3 Best Restaurants in El Peten, Guatemala

A broad menu features comida típica as well as familiar plates, so you can order a tasty hamburger (with optional whiskey sauce) or pollo al achiote, chicken spiced with the red pre-Colombian herb. The atmosphere is tasteful and relaxing, so you won't even miss the lake, which is a couple of blocks away.

This terrace is so lovely and the Italian food so rich that the lake will seem swapped for the Mediterranean in a delicious sleight of hand. The best plates are the bowls of homemade pasta slick with olive oil and dense with shrimp, bacon, tomatoes, squash, basil, or whatever tops your dish of choice. Burgers, steak, and interesting pizzas are also on the menu. The avocado salad is a little wedding cake of vegetables; beautiful. Plus, if you've been jonesing for that clementine San Pelligrino, Il Terrazo's got you covered.

The large, cartoonlike Capitán Turtle sign may fool you into thinking this restaurant is just for kids, but the grilled meats, pizza, tacos and burritos, and other options make this a solid choice for a meal with a view. The pinchos (grilled kebabs) are cooked on an open barbecue, sending enticing aromas throughout the restaurant. There's a nice patio out back, which offers tremendous sunset views of the lake.