"Our cuisine is not that well known in Europe, apart from in Spain," says German Huilcarema, talking about the kind of dishes one finds in his native Ecuador. "Germans are more familiar with the cuisine of our neighboring country Peru, and because my wife is Peruvian, we had the idea of combining Peru and Ecuador for our very first restaurant.”

It took six weeks of renovation and furnishing until Huilcarema and his family opened the Inti restaurant at Bonn's Wilhelmsplatz. Huilcarema's sister Tania Ponton, her mother Elsa Pilco and Huilcarema's nephew Luis Geovanny Espinoza are part of the team that staff the family-run restaurant.

"Inti" means "sun god" in Quechua, the most widely spoken indigenous language in South America. In the small interior with its 20 seats, you can watch the chefs at work thanks to an open kitchen; black wooden tables and grey and pink upholstered chairs complete the picture. The terrace in front of the building and the small green area can seat a total of 34 customers.

Starters include Trio Terral (fried cassava, sweet potato, plantain chips, huancaina sauce and homemade chlli sauce) for nine euros or Ceviche Clasico (fresh redfish fillet in lime sauce cooked with onions, coriander and chili, served with sweet potato and choclo) for 14 euros.

Main courses include Encebollado de Pescado (a rich Ecuadorian broth with tuna fillets, cassava, coriander and onions) for 17 euros, Lomo Saltado Inti (fresh tagliarini in huancaina sauce with juicy lomo saltado, a Peruvian beef pan dish) for 20 euros and Fritada (mixed pieces of roasted pork, served with mashed potato dumplings, large corn kernels, pumpkin seed cream and onion salad) for 18 euros.

For dessert, recommended is the Tres Leches (vanilla sponge cake soaked in three different types of milk) for six euros. There is also a menu that changes weekly.

From the drinks menu, the Inca Cola from Peru (0.33l for 4.50 euros), the "Pilsener" from Ecuador and the Peruvian beer Cusqueña (0.33l for five euros each) stand out. Also special are the five homemade drinks such as Chicha Morada, a lemonade made from purple corn (0.4l for six euros) or Refresco de Avena y Maracuya, made from cooked oats with passion fruit (0.4l for 5.20 euros).

The small wine selection includes five house wines (0.2l) starting at 5.50 euros, including Mapu Reserva Chardonnay by Baron Philippe de Rothschild Maipo Chile which sells for eight euros.

Info: Inti, Wilhelmsplatz 1a, 53111 Bonn-Innenstadt, (0228) 93 19 79 84. Open Thursday through Tuesday from 12 noon until 10 pm, closed on Wednesdays.

(Orig. text: Hagen Haas; Translation: ck)