Cafe Fresco is a cozy, family-run cafe on Wilshire Boulevard that serves American breakfast and lunch standards like avocado toast, chicken pesto paninis, and breakfast burritos. On weekends, however, it transforms into one of the rare places in the city to find fried eggs with chicharrones, seco de chivo, llapingachao, guatita, and other regional Ecuadorian eats.
The cafe is owned and operated by Aracelli Aguirre and her mother, Ruth Rodriguez, with help from Aracelli's two brothers. Having migrated from Quito, Ecuador nearly 26 years ago, the family are dedicated to bringing the flavors of home to Los Angeles. Aracelli's father, Jorge Lopez, acts is the head chef overseeing the weekends-only Ecuadorian menu to fulfill their mission.
The family first displayed their enthusiasm for Ecuadorian food back in 2020, when they started QuitoinLA, a home-based restaurant in the San Fernando Valley exclusively selling Ecuadorian cooking during the pandemic.
Since the subsequent opening of Cafe Fresco, they have remained true to their roots as they continue to expand their business, providing great, convenient food for the neighborhood during the week, and indulging in their passion for Ecuadorian recipes on weekends.
“Our plan from the beginning, since we had a brick-and-mortar, was to eventually cook Ecuadorian food in a restaurant because, during COVID, we were doing that from home," Aguirre tells L.A. TACO.