Cuenca's El Mercado and Tiestos Land SUMMUM 2026 Nominations Ahead of the October 28 Gala in Quito
Cuenca's El Mercado and Tiestos Earn SUMMUM 2026 Nominations
Cuenca's dining scene is getting national attention again this year. Two of the city's restaurants, El Mercado and Tiestos, have landed nominations in the 2026 edition of Premios SUMMUM Ecuador, a gastronomy awards program culminating in a gala on October 28 at Casa de la Música in Quito.
The nominations place both restaurants among more than 120 competitors nationwide, vying for recognition across dozens of categories. For Cuenca, a city often overshadowed by Quito and Guayaquil in national culinary conversations, having two nominees this year marks a notable sign of the local dining scene's continued momentum.
What Is Premios SUMMUM?
Premios SUMMUM traces its roots to Peru, where it was founded in 2007 to celebrate excellence in that country's gastronomy sector. The awards have since expanded regionally, and Ecuador is now hosting its second edition.
This year's Ecuadorian edition features more than 120 nominated restaurants spread across 34 categories. Organizers have added two new categories for 2026, Best Burger Joint and Best Specialty Coffee Shop, reflecting an effort to capture a broader range of the country's dining culture beyond fine dining and traditional cuisine.
How Winners Are Chosen
Event organizers say winners are determined through a voting methodology that weighs food quality at 60%, ambiance at 20%, and service at 20%. More than 3,000 voters are reportedly participating in this year's selection process.
Organizers describe the process as being audited by the research consultancy FOCUS. It's worth noting that these figures, including voter counts and audit details, come from statements made by SUMMUM's organizers rather than from independently verified data. Many outlets covering the awards have simply repeated these figures as reported, without additional scrutiny.
El Mercado's Track Record and Cuenca's Standing
El Mercado enters this year's competition with some momentum. In the 2025 edition, the restaurant placed third nationally, trailing only Quito's Nuum, which took first place, and Clara, which placed second. That result already marked El Mercado as a standout outside the capital.
Within a national field that tends to be dominated by Quito establishments, a top-three finish from a Cuenca restaurant carries real weight. It suggests that Cuenca's culinary offerings can compete directly with the country's largest dining market, even if full parity in nominations and wins has yet to be reached.
Tiestos' appearance in this year's nominee list adds a second voice for Cuenca, broadening the city's representation beyond a single standout restaurant.
Sponsorship and Industry Ties
Diners Club del Ecuador is listed as a sponsor for several specific award categories, including Sustainability, Best Agricultural Producer, and Emblematic Product. This kind of category sponsorship is common in awards programs of this scale.
It's also worth noting that at least one outlet's coverage of this year's SUMMUM awards, published by Primicias, was explicitly labeled as sponsored content. A recurring pattern across available coverage is a generally promotional tone, with statistics and methodology details largely attributed to the organizers themselves rather than independently confirmed by reporting outlets. Readers may want to keep this framing in mind when evaluating claims about voter counts, auditing processes, or the overall prestige of the awards.
What's Next for the October 28 Gala
The SUMMUM Ecuador 2026 gala is scheduled for October 28 at Casa de la Música in Quito, where winners across all 34 categories will be announced. With more than 120 restaurants in contention nationwide, competition is expected to be dense, particularly in categories tied to contemporary and fusion Ecuadorian cuisine.
For El Mercado, a strong showing could reinforce the restaurant's standing as one of the country's top dining destinations outside Quito. For Tiestos, simply being nominated offers a chance to build visibility on a national stage. Cuenca diners and industry watchers alike may want to follow the results as the gala approaches, since the outcomes could shape how the city's restaurant scene is perceived in the broader Ecuadorian culinary conversation.