Each week, Tommy-Maurice is going to a different restaurant in Asunción. This week, he has been to El Comandante, an establishment located in the modern Barrio Recoleta.
When I first arrived in Paraguay, I fell in love with lomitos. Technically, yes, there are a lot of plates that we can consider similar to that and that are easily accessible in Canada. However, the taste is far from the same. Lomitos are something else. While moving to Recoleta, I found this small restaurant near home. They have two other locations in the metropolitan area – one in Hipódromo and one in the city of Fernando de la Mora. I have been there multiple times, primarily for food on the go, and I was never deceived.
What the restaurant has to offer?
El Comandante offers lomitos, which are sandwiches similar to a wrap, often containing egg products, vegetables, meat, and sauce. One of the most famous types is the lomito arabe, which means with Middle Eastern flavour. The immigrants brought this cooking style with them from Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine long ago to South America. They also offer hamburgers, multiple flavours of pizzas, regular fries, and fries with bacon and cheese.
All the locations are small, as we can consider the restaurants as “street vendors with a roof.” At the one in my area, there are around 10 chairs and three tables at all times, and some extra tables and chairs are piled up in the back. I and the walking group I am part of once went to the restaurant and got the part in the back just for us. The space was sufficient enough for us. The restaurant staff is super friendly, and they have a lot of respect for their clients.
The verdict!
I almost always take the same thing: lomito arabe mixto, which means with beef and chicken. I always ask without tomatoes because I am not a big fan of them when not in a liquid form. The bacon and cheese fries are always accompanying my lomito. It is super tasty. Enough to say it is one of the best types of sandwiches I ever ate. The bread is fresh, and the meat is well-cooked just in front of you.
The fries are incredibly salty, which I like, the bacon crunchy, and the catupiry cheese melting in my mouth. You might notice that today, I had cheddar on my fries instead. It is because they ran out of catupiry cheese, which shows you how Paraguayan are proud of their food. You can either have the lomito and the fries just for you and eat them in two servings or get them for you and someone else and eat at once, as the portions are enormous.
As for the price, it is similar to the other restaurants that offer the same kind of food. My lomito arabe mixto cost me 32K Guaraníes, and the El Comandante fries 35K. It might seem high, but when you look at the size of the portions, it is very proportional. Most of the lomitos are in the 20s and 30s of thousands of Guaraníes, and the hamburgers slightly less. You can pay by cash and card, like in most restaurants.
El Comandante in Barrio Recoleta (Choferes del Chaco)
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 16:00 to 0:30
Wednesday: 16:00 to 1:30
Thursday: 16:00 to 1:30
Friday: 16:00 to 1:30
Saturday: 16:00 to 1:30
Sunday: 19:00 to 1:30
El Comandante in Hipódromo (Paseo de la Patria)
Monday: 17:00 to 1:00
Tuesday: 17:00 to 1:00
Wednesday: 17:00 to 1:00
Thursday: 17:00 to 1:00
Friday: 17:00 to 1:00
Saturday: 17:00 to 1:00
Sunday: 17:00 to 1:00
El Comandante in Fernando de la Mora (Ingavi)
Monday: 18:00 to 1:00
Tuesday: 18:00 to 1:00
Wednesday: 18:00 to 1:00
Thursday: 18:00 to 1:00
Friday: 18:00 to 1:00
Saturday: 18:00 to 1:00
Sunday: 18:00 to 1:00
The El Comandante restaurants are opening and closing at different times and located in different neighbourhoods. One is also located in the city of Fernando de la Mora, just outside of Asunción. To go to the one in Recoleta from the north, you can take Avenia España Avenida or Mariscal López and go south on Choferes del Chaco. If you are coming from the south, you can take Avenida Eusebio Ayala and go north on Choferes del Chaco. If you prefer, you can take everything on the go or order via the WhatsApp numbers listed on their social media pages. It would be best to see which location is the closest to you before ordering.
If you want to eat the best lomitos in Recoleta, EL Comandante is the place for you! For more information, check El Comandante on Instagram!
Look next week for an article about Restaurante Dam, a restaurant in Ciudad del Este!
