Where to eat ECUADOR 🇪🇨 Genève: EcuaLatino

EcuaLatino

Rue des Deux-Ponts 25, Genève

What we ordered: For two people, one ceviche mixto ecuatoriano to start and for entrees, one encebollado mixto and one piquemacho. To drink, we had four Cusqueña (Peruvian) beers.

Cost: 105 CHF / €112 / $125

EcuaLatino is the first experience we have had of truly leaving Switzerland and its national languages behind. To go to EcuaLatino is to enter a Spanish-speaking and wholly Latino in the sense of the Americas world. There are women dressed in the low cut, no back, tight-fitting styles popular on the islands, Spanish language conversations about the United States and the myriad places one has lived and of course, the food. Oh, the food was indeed glorioso!

EcuaLatino is located at the edge of Geneva, near the tram stop for Jonction. When arriving from the Cornavin central train station, the tram crosses Lake Geneva before traveling along the Rhône River. On the opposite side of the river from the tram, there are these large, brutalist apartment blocks that seemingly have hundreds if not a thousand or more units, almost Latin America-esque in proportions. Along with the wonderful diversity of Geneva, given especially the proximity to France, there is an ambiance-setting tone that is on point before arriving at EcuaLatino.

In the window, EcuaLatino has a display case of delicious pastries, humitas, empanadas and other relevant regional specialties. But the dining room itself was loud, quite crowded on a Friday night, and save for one English-speaking American couple and a Swiss French-speaking man in the queue for the bathroom, the language was Spanish, and the Latin American variety to boot. Perfecto.

We were 30 minutes late for our reservation due to a rare train delay in Switzerland, but our table was saved for us. Beneath a television with some very low-budget, poolside Dominican DJ party music videos and beside a mural of the mountains of South America, we were a bit tucked toward the back to take in the full panorama of people watching. Nonetheless, the atmosphere was authentic, and it was perhaps a bit quieter where we were, near the entrance to the kitchen. It was also a good place to observe that EcuaLatino clearly also did a robust delivery business.

We ordered four Cusqueña Peruvian beers, given that we did not know what beer was Ecuadorean. The place was so busy it was hard to make much conversation with the server who was perfectly friendly. They did have a list of classic Latin cocktails like pisco sour and margaritas on the menu, but it was hot out the night we visited and saw little need to get sloshed before tasting what was sure to be some exquisite cuisine. 

On a quieter night during the week, we could see this being a happy hour and appetizer spot after work, if only we worked in Geneva. As far as beers go, Cusqueña was quality, a little toasted and really quite right on such a warm evening. They brought popcorn, quicos and plantain chips shortly after, which was a nice way to whet the whistle. 

The food was absolutely serious and very high quality. The ceviche mixto ecuatoriano was nothing short of exquisite. Perfectly chilled shrimp, tilapia and potentially even some scallops were garnished with red onions and one enormous plantain chip. The sauce was so good, Georg ate it like a cold soup akin to salmorejo. There was no good reason not to.

By all means the ceviche was extra decadent, and completely unnecessary as an appetizer, given the enormity of the portion sizes of our main dishes, though absolutely zero regrets. If we had to do it all over again tomorrow, perhaps we would even order two. The homemade hot sauce they brought was a loud exclamation mark on the dish for those who enjoy extra spice.

I ordered the encebollado mixto, a soup made of fresh albacore tuna in a stock enriched by tomato, peppers, yuca and garnished with a copious amount of shrimp, red onions, served again with a side of plantain chips, popcorn and quicos, though after a few plantain chips for the crunch, I focused on what are known in the industry and among serious eaters as high ticket items, more commonly referred to as the expensive ingredients.

No way did I finish the enormous and enormously delicious bowl of encebollado that they brought, but I absolutely cleaned it of shrimp and tuna, especially topped with that homemade hot sauce, it existed on a level of Pacific finesse I had never quite experienced, and most certainly not in Europe. 

The piquemacho was a rich stew of beef, peppers and vegetables over potatoes, replete with even a slice of silken cheese. The portion size was fit for a lumberjack, or certainly a family. The beef was tender, but not chewy and very high quality. The gravy-like sauce was beefy but neither thick nor soupy. It was a superior meal in a size and scope that one never sees in Switzerland. Again, it was like the Americas, where a European family of four could subsist on one platter if the kids are not yet teenage boys.

I learned how to drive from an Ecuadorean in Chicago named Washington, but I do not think I ever had any inkling of how damn good the food was. In fact, I am not sure I ever had Ecuadorean food before, which is a damn shame. While it is nice to keep learning, there is also a point when being newly educated reminds you that you never knew what you did not know and you feel the wasted decades.

How to get to Ecuador from Switzerland:

Unsurprisingly, Spanish carrier Iberia offers the best routing options to Quito via Madrid from Zurich and the only possibility under twenty hours with a two-hour layover in the Spanish capital. Likewise, from Geneva, Iberia’s connection via Madrid includes a four-hour layover and clocks in a total travel time airport to airport at over 17 hours. 

How many Ecuadoreans are in Switzerland: Less than 3,000

Distance between Bern and Quito: 9,713 km

Distance from EcuaLatino to Quito: 9,609 km

Learn how to make Ecuador's national dish, encebollado, and about its origins.

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