Portoviejo is a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy (designated 2019) and takes that distinction seriously. Manabí cuisine is built around peanuts, plantains, fresh fish, yucca and corn — a pre-Columbian larder that has been cooking for centuries. The dishes to seek out: corviche (deep-fried green plantain balls stuffed with fish and ground peanuts, served with peanut sauce), viche (a thick, complex peanut and fish soup with plantains and vegetables), encocado de camarón (prawns in coconut sauce), and ceviche made from fresh shellfish caught along the Manabí coast. The city's market stalls and mid-range restaurants serve these more reliably than the tourist-facing places.