Tiesto's Cafe Restaurant — Restaurant in Cuenca

What an amazing dining experience! I researched a number of restaurants to try while in town for four nights, and this was the last one we went to. I made reservations by stopping by the restaurant during the early afternoon and was somewhat surprised to find that the place was packed. No empty tables through the several rooms that were visible. Reservation for the evening in hand, we returned just after they opened back up after their late afternoon break. We were given the menu, which is like a magazine/brochure/guide as it takes you through a nice photo presentation of meat, fish, vegetarian, soups, etc. Then, there are five set tasting menus to choose from, each one containing dishes from the previous pages. It was fun looking at all the options, which were available a la carte for two or more people, and deciding on a menu. Our waiter, who was awesome, recommended for the first time we try menu #1, which includes the shrimp soup, langostinos, filet in cream sauce, and chicken curry as mains. Aside from the main dishes, there are a number of sides that are provided and there was bread and six different sauces (a spiced pineapple, spiced apple, chimmichuri, eggplant, ahi- standard mild Ecuadorian hot sauce, hot chili sauce, and something like mild pico de gallo). The sides included French fries, boiled potatoes, a semolina dish, a small green salad, some small white tubers that kind of tasted like beets, and rice. The rice and semolina were incorporated into the sauces left in the smoking hot cooking dish, a “Tiesto”, that the main dishes arrived in.

After stuffing ourselves (choosing the chocolate mouse with passion fruit for dessert), we made reservations to come back when we returned to Cuenca from an overnight trip to Ingapirca. That second night we choose menu #2, which was also amazing.

Each menu includes two glasses of wine (one red and one white) per person and sparking water for $90 for two people. Amazing food. That doesn’t even include the ambience, which is terrrific. The old house the restaurant is in is very pleasant, and all the staff were helpful and...

Food was great with the exception of the hair found in one of the meats in our entree Lomo al Tiesto. It left me feeling a bit uncomfortable and had me wondering about the rest of its food. Service was great but not so much the service recovery. I guess it’s something that it isn’t practice in this restaurant or in Ecuador?! From Ecuadorian parents, born and raised in NYC, I’ve been visiting Ecuador and it’s province for the past two years. I am wanting to learn more about my roots. So this 2nd visit to Ecuador I decided to go to Cuenca, as I hear excellent things. My cousin and I decided to visit this place after driving from Guayaquil. Cute little restaurant, Fernando was nice and very apologetic when I showed him the hair on our entree. Chef/Owner stopped by but as he was approaching us he was doing some kind of signal (like the crazy, where you twirl your finger) I think he was making a joke in order to lighten up the mood after what happened. Because my cousin was twirling her hair. He apologized and then left. I am not asking to have given us the world but from the reviews and prices for Ecuador, I expected a sincere and genuine apology and some kind of service recovery. I also work in the hospitality industry (Operations Manager at a FULL service hotel in NYC) and it’s why I felt the need to write this review. I just felt brushed off and given the severity of the event, I expected a little more care. (A hair in my meat, it was a dark short curly hair, I have cooper hair) I felt more of a sincere apology and follow up from the waiter Fernando then the owner. I get it “Toto, I’ve have a feeling we are not in Kansas anymore” but I expect for something such as service and mannerism to be internationally known. I don’t know if I’d visit again during my stay here this weekend. We wanted to try their famous desserts but decided to just...

I regret to share my deeply disappointing experience at Tiesto’s Café Restaurant in Cuenca, Ecuador. My family and I had high expectations, having heard glowing reviews about the food. We made a reservation well in advance for a party of six, eager to enjoy what was supposed to be a culinary highlight of our visit.

Unfortunately, our evening was ruined by the rude and unprofessional behavior of Juan Carlos Solano, who is supposedly the executive chef and the spouse of the owner. Upon arriving, we were informed that our reservation would not be honored because the table available was “only for special people.” This dismissive and condescending attitude was beyond shocking. To make matters worse, the host and cashier were equally unhelpful and unprofessional, compounding the insult.

No restaurant—no matter how acclaimed—has the right to treat its customers with such blatant disregard. Businesses like this thrive on their patrons, and it’s unacceptable to undermine them with such arrogance. It’s a shame, as we were genuinely excited to try the dishes others have raved about, but this kind of behavior leaves a lasting negative impression that no meal could have salvaged.

If you plan to visit Tiesto’s, I sincerely hope you have better luck than we did. Our experience was not just disappointing—it was the worst we’ve ever faced in an otherwise beautiful city like Cuenca. Respect for customers should be a priority, and sadly, that was nowhere to...