Santa Cruz Island bars and restaurants
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RESTAURANTS
CALYPSO RESTAURANT
Outback is a small bar with stools that display chunky chocolate cake and there’s a good. A well presented and friendly staff is available to take your order and you always fell welcome to sit and chat for as long as you like. Overall, Calypso Restaurant is guide simply a nice place to eat, drink or hang out in. At the time of writing, construction work was obscuring the view of the beach.
This should be finished by the nigh season and still doesn’t prevent this place being a popular favorite with locals. Inside is a dimly lit scruffy joint with tatty furniture and tables are adorned with red plastic roses. A tiny TV sits on an old wooden counter and air canisters are gathered on the floor awaiting use.
Broken mirrors covered in fingerprints and specked with rust are stuck on the walls and posters advertise tours and ketchups and here you can sneak a view into the busy kitchen. In spite of its tattiness, there’s something attractive about this restaurant.
Maybe it’s the friendly owner who enthusiastically showed me his photographs of friends fishing for huge Marlin. Or maybe it’s the un-pretentious and innocent vibe of a local business welcoming tourists to keep it alive. Either way, I was happy enough to sit for a while sipping my big milky coffee and strangely enough, I’m certain I’ll be paying it another visit.
HERNANS CAFE, BAR AND RESTAURANT
Hernans restaurant is one of the most popular places to eat in Puerto Ayora. Attracting tour groups, travellers and locals, it serves a good range of local and International foods at reasonable prices. Open from 8am until 11pm a every day of the week, the menu has a great selection of set breakfasts, steaks, seafoods (including lobster), spaghettis and salads. It also serves pizzas, hamburgers, fries, sandwiches and pastries.
At the far entrance you can buy freshly whipped ice creams and inside is a bar selling the usual range of alcohols and cocktails, which also has a large display of bottled wines.
Prices are reasonable but be aware that there there’s 12% tax plus 10% service added to the bill. I ordered (every day for five days) the criolle breakfast. This consist of fried green bananas (patacones) cheese, eggs, a big fresh juice and a choice of tea, coffee or not chocolate. It was delicious, not too greasy and at only $3 was excellent value for money.
Menus are written in English and Spanish and can be viewed on the walls outside the entrance. Situated a two minutes walk from the Pier, behind the large model iguana that sits on the mid-section of the road, it’s hard not to notice Hernans as you’ll always find the busy staff bobbing about, serving a regular flow of customers. Although its interior is rather dark, its open front allows in the daylight, making it a nice place to eat, rain or shine.
At night, large lamps hang down and light up the big wooden tables making a cosy atmosphere.To the left is also a small “café” section with sturdy stool sat round a square counter.
Here you can buy coffees, chocolate cake or any other drink you fancy. All in all, it’s a nice place to eat or drink any time of the day and has received good reports from many of its customers. Worth a visit.
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