Agave Studio — Restaurant in Parroquia Bella Vista

I absolutely loved this place. I was staying across the street at the Villa Laguna and walked past every day thinking about stopping in. I was leading a teen tour, and one day a few kids had to stay back so I was at the hotel working while they were resting. I snuck across for a minute to explain my situation and they offered to bring my food over to me as if I were dining in! It was so sweet. By the way, the food was some of the best I had in Ecuador. It was a perfect blend of mainland and island flavors, and the prices were slightly below average for the rest of the area. They even let me bargain for one fewer taco to get a lunch deal since we as staff get a certain stipend for lunch. I absolutely loved the South American lime as garnish! Familiar as a taco accoutrement but unique to the area as well ;) the chef (trained by the Ecuadorian culinary institute!) explained the local sources behind the sauce and each of the spices used in the dish. I was so excited to have this little lunch hour to rest while hoping my kids were feeling...

In my 2 years of visiting Puerto Ayora- this is the best place for lunch or dinner if you are looking for excellent food and quiet atmosphere )and lower prices than most). Chef Santiago is a true artist and the food is of highest quality and presentation. This is a small place, with quiet background music and cozy atmosphere. It is also off the mainstream Charles Darwin or Baltra areas and gets much less traffic. We learned about it from a local foodie and ended up going to dinner there several times in a row just to try different things on the menu. Their home made lemongrass kombucha and passion fruit mousse were excellent additions to the tasty main course. This is a true hidden gem of culinary delights that Puerto Ayora has to offer. Our favorites were scorpion fish croquettes in coconut sauce, octopus appetizer, fried scorpion fish, grilled scorpion fish, tuna ceviche, passion fruit...

This is by far the best restaurant we tried in Puerto Ayora. I'll be thinking about the arancini the rest of my life. We ended up going here three times, we even dragged a bunch of the divers we met on our liveaboard here because we thought it was too good not to share. After being disappointed by pretty much every place we tried on the main street we tried Agave and felt that it actually filled the promise that other places made in terms of food quality. The restaurant is unpretentious in appearance with only a few tables and small staff but the dishes they put out are all beautiful, flavorful and the portions wont leave you hungry. I had the moro costeño and the scorpion fish, both were excellent. Cocktails are also on point. This place...