Andes Cafe 401 Franklin Street, Houston, TX 77002

"We were looking for an Ecuadorian restaurant and were not disappointed. They have a variety of different South American food options. Everything was delicious! We ordered yucca fries, sweet plantains and guanabana juice for kids and they loved it. The mixed seafood ceviche was spicy and tasty. My husband ordered loaded fries and coconut shrimp curry and everything was really good."

"This is our second visit to Andy’s café. We made a reservation because we wanted to try the “ceviche bar.” The food tasted good, but the ambience and service were terrible. First, this is not a ceviche bar. Food bars are where you actually interact with or at least can see the food during its preparation. This is simply sitting uncomfortably at a hemmed in counter with the food apparently prepared in the kitchen and plated on the other side of the counter, which we couldn’t see. The Ecuadorian decorations were nice, but really the only thing of interest at our seats. Sitting in a row like that with a solid counter in front of you is uncomfortable for a party of three and there is simply no reason why this could not have been served at a table. So we were disappointed from the start. Then, the advice on food quantity that was provided while we were ordering was simply inaccurate. The appetizer was entrée size and should have been shared among the three of us. We were advised that it was small and individual. That led to wasted food since we each ordered a full appetizer and entree ceviches as required for ceviche bar reservations. The ceviche itself and the appetizer were quite tasty although I had one bite of something crunchy that tasted off. The food wait is long, which would’ve been fine in a better setting, but the server failed to provide our beer and wine for the lengthy wait for the appetizers. We finally reminded her and she brought the order, but had missed one of two glasses of wine. This was very clearly ordered so I’m not sure what the problem was. The wine pours are very small when compared to other restaurants. I am not sure it was even 4 ounces. The entrées were not serve together. Again we understand they were freshly prepared and had to be prepared one at a time, but it is awkward when you’re a party of three and your food comes out at vastly different times, particularly when you are sitting at a metal counter and all you can do is stare at the counter or stare at your food. We all found the ceviche excellent. Given the small space at the counter, it was unfortunate that the appetizer dishes which had been pushed to the side were never cleared. It’s unappetizing to have dirty plates sitting there and it took up space. I should note that there were only one or two tables filled and a couple of walk up orders so the restaurant was not busy. One server should have been able to handle things better. Finally, we ordered the alfajores to take with us. This restaurant needs to find a better way to pack alfajores than an over-sized plastic box. I went with three stars because we loved the Andes café of old in EaDo and are sad that our two visits to the new location have been less than stellar. We gave it an excellent rating the first time we were there, even though the service was a little off. But this was our second visit, and we tried the ceviche bar, and it was very disappointing."

"The food was just average at best and on the pricey side for the location and atmosphere. The chicken didn't have much flavor while the empanadas were decent. The food court/cafeteria setting just makes it hard to spend that much on food."

"Andes Cafe was delicious and certainly made me feel as though I was in South America. The prices are a little high and with plentiful other options, if you’re willing to pay, this is a great spot for some South American flavors!"