It was the first visit for my wife and I to Guatemala. We go to CDMX every year and enjoy our visits there immensely. This time we decided to change the scenery. Before the trip I found a relative paucity of information regarding potential food experience. There are some recommendations on the Eater website, but not much beyond it.
Here I will compile a summary of our eating experience in Guatemala.
The first night we spent in Guatemala City. We walked through the busy underground market with a food area but nothing caught our attention and evoked a desire to try. It is a pretty busy area with a lot of customers around Refacciones Dona Mela counter. It is the one usually mentioned as deserving attention. We did not try her food because it was difficult to get to the counter. We bought some avocados/ fruits.
We got to lunch in Arrin Cuan. A small chain of Maya food based restaurants. (There is one in Antigua as well. But we did not try it.) We liked it. The mix of chicharron/ radish and tomato - Chojiin - was surprisingly good. Guacamole. Chorizo/ longaniza combo. Tasting of 4 local stews: Subik and Kak’ik - not good. Pipian - OK. Hilachas - really good. I am not usually a meat and potato type of guy, but for some reason this dish of meat and potato in chilli/tomato media was the one which we enjoyed in every rendition. Do not skip on it, if in Guatemala.
For the dinner we ventured to the Ciudad Cayala part of town (quick and cheap Uber ride). After strolling to observe the holiday lighting and decoration we ended up in the steakhouse Casa Escobar. Most of the meat they serve is from the US. We did not try any appetizers, but shared small puyazo (sirloin/ picanha) and small argentinian entraña. The meat was good but a bit off on the temperature and seasoning. Probably for compensation purposes the side of guacamole was extremely salty and we could not eat it. The same goes for the beans.
During the morning ride to the lake Atitlan we stopped for a breakfast in Teopan (the same name for the town and eatery). We had desayuno chopin which was quite filling. There is an option of buffet style. All the customers were local and prices were significantly lower than in tourist centered locations around.
Our destination was Hotel Atitlan. The location and the view are spectacular (please request the 3rd floor rooms). The immaculately cared for garden with a variety of birds. I have probably spent at least an hour observing the hummingbirds. There is a friendly tucan in a large cage. The hotel is a bit away from the town of Panajachel. You can take a tuk tuk to the town, but we elected to stay and to enjoy the scenery. The food in the hotel is marketed as something special but in fact is underwhelming. We were stuck there for the Christmas eve dinner. As usual on such occasions the food is poorly prepared and overpriced. Everything was very sweet and tasteless otherwise. Obviously we did not have high expectations and still enjoyed the location very much. Breakfast was a bit better, but we are not usually breakfast people.
During the boat trip around the lake we visited San Juan de la Laguna and Santiago de Atitlan. In the latter we managed to find inn the market the patin.The patin is a fried small fish in a fresh tomato sauce with occasional spice. The dish is endemic to the town. It exists in multiple versions including the meat, chicken or shrimp. All the above versions are not authentic ones. The original one contains only fish. We were impressed by the quality of the tomatoes and learned that the town has local tomato farms. The challenge is figuring all the above out in the market, since less than 40 % of Maya people speak Spanish…
The next day we ventured higher up in the mountains with an overnight stay in the market town of Chichicastenango. The experience is rather rustic since the best hotel in town Santo Thomas (where we stayed) had no concept of heat (with the temperatures dipping at night to about 8), hot water (could be requested 30 minutes in advance) or sound insulation (not able to sleep at all because of heavy traffic going right by the window all night long). The market is a very interesting but overrated experience. Later in the day street food stalls started to appear. I have tried the typical local fare of tostadas with chicken spread and vegetables along with rellenitas (deep fried plantain buns stuffed with sweet beans). Liked both. My wife was not comfortable eating it, but for me long lines and extremely fast turnaround was enough assuring for the safety concerns.
We had lunch in Los Cofrades. It is approximately 1 mile away from the town center on the tuk tuk. We even tried to walk back, but gave up because of the dirty road with no sidewalks. The restaurant presented as a “gastronomic experience” with " organic products". Small menu with basic items. We tried:
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chicken wings - not fried but boiled and smothered with the sweet BBQ house sauce - very questionable experience.
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pork chop in Convent adobo sauce - no sear, smothered in achiote based substance. The meat was good, but I would not order it again.
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Side vegetables and fried potatoes were very good.
We stayed in Hotel Santo Tomas, where the tourists usually come for lunch. There is a sizable lunch buffet, but after browsing the offerings I found them not to be very palatable. We ate dinner in the hotel. It was a very sad encounter, which I would not recommend to anyone. In general Chichicastenango is a forgettable experience not worth staying overnight. The market is not as interesting as it sounds.
The last stop was Antigua where we stayed for a few nights in the magnificent Casa Santo Domingo. It is one of the numerous monastery ruins in town. Besides, it was rebuilt to incorporate hotel rooms. We enjoyed our stay there. We did not eat in the hotel although they go out of their way to advertise their food. I have browsed the breakfast selection and found it to be less interesting than in Hotel Atitlan. For the ones who are the breakfast people: there are numerous cafes around which serve decent food for a fraction of the price.
We tried:
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Street food by the Iglesia de La Merced. There are multiple vendors, but you want Donde MImi. No posting signs, but you can figure it out. It is the one off the streetside closer to the street with the Santa Catalina Arch. Some staff wear aprons saying "Donde Mimi’, but I have noticed it only later. As well there are plenty of people attempting to get food from this stall, while many other stalls are surrounded by the rolling tumbleweed. Tostadas, chile relleno and rellenitas were good, although the letter ones were much sweeter than in Chichi.
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La Cuevita de los Urquizu. This place was recommended by my few local acquaintances as the most authentic, but in a very touristy environment. We went with our local friend and tried 4 stews. Pepian, mole with cordero (lamb), hilachas and made on Saturdays from the entire pork head, revolcado. My favorite, once again, was hilachas. In general, eating too much of the different stews gets overwhelming. After that meal I was definitely done with the stews in Guatemala.
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Chicharron Cindal (Sindal?). Relocated recently from Antigua to the shoemaking town of Pastores. Probably about a 10-15 minutes ride from Antigua on Uber/ tuk tuk/ “chicken” bus. Come for lunch. They run out of food by late afternoon. One of the places I have enjoyed the most. Very rustic with radish, avocado and fried onions served on the side. Chicharron is very good. Carnitas were so-so.
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Chicharrón Panza Verde. Walking distance from the Casa Santo Domingo. Less impressive than Cindal. I had intended to try moronga (the local version of morcilla), but they ran out of it. The same set of sides as in the restaurant above plus beans.
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Casa Escobal. We visited the Antigua location because we were told that it is the best restaurant in town. We liked it better than the Ciudad Cayala one, but it is just meat on the grill. Nothing is special. The service was good in both locations.
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Barriga Llena. This place stood out a bit among the other restaurants in the sense of its modernity/ cool vibe. The menu was small. We picked Guatemalan tacos (with sausage and vegetables) and fried chicken (reported as a specialty). Tacos were so-so. The chicken was pretty decent. They offer a lot of mixed drinks, but we did not try any. In general we had a very positive feeling about the place. Unfortunately it is on a very busy street and excessive dust and smoke gets in through wide open windows and doors. Everything is covered with a layer of dirt.
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Adobe. Another chain. All the customers were local. Here I eventually tried moronga, which was not very impressive. We had small chile relleno (as well so-so) and small entrana. The service was horrible, but the ambience was very lovely.
I am not confident to state that Guatemala is a gastronomic paradise. It is not Mexico. Most of the locals seem to enjoy the chains of pizza/ fried chicken/ hamburgers. Unfortunately, the Guatemalan food scene is very monotonous. All the restaurants serve almost the same menu and all street vendors sell the same staff. They do not taste bad, but are very timid in flavor. The quality of the fruits and vegetables is pretty good. The fruits are strictly seasonal. The street food is not bad but the choices are very limited. Happy to answer any questions.