Talking about lunch, it can be quite challenging to find good and affordable places to eat in Loja... Not that there is any shortage of reaturants by any mean. The thing is that the typical $2 to $3 "almuerzo" doesn't really satisfy most expats' tastes.
There are of course more expensive options, "a la carta", but then prices go up.I love the Howard Johnson's lunch time buffet but althought it is great value for the money it is way out of my average lunch time budget.
In the "treat" department (coffee, cakes, ice cream ...) in the past few years a number of new cafeterias have popped up in Loja and the quality of the coffee has significantly increased. Many of them now have espresso machines and can make you a decent cappuccino or mochaccino, some have crepes / pancakes and even waffles. This is a bit of change from the traditional tamal or humita.
In this section we will review some places that we found interesting in the center of Loja.
Below are places that we reviewed in 2009-2011
This section may not be accurate as it has not been updated yet
Below is just a small selection, by no mean gastronomical, typical or representative
of what is available in Loja. This is just what I know.
SOFT DREAMS
JAN 2011 NEW!
A BURGER KING IN LOJA
I don't know about you, I eat healthy, make juices, grow my own food, eat organic
when I can, don't eat much meat etc... However I don't mind a good juicy hamburger
from time to time. You gotta live before you die. One day while I was meandering
about in the many small streets of Loja, I bumped into a place that looks
a bit like a Burger King, with photos of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and of course
with the old jukebox machine and the red vinyl seats.
The owner is a young Ecuadorian (23) named Fernando who speaks very good English
and has undertaken nothing less than creating his own franchise called "Soft Dreams".
They sell ice cream and what I found to be delicious hamburgers. I order the "Tradicional"
and it tasted a bit like the Burger King Whopper that I normally eat when I find
a Burger King (In Guayaquil, they have a very good one). You can also make your
own burger and pick what you like from a list of ingredients. Using that formula,
for $5.10, you'd get a burger with 3 slices of meat and if you were to select all
the 15 ingredients that I have seen on the board, I guess that you'd need a big
mouth and would leave with your junk food craving pretty satisfied for a while.
For all the expats who miss a good burger give it a go and let me know what you
think. Tell Fernando if he is there that you heard about him from Pierre and he
will make sure to give you what you deserve.
Address: 10 de Agosto entre Juan Jose Pena y 24 de Mayo
Hours: Mon-Thu and Sun: 11AM - 11PM / Fri and Sat: 11AM - 2PM
Chifa Xuan
Note: this restaurant was closed for a while
and we removed it from this web site but it is now open again (April 2010). They
have redecorated the inside, it is nicer than before and the food is just as good.
We had chaulafans recently and we could not finish them. The total cost for 2 people
was $8.
There is no chinese restaurant in Vilcabamba. Why not try
something different when in Loja? That is what I thought when I walked past Chifa
Xuan located on 18 de Noviembre the first time. It is no gastronomical experience
but the food tastes good, the service is super fast, the portions are big and the
prices are low.
I don't know whether they use MSG but a friend of ours who is sensitive to MSG said
that he did not get sick after eating there so he was our "canari in the mine".
Best to ask if you have concerns. MSG en Español is GMS (Glutamato Monosódico).
Of course, as many people know, MSG is everywhere and it is not because a restaurant
does not add MSG to its cooking that there isn't any. It may come from other ingredients
that contain MSG. Also, to make matters worse, MSG comes under many different misleading
names such as "Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein" or even the nice sounding "Natural
Meat Tenderizer". The rule of thumb is that the more likely the food only contains
fresh ingredients, the less likely it is to contain MSG.
Address: 18 de Noviembre y Mercadillo
El Fogon Grill
Next to SuperMaxi, there is a food court offering a variety of "junk" to "semi-junk"
food. There is a KFC and I won't recommend it here any more than I would recommend
it anywhere else in the world. Opposite to the KFC, there is a place selling flamed
grilled meat and that is something that cannot be found in Vilcabamba. So, once
in a while, why not have a "pollo a la plancha" with some fries and if you really
crave soda, sugar and/or aspartame ... a coke ?
The salad that they serve with the meat is covered with some kind of vinegar loaded
salad dressing that makes it unedible. I decided to take action and bravely said
"No me gusta vinagre en mi ensalada" (I don't like vinegar on my salad) . After
some moments of indecision, the chef himself agreed that I could have just salad
with nothing on it and that made the meal much more enjoyable.
Note: there is another Fogon Grill on Parque Central in
the middle of town. We found that the food is actually better there, the service
is better and you get to eat with real cutlery instead of plastic.
Address: High part of town (south) along the river. Just ask any
taxi to take you to SuperMaxi.
Los Tayos
I went there with Ecuadorian friends living in Loja and it was really good. We had
to wait a little as usual. This restaurant advertises that it offers typical Loja
dishes ("Lo tipico en Loja").
It will take me a while to figure out exactly what is "typical Loja food", as opposed
to Ecuadorian food, and I will have to go back a few times, but please bear with
me while I learn what a "salchipapa" is or a "guatita" and I will let you know.
In the mean time, there is no risk in trying this one out and it will definitely
not hurt your budget.
Address: Sucre
Mimos
One thing that Loja has and that Vilcabamba does not is a place to have a great
espresso coffee and a great ice cream. I know, I know, Sambuca is not bad, the coffee
is good too but Sambuca only have a tiny espresso machine and if you are a group
of 10 people who want cappuccinos, good luck ! Also, at Mimos they use the Cafe
Victoria which is a certified organic coffee produced in Loja (see www.fapecafes.org.ec)
As far as the ice cream is concerned, I get easily sick with dairy products that
contain additives such as food coloring or other chemicals (the infamous list of
Es). At Mimos, I never got sick. The cream is natural and ... well ... creamy and
there are many flavours to choose from. They also make ice cream deserts with fruit
or chocolate or coffee or all of the above.
Finally, they have delicious cakes and tiramisu but the tiramisu at Hosteria Vilcabamba
is better.
Address: corner of Bolivar y 10 de Agosto, on Parque Central
Tel: 072 576174
Vikingos
Located on Mercadillo. When getting off the bus at the gas station, just walk down
Mercadillo and it is the first restaurant on your right. They have good seafood.
We were intrigued to see on the menu a soup called "Viagra" for $6.50. We were told
by a friend later that it is not made with Viagra but with a mixture of fish and
seafood that supposedly has aphrodisiac properties, hence the name. We did not try
it.
They served us a nice little appetizer shown below.
La Baguette
January 2011: La Baguette is no more, what a pity. The good news is that Romain
and Aurelie have moved back to Vilcabamba. We'll hear from them very soon and will
make sure to include them in our guide
Ah la cuisine Franco/Belge que c'est bon !
Romain (Français) et Aurélie (Belge) se sont expatries récemment de Vilcabamba et
affrontent au quotidien les grands froids de la ville de Loja (tout est relatif)
pour vous offrir le meilleur et aux meilleurs prix. Ambiance sympa, plats du jour
variés et délicieux, sandwiches, pain maison dont la réputation n’est plus à faire,
salades, omelettes, crêpes, glaces, pizzas et bien sur, les frites. Tout est délicieux.
Les laptops sont les bienvenus puisque La Baguette est une zone Wi-Fi.
Romain (French) and Aurelie (Belgian) have recently relocated from Vilcabamba to
Loja and have opened a new restaurant called « La Baguette ».
It goes without saying that they sell French baguette and not just any baguette
but only the best. Romain has built a serious reputation as a quality bread maker.
The restaurant offers a relaxed atmosphere, Wi-Fi zone, a variety of food such as
“menu of the day”, salads, omelets, crepes, ice creams, pizzas and of course the
invented-in-Belgium-stolen-by-the-French “French fries” cooked to perfection. Everything
is delicious and very reasonably priced. Going to Loja for the day? Don’t miss out
on “Ze Baguette”!
Address: Calle Bolivar between Azuay and Miguel Riofrio