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Restaurante El Maple

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Shady Ady
Shady Ady
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
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1
Review
3
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Restaurante El Maple

  • March 2, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Shady Ady from Hinckley, United Kingdom
Restaurante El Maple

It took three trips to Quito before finally finding this El Maple but I’m happy the perseverance paid off as I was mightily impressed with the high quality of vegetarian food they have to offer, served in a relaxed well-lit setting. Contrary to the directions found in a couple of guide books, El Maple is situated on Calle Mariscal Foch and not on Calle Calama. It was only by chance after hailing a taxi during a violent thunderstorm that I realised this mistake. Since clapping my eyes on El Maple though, it has been love ever since.

Within Quito and especially the La Mariscal district there is a surprisingly good selection of vegetarian food from a variety of international cuisine serving restaurants, but to my knowledge El Maple is virtually the only 100% vegetarian restaurant. This automatically made it a prime choice for my vegetarian eating girlfriend.

Upon entering the lightly pastel coloured restaurant, which is a converted outdoor conservatory, light bursting through the glass roof, you feel the relaxing warmth immediately. Luckily, a series of reed blinds stop the sun from becoming too hot and offensive. Although this is an ideal setting during the day, at night temperatures can become a little on the chilly side.

With wooden tables and padded chairs seating approximately 50 people, a nice relaxed atmosphere is had from the start. The atmosphere is improved more by plants situated around the restaurant and a vast array of fruits, which are freshly used in many of the juices and dishes. Ambient music is always playing to keep you entertained while waiting for your food, which isn't normally that long. Service is very friendly and is both fast and efficient, although they seem to have a tendency to forget about bringing you your drinks from time to time.

The menu is very impressive boasting a huge variety of international vegetarian dishes from around the world. Annoyingly though on several visits some of the Indian and Mexican dishes are not available. Of everything on offer though there are two reasons why I rate El Maple so highly. First is there selection of vegetarian soya burgers ranging from $2-$3. If cheapness isn't already impressive then their size certainly is. They are enormous and come complete with fries, big enough to be eaten between two! The other reason is there $2.80 three course vegetarian almuerzo, containing a soup, main course, and dessert. The almuerzo menu varies each day and could easily pass for a $15 meal anywhere in the US and Europe. I'm not exaggerating either, honestly! The restaurant also has a large selection of juices and even better still, milkshakes to swill down the large portions of food. Overall a normal meal including drinks, will set you back $6-$8 and even if not vegetarian, El Maple is well worth a trip. El Maple can be found on Mariscal Foch between Reina Victoria and Diego de Almagro.

From journal Quito's La Mariscal—'Gringo Landia'

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