Quito is not only a city full of history and culture, it also has a very social scene with a great nightlife with a wide variety of options to cover everyone’s needs!
From a night of dancing in the Plaza Foch, to more lounge type bars and restaurants in La Floresta, or to more local music and drinks in La Ronda; Quito has you covered.
Plaza Foch
Plaza Foch is a staple and tradition of the Quito party scene, located in the Mariscal neighborhood. Originally named as Quinde Plaza (hummingbird plaza) it was recognized by the municipality of Quito as Plaza Foch, a cultural area for open air concerts, dances and art. The neighborhood has many old houses and buildings dated from 1930 to modern buildings that make for a great mix of cultures and architecture.
Pub Crawl, Plaza Foch.
A night out on Plaza Foch is definitely a night you won’t forget (or will you), with a range of restaurants, bars and discotects you can take it as easy as you like or party hard into the night. Popular destinations within the plaza include: Bungalow 6, Dirty Sanchez, Cafe Democratico, to the good old Irish Pub Finn McCools. With many spots offering drink specials throughout the night, or the ever famous “fish bowls” which can be quite deadly if you don’t share with your friends.
Getting to Plaza Foch is very easy, any taxi driver knows how to get you there and many of the buses through Quito will leave you within walking distance of the fun.
La Floresta
La Floresta is a very new neighborhood as far as nightlife goes, and even a great spot to hang out during the day. The name came about for the neighborhood having a high concentration of wildflowers. It is a part of town that is filled with beautiful street art, great cafés nuzzled into amazing little street corners, and a very chic restaurant scene.
During the day, you can walk past the old mansions and new wall murals while enjoying the variety of galleries, restaurants, pastry shops, clothing stores, and creatively-designed cafés. At night there are jazz clubs, dance clubs, an elegant movie theater showcasing foreign films, taverns featuring local artisan beer, and many delicious restaurants with great international menu for all taste buds.
Food stand in La Floresta (Ladrón de Guevara Street and Lérida) selling typical food.
One of the good things about La Floresta is that it is not far away from Plaza Foch, so if you wanted to start your night off with a delicious meal and then go over a couple of blocks to Foch you can easily get the best of both worlds in one night. Great places for food and drinks in this area are: Banh Mi, Fridas Tacos, La Bricola, Casa Warmi, Esmeraldas and URKO.
To get into the neighborhood of La Floresta it is recommended to take a taxi as not many buses go through that area, it is a pedestrian friendly part of town and rare to see cars and buses like we do in other parts of the city.
La Ronda
La Ronda Street in Quito.
La Ronda is located here in the Old town surrounded by all the culture and history Quito has to offer. Tucked into the corner of the old town sits a pedestrian only cobblestone street full of true Ecuadorian treats and tradition. During the day you can visit the local artisans who have been crafting in La Ronda for years and enjoy some sweet treats while you stroll. Meanwhile, once the sun sets the street comes alive, with local music, food and drinks A series of doorways open up to a courtyard and multiple art galleries, museums, craft shops, and elegant restaurants with local delicacies for everyone to enjoy. Some nights La Ronda has some traditional dances out on their streets to fill the night with some joy and many of the restaurants/bars have live music as well. Also, a great place for the local cuisine, you can find the traditional empanadas, canelazos, fritadas, morocho and some places that also have a more international menu. One thing is for sure, La Ronda won’t disappoint; it is a very different night out than other party spots in Quito.
If you are located in the Old town of Quito you can walk over to La Ronda and take in the historic sights on the way, if not a taxi can easily bring you in from any part of town. Just be prepared to get stuck in some traffic once you enter the old town due to all the one way streets.
So whether you are looking for a night to let your hair down or a nice drink with a good meal, you don’t have to go far within Quito to find what you are looking for or in the mood for!
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