As the second and final part of our Quito fine dining experience, we went to Somos. Compared to Quitu, Somos is much more relaxed in ambiance, service, and presentation.
Food: While there is a tasting menu, our group only did a la carte. Our group ordered three starters, a humita (9.3), empanadas (6.3), and dumplings de cuy (8.2). The humita was the clear winner, and one of the best single bites of food we had in Ecuador. If you are interested in trying traditional Ecuadorian fare (Guinea Pig/Cuy), we would recommend the dumplings as an extremely unique and approachable way of going about it. For mains, we ordered the Langostinos Marimberos (8.4), which featured marinated prawns in a heavy coconut curry, and the Chivo de Muey (9.0), which was a goat ragu served with goat cheese and bacon on top of pappardelle. The main complaint with the Langostinos dish was that the curry was quite heavy and intense, and weighed the other flavors down. Finally, we ordered a caramelized banana dish for dessert (8.4), which satisfied as the conclusion of the meal.
Service: Service was significantly more relaxed than Quitu, with the dining room less "fine" and more "very nice" dining. The service staff, while extremely skilled and eager to offer recommendations on drinks and food, were not necessarily given the tools for seamless service. However, one major service highlight was when our table asked for assistance dealing with the prawns, and the service team quickly broke the prawns down for us, saving us some mess.
Ultimately, we had a very nice experience at Somos. While not seemingly as "fine dining" oriented as Quitu, the food and drinks at Somos range somewhere from "very good" to "excellent." I am left wondering what I might have missed from the tasting menu experience. I'm sure that it would have been wonderful.
When comparing Quitu and Somos, I'm left speculating due to the inability to directly 1:1 compare the experiences. Nevertheless, they each left an impression. Somos has the feeling of an upscale "New American" restaurant, whereas Quitu has the feeling of a newly minted 1* restaurant that is working it's way up the ladder. Quitu felt eager to impress, whereas Somos felt more established and content with its existing status.
by FidgetyFinance