Editor Pick
La Reina Victoria
- February 24, 2007
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Shady Ady from Hinckley, United Kingdom
I don't like to admit to bouts of homesickness, but everyone suffers them from time to time. There are two ways to deal with homesickness. One is to let it get the better of you, sending you into a small spiral of depression. The other is fighting it head-on and trying to get that little bit of home you desire. If in Quito and British then a trip to La Reina Victoria Pub can help immensely.
As you walk down Calle Reina Victoria the location of the aptly named Reina Victoria Pub soon becomes bluntly obvious from a placard covered in British flags stating the variety of traditional English food the pub has to offer. From 'fish and chips' to 'steak and kidney pie' to 'shepherds pie', all can be found here. This immediately filled me with excitement. I was a little confused as to where the pub actually was at first as from the outside it looked like any ordinary lime green-painted home, except for the English and British flags plastering the upstairs windows.
Upon entering, it was like stepping back in time. I have been to numerous 'traditional' Irish bars all over the world but these seem to be very little like the Irish bars found in Ireland itself. Reina Victoria on the other hand was perfectly fashioned on your typical rural English pub. In fact it was so perfectly fashioned I could have easily imagined I was back home, especially with the variety of English accents on show. Also like your typical English pub, people looked un-amused and completely lost when a foreign language like Spanish was spoken.
Reina Victoria comes complete with darts and is furnished with dark mahogany tables and benches, with seating for no more than 20 people, giving the place a smug, cosy atmosphere. The bar is surrounded by stools that always seem to be taken by the locals and regulars, the same kind of old men that can be found in any English pub witling away their pension.
I was a tad disappointed to find no English imports on offer. I was hoping to treat myself to a bottle of London Pride, but alas it wasn't to be. They do have pints of home brewed stout and bitter on offer that worked wonders for my homesickness, if leaving me a little out of pocket ($3.50 each). During happy hour (5pm-7pm) you can buy two bottles of Pilsner for the price of one, which is perfect for some cheap drinking. Imported Guinness bottles costing $5 a bottle can also be purchased.
Service is friendly and the pace of life inside is slow and very relaxed. La Reina Victoria Pub is located on Reina Victoria 530 and Roca and is open daily between 5pm-2am (Sunday until 12am). Barbecues are also offered some days of the week. I was unable to obtain any more contact information.
From journal Quito's La Mariscal—'Gringo Landia'