Making cannabis known through gastronomy is one of the missions of Joint, Experience Housecafe bar restaurant serving González Suárez sector, in Quito.

Young people come who want to spend a relaxing moment or families who take the opportunity to talk and learn about cannabis, drink a cocktail, serve themselves a coffee or an à la carte meal in a place that opened its doors in April 2022.

That’s what the chef of the Joint is for, Boris Hurtado applies his gastronomic knowledge and uses the cannabis plant as another ingredient in his dishes. The general concept of the food is to bring the flavors of the Middle East, vegan dishes, always with a focus on cannabis, he explains. In the containers you can see leaves, terpene oil (aromatic effect), seeds, flowers, among others.

So at the Joint you can eat a falafel with cannabis seeds, with yogurt with terpene oil, baked cheese also with terpene oil or a tajine chicken with couscous that also brings the seeds of the plant.

The idea is to get people to know cannabis through its taste, smell and color and to put aside myths such as those that consuming any of these products will get you high or have some psychoactive effect. “A lot of times people come in and think they’re going to have strong sensory effects or they’re not going to be able to handle it. In fact the effects could be inner relaxation. The products help more with metabolic and immune problems,” he comments Andrés Peñaranda, restaurant manager.

One of the visitors’ favorite cocktails is Mary Jane, with gin, lemon, white Martini and CBD syrup. “It’s one of the most requested cocktails, because it’s balanced and refreshing,” says Andrés. This one has an interesting detail, which is that it is taken with a straw made from the stem of the plant, which makes it a little more exotic. If you prefer a soft drink, it is a good option fresh vitality, containing hibiscus, dehydrated red fruit and CBD.

The CBD coffee or the CBD vanilla ice cream cake dessert is not to be missed. The site also sells the region’s first cannabis-based chocolate with 2.88 mg of CBD.

The restaurant, which is very bright and has large windows overlooking the valley, has a smoking and non-smoking area. In the smoking room is Samantha Fonseca, who came to spend a relaxed afternoon with friends. “I love everything, cocktails, food, connector (CBD joints). This doesn’t blow you away, it just relaxes you, it’s a super cool experience,” he explains. Francisco Guerra is with her, who says that he heard about the place from some acquaintances, and that he found out about its existence through social networks. He decided to try CBD because he likes it. “The experience is good, all recommendations.”

Carol Orbe loves how the restaurant infuses food and drinks with CBD. She says that her favorite dish is white fish marinated in CBD, “everything is very tasty”.

What are the prices at this cannabis restaurant?

According to Andrés Peñaranda, the prices are in line with the sector and are affordable. However, there is a price difference when it comes to CBD products. For this reason, he made a rough calculation and commented that eating cake with coffee or juice or with a cocktail might require a budget of between 10 and 15 dollars per person.

If it is a main course, cocktail and dessert, the price can be from 20 to 25 dollars.

Nina Tapia del Salto, manager of Cannandes, The company that owns the Joint explains that they clearly understand the importance of the entire value chain of the product and therefore, considering the needs of the user, the patient, the idea was not to focus only on the raw material.

He assures that the farm is working very briskly, but they have advanced in the extraction of derivatives and in the production of the final product. At the same time, seek product standardization (which is not the same as legalization). The restaurant tries to present the best face of cannabis, a different face, a more normal, everyday face. All this is possible because Cannandes has all the necessary permits for the commercialization of medical cannabis, since in Ecuador this type of consumption has been decriminalized since 2019.

the circle closes with CannanClinic, which is a space with health professionals who understand endocabinology. Tapia believes that cannabis has endless possibilities: to give a lot of health, happiness, nutrition and even soil regeneration.