El Rincon Quiteño

The food is three and a half starts, but the atmosphere is easily 5 stars. As I love the place so much it has to be in the coveted five star category.
This is an Ecuadorian restaurant cum civic centre that has been on the Holloway road for what seems like an eternity surfing the good times and the bad with ease. There is always music playing and sometimes, if you’re lucky, in the alley they have a band or games. Curiously it really feels like they have taken some of the life of Ecuador and transplanted it into a small area of North London.
During the day they serve lunch but also have empanadas and humitas for a mere pound each or perhaps a bit of Spanish omelette for just a little more. These are beautiful, if a little heavy; perfect for a quick Sunday snack.
If you wish to eat there they have quite a good value meaty delight of options with the meat feast making you beg for vegetables (albeit with a smile). I also generally like the ceviche with large popcorns. This is a really tasty dish on the starter menu and and big enough to be a main meal.
As this is just next to my flat I often take people if they want great authentic atmosphere and bit of a feast at a reasonable price. Please never leave El Ricon you make Holloway!

If you’re hungry anf looking for a feast at a reasonable price look no further. This place has great food I shared the grilled platter for 2 it was fantastic, pork chops, steaks, chicken, sausages. It was mighty, alot more then i expected. Definitely be going there again

I’ve only had a chicken soup here which was really tasty. Portions of other items were quite generous.
With a nice family feel and cosy atmosphere, this is a great stop just before an Arsenal game as service is prompt and you fill up and get out. It’s always busy but once you’re seated, it’s comfortable and you generally don’t feel in the way despite the close quarters.
I’m yet to visit again but i’m pretty sure I won’t be disappointed!

For less than £4 a pop we were each hooked up with a big slab of Spanish omelette, or tortilla espanol (say yes to the chilli sauce). This was followed by an equally generous portion of chorizo and potato stew and a fried plantain slathered in cheese. And we didn’t even get past the starters. Cheerful flavours in an unassuming stretch of Holloway Road which, to be honest, is not famed for its gastronomic offerings. Try the Pony Malta fizzy drink — like a boiled sweets coca cola with a hint of carob chocolate.

a great little ecuadorian hole in the wall. it makes me very sad to see all these reviews of people ordering english breakfasts and Sunday roasts. ok, so it’s on the menu. but people! It’s an Ecuadorian restaurant, run by real Ecuadorians! Fantastic Tamales and decent empanadas. Get the Tamale… and ask for salsa. Seriously good eating.

This is our olé favourite local. Can’t go past a good cheap steak with some really lovely feels-​like-​home service.
Seriously, one of the best places to eat on Holloway Rd. If you’re lucky to go on a Sunday order their Sunday roast. The pork roast is perfection!

Not too bad as a local breakfast café, with a South American spin to it! In addition to the traditional English breakfasts here, they have ones with grilled pork belly, which was really awesome by the way!
Still, can’t see why Time Out magazine raved about the place, but the food is decent, and the price is cheap, so if you’re in the area, its worth visiting.
Review by The London Insider

Mostly good food, with a nice atmosphere and really friendly staff. Good coffee, and the empinadas are great. Wish they still did the veggie ones though. Added note: The Latino breakfast is amazing! Ask for it with the special scrambled eggs.

If you’ve had a hard time of it chasing a shuttlecock around the Sobell Leisure Centre and are feeling way too healthy, there is a small Ecuadorean café on the Holloway Road where you can eat a meat feast for under a tenner. What you read on the menu is what you get, but be prepared for the deep friedness! Piqué Macho is a Bolivian dish of epic proportions — a mountain of beef with rivers of mayonnaise squeezed on top. Urban legend has it that if you can finish one on your own, you are properly macho; it’s a pity we didn’t know that before ordering a main each, as well as those plantains smothered in cheese to start… Churrasco Equatoriano took my fancy as I didn’t really know what to expect of a dish containing plantain, avocado, fried egg, meat, rice and chips. By the time the food arrived, we had already quaffed one of the huge bottles of beer that they serve for a fiver and were salivating in anticipation of the freshly made food. But like I said, what you see is what you get — all the ingredients are cooked separately and laid out on the plate. It was certainly very colourful and I wish I’d had my camera with me. As we chugged through our meals we did look longingly at the soup and mussels being enjoyed at the table across the room and thought, next time next time we won’t be so greedy.

What is the equation for business longevity you ask? Family service, outdoor seating, affordable pricing and a flexible menu!
I was taken for a post-​workout meal and had a craving for «something fresh». The breakfast and lunch menu was more than adequate but I took a punt and asked if a mushroom, cheese omelet with Greek salad was possible. It was not only readily available but was served fresh within a few minutes and rang in at a mere £4. Canned drinks were 50p a piece and I walked away completely satisfied.
The upbeat music and the mumblings of the Spanish language brought back great memories. I would happily indulge in the healthy options available at El Rincon on any other gym-​bound morning.

Authentic, personable service and cheap food, oh this is my kind of place. The sweet cosy café that is El Rincon Quiteno has been a stalwart on Holloway Road for over a decade. The reason they have been around so long, is because they are fantastic. They have a mixed selection of cultural foods from England, Spain, Portugal, Italy and South America. You can mix and match the items in your meal so you can have exactly what you want. Best of all the prices are so reasonable. I paid £4 for a full English breakfast. That is good business in my book.
Love this place.