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Typical Ecuadorian food, veggie version

4 Posted on 05 / 14 / 2013

Great restaurant in an active zone of the city. It is great to have the occasion to try a typical Ecuadorian dish despite being vegetarian (they replace the pork with soy-based meat). The food was delicious. Please try the mushrooms "al ajillo" (the first appetizer)...they're just amazing.
The server was friendly, but service was weird (we got the entrees before the appetizer, and the juice almost at the end of the meal). But I would definitely go back.

Pros: Great taste, large portions, friendly staff
Cons: weird serving order

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The go-to place in Quito

4 Posted on 02 / 18 / 2013

Last time we were in Quito was about 3yrs ago and at the time I recall we tried out every joint in town only to settle on El Maple as our firm favourite. This time we were in town for just 2 days so we cut straight to the chase and went directly here. Yup, still good. We really enjoyed the soups and the samosas... so much so that we bought several portions of the samosas to take with us on the plane. Drinks are yummy too. Service is all in Spanish but the menu is in English which helps. Oh yes and it's all organic. We'll be back again next time no doubt.

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El Maple, Quito

4 Posted on 01 / 17 / 2013

At time of writing there are 5 different vego restaurants in the Mariscal area, all within a few mins walk of each other. There is 1 distinct competitive feature El Maple has over the others, namely that it is open in the evenings and the weekend. There's plenty other options around for day time eating for evenings and weekends, its El Maple.

There's a big choice of stuff on the menu. I ate here more than once and while its nice to try different things, a main course is more than enough to fill the gap.

No issues getting vegan food.

Its on Joaquin Pinto only 1 block away from the main social in Mariscal at the junction of Reina Victoria and Foch.

In the evening for a soup, main and fruit juice it cost me $7.70.

No issues with service, decor, atmo etc.

Pros: Vegan friendly, Open evenings & weekends
Cons: Closes early on Sunday

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Oasis on a hungry Sunday layover

5 Posted on 09 / 18 / 2011

This place was an unbelievably great find for a Sunday when absolutely every other veg restaurant in the city seemed to be closed. If you go by taxi, make sure you specify Joaquin PintO with an "O," as there is also a street named "Pinta" about 10 blocks away.

I tried the national platter as recommended here and really loved it. Also got some sandwiches for the flight that were perfect, including the quinoa falafel. Smoothies were right on. Great place!

Pros: great food, nice location, friendly, family-owned

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Great Menu

4 Posted on 07 / 10 / 2011

I guess I´m unsure as to why everyone seems to say that the food was bland. I got the typico comida and thought it was just that, typical food for the area, and I thought it was great. The menu had a diverse range of selections and there were some great drink choices as well. It was a bit pricey relative but for 16 USD I had the most expensive dish, a burger with FF for later, a kiwi banana smoothie and tea. I would never be able to find that in the states for that price so it´s all relative. Staff was super nice as well. Oh and the chill-out beatles and Michael Jackson tunes were great as well.

Pros: food, service, location
Cons: a bit pricey

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Pleasing but flavorless

3 Posted on 11 / 22 / 2010

I went for lunch today and was surprised to find a very pleasant restaurant in a restored old colonial house. The hostess spoke excellent English and even though the menu, which was extensive, was in Spanish, she was very helpful. However except for the fresh juice that was excellent, I ahd a Mexican platter and it was too cheesy along with the guacamole and salsa that were totally bland. I noticed that almost every one else during lunch time were having the typical Ecuadoran lunch meal, and from the looks it seemed quite flavorless. However, it would not be fair to judge based upon this experience. Since the menu was extensive, I would definitely like to go again and give it another try. PRices were very reasonable.

Pros: Locaation, Decor, Service
Cons: Taste, Flavor

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Nice place

4 Posted on 08 / 26 / 2010

During our trip to Ecuador, we ate lunch at El Maple. We arrived about 1:30pm and the place was still hopping, so we had to wait for a table. There was a set daily menu noted on a chalkboard out front, but we decided to order a la carte. Our waiter did not speak English, but the hostess did, so she made sure to veganize anything we ordered. We got the toast with mushroom and garlic for an appetizer followed by entrees of Chinese stir fry and the Ecuadorian combo plate (mentioned in the restaurant description) along with grape juice (the juice of the day). The plates were huge and very filling. The grape juice was fresh squeezed and was so much better than any store bought I've ever had. The restaurant is located in a converted house and is quite nice. Check it out if you are in Quito.

Pros: huge servings, good filling food
Cons: very busy at lunch

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oh god :(

2 Posted on 07 / 07 / 2010

the asian dishes where ok tasting.at least better than any other chinese food in ecuador.the burgers where great!the cakes where ok tasting but oh god.im vegan, and i took my meat eating boyfriend and even he got sick.I dont know what exactly made us sick but we think it was the cake.harsh stomach aches for 2 days.
just be carful if you go there

Pros: good tasting, vegan friendly, wifi
Cons: got sick, flys :(, greasy at times

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Delicious Salsa

3 Posted on 03 / 02 / 2010

This restaurant has recently moved to a fancy new location. For the price the food is a little disappointing. Quite bland and the portions are HUGE (not the good kind of huge, just too big, I barely ate half) The salsa was delicious however and the service was great.

Pros: Great service, vegan friendly
Cons: bit pricey

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Decent

3 Posted on 12 / 26 / 2009

We weren't overwhelmed by the quality of the dishes, but it was nice to have hot, veggie-friendly meals. We ate there twice. Nothing to write home about, but not bad either.

Pros: Lots of choices, All veggie
Cons: Mediocre

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El Maple

4 Posted on 12 / 05 / 2009

Great place in new town! Vegan options available. I ate here twice. Large portions for ~$5.

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Ate here 4 out of 6 nights while in Quito

5 Posted on 03 / 11 / 2009

El Maple has had a few different addresses, but recently moved to Joaquin Pinto E7-68 y Diego de Almagro. Their phone number is 2900-000/096455-294. This excellent vegetarian restaurant has many different ethnic offerings: Chinese, Mexican, Italian and Ecuadorian as well as veggie burgers. My favorite meal (just because of its uniqueness) was the vegetarian version of Ecuador's national dish; it had soy steak, unusual white corn, potato cakes, beet root and veggie chorizo sausage. I think it was my favorite meal of the whole trip. They also make fruit smoothies with soy milk if you want, and are willing to remove cheese from certain dishes if you're vegan (just ask). We liked El Maple so much that we ate there four out of our six nights in Quito. Needless to say, we highly recommend El Maple and wish we had a restaurant like it, now that we're back home!

Pros: diverse offerings, great value, friendly staff
Cons: sometimes run out of things

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Excellent

4 Posted on 08 / 17 / 2008

I found El Maple a very good choice, even my non-veggie traveling companion really enjoyed it. The entrance is easily confused with another restaurant so take care. Oddly, the concierge called all the other places listed but could not get through. El Maple doesn't have a phone number listed but we stumbled across it. Finding other veggie options in Quito was not difficult either. Most establishments have nice options besides pasta and pizza.

Pros: Lots of food, Great taste, Friendly
Cons: Closed early, No phone listed

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Huge meals and friendly service

3 Posted on 10 / 27 / 2007

I found the service at El Maple great. While the food was not the best I have ever had, I found the vege stew and stirfry rice pretty good. Beware...the portions are huge and they close at 9pm (which makes it difficult to stuff down a huge meal!). I think El Maple is a good option for vege dining in Quito, which is pretty scarce (especially if you're tired of pizza and pasta.) It's a high 3 rating.

Pros: Big portions, Pretty healthy, Friendly service
Cons: Closes at 9pm, Could be tastier

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hit the spot

4 Posted on 10 / 14 / 2007

Gotta disagree with the above poster. I had a killer veggie burger (with mushrooms, avocado, and soy mayonnaise), a side of papas fritas, and some tree tomato juice for five bucks.

Pros: semi-outdoor seating, cheap, tasty
Cons: semi-outdoor seating, no vegan dessert