A good cup of coffee goes hand in hand with study time. The caffeine will help you better focus on those Spanish verb tables and distinguish your indicativo from your subjuntivo. If you’re looking for a quiet spot to study Spanish in Quito outside of the classroom and enjoy some freshly brewed café at the same time, here are six of our favorite places in the city.
Top places to study quietly in Quito
1. El Cafecito
Where: Luis Cordero E6 43 y Reina Victoria, Quito
This cozy cafe replete with wooden tables, an open fireplace and cool photography on the walls is a great place to pass a few hours. Their coffee is some of the best in the city that they cultivate themselves on a remote coffee plantation in Mindo in the heart of Ecuador’s Cloud Forest. Great coffee aside, they serve tea, hot chocolate, sweet treats and craft beer and cocktails. It’s part of a hostel so it’s always buzzing with young people if you want to practice your Spanish conversation at the same time. And if you need to focus away from the chatter of people, there’s a quieter reading room where you can take your books. They also have a lovely shaded terrace for warmer days.
2. Café Galleti
Where: Av. Río Amazonas N37–271 y Villalengua / Pasaje Espejo entre Guayaquil y Flores, Quito
The Galleti brand has made a name for itself on the Quito coffee scene and they’ve now got two cool spots in the city serving a variety of beans and blends from around Ecuador. One takes up a space in the famous Teatro Bolivar, one of the city’s oldest and most emblematic theatre venues dating back to 1933. It recently underwent a facelift after it was badly damaged by a fire in the late 1990s. The space still retains its elegant, Old World feel injected with a more a modern, industrial-style vibe and some stylish checked tiles. The other location over in Amazonas feels more like a Starbucks but with way better coffee (in our opinion) and plenty of comfy sofas to settle down in and open your books. It’s a good place to go for coffee and breakfast before school starts.
3. Jarú
Where: Galicia E12–57 e Isabel la Católica, Quito
Jarú welcomes coffee drinkers with their laptops and the staff won’t bother you even if you set up camp for an entire day. You won’t have trouble locating a power outlet or a comfortable workstation and there are plenty of sweet and savory offerings to keep you well fed.
4. The Coffeeteer
Where: Jerónimo Carrión E4178 y Juan León Mera, Quito
Located in a characterful old house in the Mariscal area, The Coffeeteer is a peaceful place with comfy sofas. The friendly staff knows a thing or two about coffee so when you’ve had enough of staring at your Spanish books, you can engage them in conversation about where your beans came from and how they were roasted. The company works closely with coffee farmers in Pichincha and Imbabura provinces, making it their mission to promote Ecuadorean coffee on both a local and international level.
5. Botánica
Where: Guipúzcoa E14–104 y Coruña, Quito
After a late night of cervezas and salsa dancing, head to family-run Botánica for some healthy, nutrient-filled grub before you get started on your Spanish homework. The cafe prides itself on its fresh, organic ingredients and the multitude of greenery everywhere will help pump some much-needed oxygen back into your system. They have seating both indoors and outdoors on their leafy patio.
6. Café Dios No Muere
Where: Juan Pio Montufar N4–62 y Espejo, Quito
This cafe and restaurant housed in a beautiful 16th century building offers a more traditional, local environment for you to bury your head in your Spanish books with a drink and some food. You can study al fresco on the street, watching the world go by and admiring the lovely architecture of the Old Town or head up to their attic-like space on the first floor where you’ll find old sofas and big tables. Organic coffee aside, be sure to sample some of their chocolate that they proudly grow themselves on a local farm and their yummy menu of Cajun-inspired food and tasty empanadas.
Got any other suggestions for places to go for some quiet study time in Quito? Tell our readers about them in the comments section below.
Originally published on Ailola by Sophie Lloyd on May 26, 2019.
