Hours: Mon-Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-5pm
Tel: 0212/763-0448
Caracas,
Reservations: Recommended
This has been one of the most popular restaurants in Caracas for more than 50 years. As befits a family-run institution, the place has an intimate family feel, with low ceilings and dark-wood beams. Start with a carpaccio of beef or salmon, or a tapa of Spanish tortilla (a potato-and-egg omelet). Although everything's delicious, one specialty here is the piquillo peppers stuffed with your choice of grouper, squid, or bacalao (cod) in a tomato-based Vizcaina sauce. If you make it through the extensive menu with room to spare, try the homemade membrillo jam with Manchego cheese for dessert. They have another branch, Casa Urrutia (tel. 0212/993-9526) in the Las Mercedes district, at Calle Madrid and Calle Monterrey.
Reservations: Reservations recommended