Mangiare Bene—A Pasta Lover's Delight

Mangiare Bene's bar area

If you enjoy pasta, you'll want to visit Mangiare Bene restaurant in Cuenca, one of our favorite restaurants here.

Located in the Posada del Angel Hostal on Calle Bolívar, this small restaurant serves some tasty pasta dishes.

We were also impressed with the service. The waiter was attentive and the cooks were willing to make changes to menu items.

All the Pasta Artesanal is made on the Mangiare Bene premises. And it's good! You have your choice of five types of pasta:

• Spaghetti, $5.50 to $6.80 depending on the sauce
• Ravioles, filled with cheese, $6.50 to $6.90 depending on the sauce
• Agnolottis, filled with mushrooms, $6.50 to $6.90 depending on the sauce
• Sorrentino, filled with cheese, mushrooms and nuts, $6.80 or $7 depending on the sauce
• Ñoquis (the Spanish word for gnocchis), potato-filled pasta, $5.90 to $6.30 depending on the sauce

Each of the above pastas is available with one of six different sauces, giving you 30 options from which to choose:

• Pesto, made with basil, parmesan cheese, olive oil and cream
• Funghi, with mushrooms, bacon, white wine, bechamel, cream and white sauce
• Salsa Caruso, made with parmesan cheese, cream and sliced almonds
• Puttanesca, with fresh tomato sauce, anchovies, olives and capers
• Salsa Roja, with fresh tomato sauce, peppers onions and basil
• Salsa Boloñesa, made with fresh tomatoes, beef, and spices

The open kitchen

If none of the above have your mouth watering yet, there's lasagna at $6.50.

Or choose the raviolon (some very large ravioles), filled with spinach, chicken and nuts, covered in Salsa Roja, with beef (if you don't eat beef, they'll create your meal without it). The raviolon is $7.10. Jeff says it's worth every penny!

For those who aren't pasta lovers, Mangiare Bene has a chicken filet meal with fries and salad ($6.50), or grilled steak with fries and salad ($7).

Appetizers and Sandwiches

You'll also find Caprese, Caesar and primavera salads (this one comes with hard-boiled quail eggs, which Lulie really enjoyed), onion soup and a type of potato soup, plus four different sandwiches, including a vegetarian one with marinaded red peppers, onion, mushrooms and smoked cheese.

The Wine List

Mangiare Bene's wine list includes a nice house wine at $2.00 a glass or $12 a bottle, whites ranging from $18 to $30 a bottle, and reds ranging from $15 to $45 a bottle.

Cocktails and beers are also available, including brandy for $3 a glass ($40 for a bottle).

Location, Hours, Taxes and Payment

You'll find Mangiare Bene at the corner of Bolívar and Estévez de Toral, just a few blocks west of Parque Calderón. It's open nightly for dinner.

Menu prices (and those listed above) do not include the 12% IVA (tax). Unlike most other restaurants in Cuenca, Mangiare Bene does not add on a 10% service charge, so you should consider leaving a tip, especially if the service is as good as ours was.

They accept cash (always preferred in Ecuador), Visa and MasterCard.

All that's left to say is... Buon appetito! or, as they say in Spanish, ¡buen provecho!

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