña, Torre Vlass and 7 Campanarios. Alma Quiteña serves Ecuadorian breakfasts with a view of the Basílica del Voto Nacional; in May 2024 an americano there cost US$2 and a bolón (green-plantain dumpling) US$2.76.² At Sweeties, on Espejo, everything is made by hand without machines, the coffee included.²

Espumillas and the Modelo menu

Espumilla is a meringue of egg whites, sugar and fruit pulp, often guava, beaten by hand and sold in ice-cream cones by street vendors at plazas and schools.⁶ It probably started in central Quito, where records mention it from 1907, and is now sold across Ecuador.⁶ Las Espumillas de La Michelena is on Espejo, at Oe3-45.

Cafetería Modelo stands at Sucre and García Moreno, diagonally across from La Compañía, and opens Monday to Saturday 08:30–19:00 and Sunday 08:30–17:00.⁷ In May 2024 an americano there cost US$1.50, a hot chocolate US$2.75 and a sánduche de pernil (roast pork sandwich) US$3.75.²

Old Town hours

Most Old Town cafés close around 20:00: El Palomar and Café Chapineros (Chile 930) at 20:00, Atávico on José de Antepara at 20:00 Monday to Saturday, and Coffee Romance (Los Ríos 1703) at 21:00. Café Mosaico, open since 2003 on Manuel Samaniego, on the hill above the center, keeps the latest hours, daily 12:00–23:00, with a wide view over the city.⁸