PLAZA EL JARDÍN GALÁPAGOS — Restaurant in Parroquia Bella Vista

lovely two level dining spot right on the main drag in Puerto Ayora. comfortable open air seating areas perfect for enjoying an ocean breeze or people watching while dining. very friendly, personable service even with the bit of a language barrier. we both chose to eat light today, ordering two salads. one thing you can usually count on we have found while in the islands is for the produce to be very good. no exception here. all the vegetables used in both salads were wonderfully fresh. Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad was as expected anywhere in the world. chopped romaine, parm, croutons, and a lemony caesar dressing. topped with a nice sized portion of warm, grilled chicken breast. the dressing tasted like it was probably made fresh in house (not like a commercial, chemical filled version). the Seared Tuna Salad was a delicious combination of greens, fresh carrot spirals, tomatoes, red onion, and corn topped with a generous portion of sesame crusted, seared tuna. fish most likely caught very recently due to the restaurant being a stone's throw from the town fishing pier where we we watched locals bring in many tuna to be cleaned and filleted. the veggies were all excellent, with the tomatoes having superb flavor. the dressing had a distinct asian flavor profile-soy, sesame, etc.-and the searing of the tuna was perfect. just done enough. the kitchen was even kind enough to send me out a plate of additional tuna portion. i believe it may have been the end of the loin that wasn't "pretty" enough to be used on further salads. it too was delicious. the fresh juice choices were many here and i decided on a combo of strawberry and passionfruit which was very flavorful and refreshing. and the portion was huge. perfect compliment to the meal and the experience. we enjoyed this meal so much we came here a second time on our one night pass through the island as we headed back home at the end of our journey. a very good choice for a reasonably priced meal in...

An outstanding dinner experience! Upon arriving in Santa Cruz, we (a young couple) filtered the nearby restaurants on Google and to my girlfriend’s credit she chose El Jardín. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Mario, a charming yet professional and attentive waiter who catered for our lacking of Spanish language with little to no effort. Now the menu was not as advertised on the Google page, but to our delight, what was little more of an upper price differential, turned out to be a bargain for the quality and quantity of cuisine we were served. Our early dinner date time (5pm - 7pm) also made us eligible for the 2 for 1 happy hour (recommending the fruitilla margarita) which was an added bonus. Our entre, a sashimi style plate of various fish and octopus tasted like it was caught that day. Our mains, the sirloin steak, and the ribs, were succulent and delicious, the type of quality you’d expect from a 5 star establishment. We could not recomend the venue more, and could not commend the service from Mario any higher. An amazing restaurant experience all round. Thank you Mario and El Jardín!!! A must visit...

I was unsure of whether to rate 3 or 4 stars but definitely not 5. BE AWARE: ask for changes to the menu BEFORE ordering as the menu MIGHT not reflect what gets delivered to the table. The Rock might just be a better choice? That being said, our meal was comped. The drinks were delivered and delicious (we had well prepared mojitos) and the appetizers did not disappoint. (Tuna Tartare). The triple combination of ceviche was delivered with style and was as tasty as it was good looking. The veggie burger (chickpea) was over cooked and not served on a beetroot bun, so sad. The Live music was gentle- we had to ask for the piped in music to be turned off. The desserts looked incredible- but we only saw them when exiting. 🤔 not sure how...