Tiestos Café Restaurant
Enjoy a Dinner To Remember in Cuenca

Tiestos Café Restaurant, known simply as Tiestos, is one of the most talked about restaurants in Cuenca. As is Juan Carlos Solano, the chef who began this venture.

You could easily miss Tiestos as you're walking along Juan Jaramillo in El Centro.

With it's small windows and unassuming entrance, you wouldn't be the first person to walk past it.

But you definitely don't want to miss it, especially if you're only here for a few days.

The Decor

Tiestos Café Restaurant has a welcoming feel. Every inch is decorate with warmth and a feeling of revelry and grace, like someone's home.

The walls are ochre-colored, artwork hangs everywhere, and where there isn't artwork, there's handpainted wall art, like the stylized mountains and village in the photo on the left.

Old-style wooden tables and chairs for four to 12 people make this Cuenca restaurant feel like you are indeed eating in someone's country home.

All of this is perfect for what Juan Carlos intended—a familiar feeling of sharing a meal together, the unequalled experience of being together among family and friends. And the food is fabulous!

What Is a “Tiesto”?

Check in a Spanish dictionary and you'll find three definitions for the word "tiesto"—flowerpot, potsherd, and a large earthenware pot.

Juan Carlos told us that it also means a ceramic plate used for cooking.

He uses them to cook, and serve, many of the meals his kitchen team prepare.

"Just as these plates are made by hand, everything I serve at the table is made by hand."

And he meant "I serve" literally. More often than not, you'll have Juan Carlos bringing your meal to your table.

He told us that the concept of "la buena mesa" (literally, "the good table"), is something that has driven him for many years.

At the time we interviewed him, Tiestos had been operating for 16 months, and during that time, he's been sharing his dream of helping his guests share delicious and unforgettably great food with friends and family, all at the same table.

The Tiestos Menu

Juan Carlos's "family" menu is based on preparing one meal for four people. And what a menu it is!

Here are just a few of the items Juan Carlos prepares for guests.

• Chicken filets with a curry and macadamia sauce.
• Beef medallions in a mora (blackberry), red wine and ishpingo (a native Ecuadorian plant similar to cinnamon) sauce.
• Beef medallions, stuffed scallops, pork ribs and sausages.
• Swordfish cooked in a seafood sauce (including shrimp and calamari). Lulie loved this one!

Each dinner comes with papas fritas (fries, but these are more like baked home fries), white rice, bread, corn tostados, and several garnish dishes, including pickled onions and pickled hot peppers, as well as the ever-present ají (hot sauce).

Each of the dinners for four can be made for two people at the equivalent per-person price, so don't be shy about ordering what you like!

Also, some of the dinners are available separately as individual, one-portion dinners, although the price is a bit higher.

Individual appetizers, including soups, shrimp dishes, tamales, and ceviche are available. If you're vegetarian, you can enjoy one of two eggplant dishes, or a sauted vegetable dish with parmesan cheese.

Desserts, coffee and tea, and juices are available as well. You can also order wine by the bottle from the large selection of Chilean, Argentinian and Australian wines.

Be careful, though. You could easily overeat, as Jeff did!

Tiestos Prices

For four people, with the tax and tip (which is not included in the bill), expect to pay at least $15 per person. If you have dessert and coffee, or wine, you'll pay closer to $20.

Location, Hours and Payment Options

Tiestos Café Restaurant is located at Juan Jaramillo 7-34, just west of Borrero.

The restaurant is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12:30 p.m. until 3 p.m., and again from 6:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. On Sundays, they're open from 12:30 p.m. until 3 p.m. Closed Mondays, although we have eaten there on a Monday before, so you never know until you check.å

You can make reservations by calling them at 07-283-5310.

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