16 Best Bars in Guatemala City, Guatemala

A lively young gay crowd frequents Black & White Wednesday through Sunday night, and there always seem to be drink specials on tap.

Blanco y Negro, located in the same block as the Pasaje Aycinena and the Pasaje Rubio, specializes in reggae.

Café & Bar Sabina offers Trova, a kind of folk music that originated in Cuba.

The mellow Café del Arco serves light, café-style food to a mixed clientele, nightly except Sunday.

Like its namesake 1980s television show, Cheers draws a friendly crowd, mostly for the sporting events being shown on the big-screen TVs.

Edificio Paseo Plaza makes club-hopping easy (and relatively safe) by offering half a dozen venues with differing personalities in the same building.

A branch of the outlet by the same name in Antigua, Frida's is a place to knock back a margarita with a few friends, with prints by Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera as backdrop.

Frida's offers a gay night the last Friday of every month.

Giuseppe Verdi is an upscale bar that caters mostly to tourists.

Jake's the popular restaurant, also has a sophisticated lounge perfect for a quiet drink in a grown-up atmosphere.

We like Kloster, a German oom-pah-pah kind of place with a variety of fondues as well as tasty microbrews.

Otelito Season Lounge located in the Otelito hotel, offers an intimate, modern space where the color scheme changes with the calendar.

Pasaje Aycinena, along the Pasaje Rubio, a convenient, relatively safe pedestrian zone, is the best bet for tourists. The atmosphere is "alternative," with lots of young people (including many Europeans). Among the establishments you'll find here are the venerable Cien Puertas (the oldest bar in the neighborhood), Bacabes (which features live rock music in Spanish and English), La Luna (Trova), and Capuccino (Spanish-language rock).

Pasaje Rubio, adjacent to the Pasaje Aycinena, is another popular pedestrian zone. It has a bohemian feel, with a variety of establishments for every personal and musical taste. A highlight is El Portalito, once the hangout of Guatemala's Noble Prize-winning author Miguel Ángel Asturias.

A mixed crowd dances the night away at Rouge.

Despite its name, William Shakespeare Pub doesn't exactly evoke an English pub, but is a convivial place to stop for a drink.