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More to Explore in La Ronda
The street known locally as La Ronda (officially Calle Morales) is one of the city’s regeneration success stories. It has been transformed from a red-light district into a tourist district, with local residents and local businesspeople taking up the challenge of making what ranks as one of the Old Town’s prettiest streets into a beacon for tourism in the capital. We bring you news of the latest openings and happenings in the street.
The number of options for finding refreshments in La Ronda has multiplied over the last few months. One of the most striking new openings is Sibarí, inside the cultural centre known as La Casa 707 (at No. 707, tel +593 2 228-9809). This cultural centre boasts exhibition space for art and installations, as well as a performance space seating about 100.
Sibarí is a café-bar-restaurant set to one side of this open space, with tall glass windows on two floors giving on to it. Until the kitchen is properly installed, the café-restaurant serves classic Ecuadorian snacks and light meals – such as empanadas, tamales and humitas – amid a bright and breezy décor of exposed beams and wooden floorboards. There is live music every night, to accompany a great drinks menu, and the place starts jumping on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Across the street, you find Tampú (at No. Oe1-84, tel +593 2 2284-221), another new initiative in La Ronda, which brings a more sophisticated menu and winelist to the restaurants and cafés already established.
Tampú is managed by Jhon Arboleda who has many years of experience in the restaurant world behind him. Tampú is spread over two floors, with plenty of seating. The upstairs room gives on to the street, where tables boast unbeatable views across the roofs of Quito to the Winged Virgin on her Panecillo hillside. The menu at Tampú varies from delicious snacks to be shared among friends, to main courses dishes of fresh, local ingredients at extremely reasonable prices.
Back up the street, don’t miss the great new tea house called Lunera (#918), with some 27 different teas on offer, a snack menu, relaxing décor, and even Tarot card reading (call Claudia Abat – 097 144122).
Of the new shops and stores in La Ronda, don’t miss Mucahua (#692) with a beautiful range of handicrafts; Jomayr (on Guayaquil and Morales) with great organic coffee and chocolate, and jewellery made from tagua vegetable ivory; Inga Ñan (#764) which specialises in knitted scarves; and the excellent Muyuyo (#939) which has some highly original gifts and souvenirs.
These join the more established stores such as Velas Jerusalén (#779) with its exquisite decorative candles, Loba Humakatuna (#Oe1-130) the hat-maker’s shop, and Arte Kreativo (#925) which specialises in ceramics. Two art galleries to look out for include Athor (at the beginning of the street #1009), Casa de las Artes (#999), and Milonga (inside the Casa de los Geranios at #762).
The range of places to eat, drink and listen to music in La Ronda has grown from the street’s ‘re-inauguration’ in 2007. To name but a few cafés and restaurants, you have: El Cafeto, La Negra Mala, Restaurante Casa La Ronda, Café Musical, Los Auténticos Empanadas de Morocho, Rincón Quiteño, Bohemia, La Antorcha Colonial, and La Casa de los Geranios.
In the pipeline for later in the year is the Casa de la Música de la Ronda, a space for cultural events and exhibitions in a house beautifully restored by FONSAL on Calle Guayaquil, half-a-block south of Calle Morales.
A bit of background
La Ronda was the bohemian heart of the Old Town in mid-20th century, home to artists, artisans, painters, poets and musicians. It sadly suffered a steady decline until the project to resuscitate it was born a few years ago. Today, La Ronda has been returned to its former independence-era glory, with galleries, cafés, restaurants, artisans and shops now occupying the street.
La Ronda was an important link in the old city as its access to the south and to the river which tumbled down from the heights of the Pichincha volcano nearby. It existed in pre-Incan and pre-Hispanic times as a way down to the river for local people. In the colonial and independence era, the street was an important thoroughfare for bringing the sick to the Hospital San Juan de Dios. The hospital these days hosts Quito’s first-class City Museum, so it’s an easy stroll for visitors to take down memory lane after a visit to the museum.
La Ronda is located on Calle Morales, between Calles García Moreno and Maldonado, four blocks south of the Plaza Grande in the Old Town along García Moreno. Parking can be found in the nearby Museo de la Ciudad – at weekends and most nights there is guarded parking in the open area on Avenida 24 de Mayo.
The FONSAL (www.fonsal.gov.ec ) and the Quito Visitors’ Bureau have small information offices on the street (at #925 and #Oe3-101 respectively).
For more information (in Spanish) on La Ronda, see www.callelaronda.com (pretty, but outdated).
