Fine Dining Finds Harmony With Nature in This Ecuadorian Restaurant

Foresta, a Quito restaurant by Felipe Escudero, strikingly fuses architecture and gastronomy. The 3,200-square-foot, 60-seat eatery extends Ecuadorian chef Rodrigo Pacheco’s mission to merge fine dining with biodiversity, reflecting his work with the Bocavaldivia Foundation and the Largest Biodiverse Edible Forest (foresta is Spanish for forest). Escudero achieves this by balancing raw materials with high-tech refinement. Concrete and steel contrast with the organic texture of the Tungurahua volcanic stone used for the tops of the organically shaped, uplit kitchen islands, where chefs cook directly on its surface—paying homage to ancient Andean techniques and turning meals into a kind of performance art.

“To enhance aesthetics and functionality, we treated the stone with wax, deepening its color and sealing its surface,” Escudero explains. “Furthermore, the stone absorbs heat, subtly warming the space and infusing it with a smoky scent.” Mirroring the energy below is an undulating chrome ceiling, a concept the architect drew from pre-Columbian cosmology, symbolically linking earth and sky. “Our studio has long explored sculptural design, but this ceiling is a true breakthrough,” he says. Constructed from lightweight composite-fiber panels, it was built in modular, 10-foot-square sections, then meticulously joined, sanded, and polished for a flawless, most appetizing finish.