We're starting our first Monday Munchies from Ecuador on Isabela Island in the Galapagos, at a restaurant called El Cafetal Galapagos. When I first arrived, right at 5:00pm, all of the windows were boarded up and I was worried that they were no longer in business. So I continued to walk around town to find food. Turns out, everyone is just on island time, and the opening time isn't hard and fast, it's more of that's around the time they open. Many, many restaurants were like that in the Galapagos, but I was hungry and wanted to eat right then so I was frustrated about it. I don't know why I constantly waited to eat on this trip until I was absolutely famished and then proceeded to never learn from it, but here we are. I returned again just to check because I really wanted to eat here, and lo and behold they were open!
The inside was cute and cozy looking, but the night was beautiful so I sat outside on the patio. The restaurant faces a little park with a playground so there wasn't much in the way of views, but if I wanted a restaurant for that I would have specifically looked for that. I pretty immediately saw what I wanted to eat. Under the Traditional Food heading was a Grilled Porkchop and Blackberry Sauce dish that was calling my name. The server was very sweet and attentive and I even got a small bowl of fried plantains to snack on before my meal came out, how did they know I was simply withering away before their eyes and needed this sustenance?! Also I just love fried plantains so it was a very nice surprise. Not many restaurants brought anything to the table before your meal like they do in the US, which I like better because I don't fill up on delicious breads or whatever other munchies are brought out, so this was a nice treat.
This food, when it came out, looked like a work of art. The fries were stacked up nicely, and was the perfect amount of fries. Because here's the thing, if the fries are good, I won't leave any on the plate, wasting a good french fry is practically a sin. So when I only have 10 or so to eat, I know that I can fully enjoy them without worry. Those grilled veggies were a delight as well, really well seasoned and delicious and both sides were unexpected because nothing was written on the menu about sides. I knew that it would come with sides, because everything here does, but I figured it would be rice and a salad as usual. The veggies also tasted incredibly fresh which I think you can really tell in the picture by how colorful everything looks. And that blackberry sauce? Decadent. A beautiful accompaniment to the super tender piece of pork and I really loved the fries dipped in it as well as the broccoli. I absolutely scraped that plate clean of that sauce.
I highly recommend stopping here if you're on Isabela Island! Located at 22VM+8Q2, Puerto Villamil, Ecuador, its right next to the Iglesia Catolica Cristo Salvador.
You can also check them out at...
their website- https://www.elcafetalgalapagos.com/
on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/elcafetal_galapagos/ where you'll find a link if you'd like to make reservations
as well as on Facebook at- https://www.facebook.com/cafetalgalapagos/
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