2 Best Restaurants in Antigua, Guatemala

One of Antigua's original elegant restaurants is in a 16th-century house near La Merced church a few blocks north of the Parque Central. The place is huge and does a brisk event business, but offers plenty of secluded tables for intimate, candlelight dinners. Lunch is served in the downstairs courtyard; dinner expands to the upstairs terrace with stupendous mountain and city views and gorgeous end-of-day sunsets. The menu changes every few months, but always consists of a mix of Guatemalan and international fare—perhaps a three-meat pepián, or a tarragon leg of lamb with a mango shrimp salad on the side.

An old Antigua favorite, this place has three locations serving the same Guatemalan and Mexican fare. The newest branch is housed in a colonial home, spacious enough to offer indoor and outdoor seating. Musicians stroll about on weekends. The menu includes queso fundido and the restaurant's famous caldo real (a hearty chicken soup). Other locations are the original on 5 Avenida near Parque Central, and a newer branch just across the street from that one.