Ecuador is often referred to as the "four worlds" due to their unique climates, ecosystems, and cultures, all within a relatively small country. Kurimanka, a new Ecuadorian restaurant, is inspired by the regional flavors of the four distinct natural regions the country is defined by - the Pacific coast, the Andean Highlands, the Galapagos Islands, and the Amazon region. The name is a culturally inspired term representing roots, family heritage, and the passing down of traditional Andean recipes.
I'd been hearing great things about Kurimanka since they opened a short time ago, and we decided to give them a try with some friends of ours recently.
We made a reservation for 7PM on a Saturday, just incase. For those not aware, Kurimanka is in a small strip mall on Rt. 11. We were sat immediately when we arrived, and while it is a pretty small restaurant with only maybe a dozen seating areas, there was only 1 other table sat, so it didn't seem as if we needed reservations.
We were given menus and told to check out their menu online, as the online menu was correct and they were waiting on new, physical menus to come in. I got a fresh made lemonade to drink and my wife got one of their specialty horchata lojana teas - which I tried and was pretty delicious.
We decided to get several apps and split them. We ordered a side of fried yuca, an order of chicken empanadas, and an order of bolones de verde - green plantain balls stuffed with chicharrón pork.
Our apps were brought relatively quickly, and we were a little let down. The yuca was great, the sauce with it was delicious, but we found both the empanadas and bolones small and bland. The bolones tasted mostly of plantain with very little chicharron, came with a very small amount of sauce on the plate so they were pretty dry, and everything was just underseasoned.
We all ordered our main dish, and I was told my choice was no longer available - not too big a deal, as there was plenty on the menu I wanted to try, although I would've preferred to have been told something wasn't available up front. I pivoted and went with fritada de cerdo instead - slow-cooked pork in its own fat, until tender and crispy, with potato patties, toasted corn and pickled vegetables.
Our mains were also brought relatively quickly, and again, we were disappointed. Of our party of 4, 3 different dishes were ordered, and our entire party felt the same way about our dishes - undersized and underseasoned. Everything was unfortunately very bland, which is just not something we expected. My pork (ribs, by the way) had okay flavor, but was DRY and there was no type of sauce with my dish. The pickled vegetables, potato patties and toasted corn also were bland, with everything mostly tasting of the toasted corn and nothing else.
Our server was friendly, but seemed a bit off that night. The restaurant has been remodeled and is very nice inside, and there was pleasant lighting, artwork, and music playing.
The dishes were not cheap, as most of the mains on the menu are no less than $27, which obviously we expected, but while nothing was BAD, we were very underwhelmed with what we were served, especially for the price tag, and I don't think we would visit again. read more