La Unión

Esmeraldas · Esmeraldas

One does not find La Unión by chance. The address circulates among fishermen and regulars, scrawled on a scrap of paper. The room opens directly onto the Esmeraldas river estuary; in the early morning, the dugout canoes return laden and one watches the cooks choose what will be served that day.

The ceviche de camarones is the main reason to come. The shrimps, caught the previous night, are marinated in bitter orange and passion fruit juice, with red onions and fresh coriander. It is simple, direct, alive. The encebollado de albacora — albacore tuna, cassava, tomato, cumin — is served in a clay pot that retains its heat to the last spoonful.

La Unión is a discovery in the purest sense: honest cooking, rooted in its coastal terroir, unknown to guides and social media, deserving to be discovered before it is too late.