45 Best Restaurants in Guatemala

This secret garden with lake vistas is a veritable oasis, complete with butterflies and flowering vines. But don't forget the food: there is a huge menu ranging from smoothie bowls bursting with fresh fruit or waffles in the morning to pad Thai, salad, traditional Guatemalan food, or pizza at sunset, plus fresh cocktails.

Hummingbirds dart among flowering vines at this romantic eatery just up the street from the lake. Enter through an iron gate that leads into a garden hidden behind a low wall. There are outside tables and a pair of intimate dining rooms. All the delicious Italian food, from the tasty bread to the fresh pasta, is homemade. Two standout specialties are the fettuccine arrabiata (with a slightly spicy tomato sauce), and the steak au poivre (cooked in a wine sauce and black pepper) served with fresh vegetables.

This is a "must stop" when you're in Cobán. Have a seat in one of the intimate dining rooms or out in the garden and enjoy delicious international dishes. Though the menu includes nicely prepared pastas and pizzas, the grilled meats, accompanied by grilled vegetables and a variety of homemade salsas, are especially succulent. All the vegetables, and even the lamb and pork, are grown organically on El Bistro's own farm outside of town. The coffee stands out even in a city known for the brew, and the breakfasts here are legendary. The homemade desserts are the best in the city; a brownie or a slice of carrot cake makes a great midday snack. The restaurant's gift shop also offers the highest-quality handicrafts in Cobán.

The Uruguayan and American owners contribute to the live acoustic music many evenings here at one of Calle Santander's liveliest restaurants and a favorite with Pana's expat community. Grab a seat in this semi-open-air place, enjoy the entertainment, and survey all the action on the main drag. Uruguayan-style beef tenderloin rules, as do churtos (beef cutlets prepared variously with mozzarella cheese, ham, bacon, peppers, or olives).

If you've never eaten in an Italian grandfather's kitchen overlooking a beautiful lake here's your chance. This unfussy outdoor spot has a nice selection of pasta cooked to order in the open kitchen. They bake up homemade bread for the bruschetta, and the pizza is a treat with a glass of wine or a frosty Gallo. It's worth the drive after Tikal. 

This cozy eatery has tasty brunch all day, with items like: shakshuka eggs, Flores skillet with egg, avocado, beans, and mushrooms, or chicken and waffles. Don't miss the famous milkshake: three scoops of vanilla ice cream, flavor of your choice (we suggest maple syrup and bacon), topped off with a delectable doughnut.

Grilled meats come piping hot off the parrilla (grill) and give this palapa restaurant swagger. Tacos with practically an artist's palette of sauces are also popular, and the steamed fish is excellent. Raíces is built over the water, so with friends, a margarita in hand, and the lake framing it all, you'll have a good time. You can also take a boat ride from the restaurant out to Raíces Del Lago for a special dining experience from another vantage point on the lake.

Although lodging is an option here, Bruno's is best known as a popular hangout for the yachting crowd. Most of the regular patrons arrive by boat. You'll feel at home here in the lively American-style restaurant featuring a great international menu. Expats enjoy sandwiches, burgers, and other light fare as they watch football on the big-screen TV.

Combining a cultural and educational experience with good food, this restaurant is the creation of German architect Dieter Richter, who has worked on projects at Yaxhá and Naranjo. You can browse a collection of books, photos, maps, and other information about the Mayan world while you enjoy a hamburguesa or a Mayan dish such as Pollo Xni Pec (chicken in a chili sauce served with rice and yucca). You can also book tours to Yaxhá and elsewhere.

Despite the name, you'll find very little that is Indian about the cuisine here. The menu is a real catch-all, and "vegetarian" or "macrobiotic" are better descriptions to describe the falafel, pita, pad thai, burritos, lasagna, and key lime pie. Dine inside, or grab one of the two umbrella-covered tables on the front deck and survey the action on Calle Santander.

The owner of this popular café grew up on a coffee plantation near Cobán. Duly qualified, she serves the largest selection of caffeinated beverages in this coffee-growing region. Hot coffee, cold coffee, coffee with liquor, coffee with chocolate, and a wide assortment of teas make up most of the menu. She also whips up some of the best breakfasts in town. The café is on the grounds of the Viveros Verapaz.

Homemade everything adds a nice touch to this farmhouse-style restaurant between the Biotopo del Quetzal and Cobán. Sauces, dressings, jellies, tortillas, and cheeses are all prepared on-site. The place comes into its own with its huge farm-style breakfasts of eggs, breads, plantains, beans, and cheeses. It's a terrific place to stop if you're out early in the morning. If you go for dinner, get there early: the place closes at 7:30 pm.

Though smack-dab in the middle of the market hubbub, this peaceful second-floor restaurant, with its wrought-iron chairs and wood tables, offers a reasonably quiet respite from the activity below. These folks dish up their signature pollo estilo San Juan (chicken breast in tomato sauce), with guacamole salad and rice on the side. The menu makes a big deal of specifying that the chile relleno is "not spicy." It's actually a beef and vegetable-filled bell pepper, a signature highland dish. Whatever your main dish, be sure to accompany it with the warm homemade tortillas. Sunday market-day lunch gives way to a sumptuous buffet.

A cage of lively birds lends a cheerful atmosphere to this small eatery, which serves good Guatemalan fare. The avena (a warm oat beverage) is delicious, especially on a cold morning. There is no sign of the restaurant's trusty namesake, though a ceramic sailfish atop the refrigerator comes close.

Wander over to this seven- table café and pastry shop to try the 25 kinds of homemade cookies filled with nuts, chocolate, coconut, oatmeal, and spices. There's a good selection of gourmet coffee on the menu, too.

You'll feel appropriately cool chilling in a hammock or shooting the breeze with another wanderer in this leafy garden café, sipping lemonade or an iced latte. If you're bored by the national beers, Gallo in Guatemala or Belikin in Belize, this café serves real IPAs and a selection of imported craft beers. You can eat breakfast for under Q40, and light meals are served the rest of the day. There's free Wi-Fi.

Tex-Mex food is here in Quetzaltenango in a big way at this restaurant inside the Pasaje Enríquez building on Parque Centro América. Look for the neon signs. Decor is that of an old Southwest cantina, with wood tables and stools in the room that also houses the bar, and chairs with backs in an amply sized adjoining room. Barbecue ribs, fajitas, and nachos make up the hearty fare.

Satisfy your caffeine craving and sweet tooth at El Cafetalito, a European-style café whose Swiss owners serve up sophisticated coffees and pastries to an appreciative clientele.

Good food, attentive service, and reasonable prices make this place popular with the locals, so it can be tough to get a table later in the evening. It couldn't be described as fancy, but this restaurant's long polished bar and wood paneling raise it above the usual neighborhood dive. The menu has a number of delicious appetizers, including traditional queso fundido and a selection of meat and seafood dishes that are smothered in rich sauces. Saturday, the place whips up its caldo de mariscos (seafood stew).

The lime meringue pie alone is worth a trip to this charming log cabin–turned restaurant just south of Cobán, but you'll likely want to precede dessert with a full Verapaces-style meal. The ubiquitous regional turkey stew kaq'ik is on the menu, of course, but you can also try roast lamb, beef, or rosemary chicken.

Although it's known by the outdoor patio with umbrella-covered tables that gives the place its name, most of the restaurant's tables are inside a large dining room decorated with lots of palms and ferns, and a few indigenous drawings on the wall. Nevertheless, the lunch and dinner menus offer great variety, including such choices as pepper steak, roast pork, and chicken à la king. It's also a popular spot for breakfast. You'll find a couple of Internet computers to log on to after you eat.

This large restaurant is popular with a local crowd, and at lunchtime you're likely to find a soccer match playing on the projection TV. The decor is simple, with tile floors, tall ceilings, and guitars hanging from the walls. The menu is extensive and includes pastas, grilled meats, seafood, sandwiches, and burgers, but the specialties here are traditional dishes such as kaq'ik (preceded by a bowl of hot chocolate), suban-ick (chicken and pork in a delicious tomato sauce), jocón (chicken in a mild green sauce), and sopa de tortuga (turtle soup). Save room for the homemade pies.

The thatch roof and painfully slow-turning ceiling fans are right out of Night of the Iguana or any other tropical movie of your choice. The seafood is phenomenal here at one of the town's most popular restaurants, which draws locals and tourists in equal numbers. We like the seafood tapado, a sweet fish stew. You can check your e-mail at the business center while you're waiting.

An open-air restaurant centered around a bamboo hut and a fire pit, this little Italian eatery offers such continental favorites as fondue and spaghetti, and also has a good selection of vegetarian entrées. There's live music from time to time, making this one of San Marcos's social hubs. Be sure to leave room for the delicious tiramisu.

This colorful little corner restaurant is friendly and popular among the locals. Come early for the excellent pancakes served at breakfast, or stop by for beef and chicken dishes—pepián (a fricassee in pumpkin and sesame sauce) or chile relleno are favorites here—at lunch or dinner. The menu includes a few Mexican favorites as well.

Set in a hacienda-style building, away from the bustle of the city, Jean François is one of the prettiest and most tranquil restaurants in town, with a lovely courtyard/garden and tables tucked under the surrounding arcades. If you prefer to sit inside, there's a charming dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a cozy fireplace. The food is equally impressive, mostly French classics with an occasional New World touch. For an appetizer, try the warm shrimp mousse wrapped in spinach, and for your main course beef with béarnaise or Gorgonzola sauce, or maybe grilled robalo with fresh tomatoes and basil. The french fries are top-notch, and for dessert our favorite is the wonderful, light mousse de chico (a type of tropical fruit).

This restaurant's second-story balcony overlooking Plaza Mayor is a great place to watch the vendors set up on the eve of the market. The pollo chimichurri (chicken in an herb sauce) is one of the best choices from the mostly traditional menu. There are also a few surprises, such as pizza and pasta.

The thatch-roof place a couple of blocks east of Calle Principal with two resident pelicans on the premises—hence the name—is our favorite stand-alone restaurant in Monterrico. You'll appreciate when the server lights a mosquito coil under your wooden table, and you'll dine on a yummy selection of pastas and seafood, all to the accompaniment of soft music. Peruse the book-exchange shelf while you wait.

With two locations within a block of each other, it's hard to miss this longtime favorite. The smaller of the two has patio seating right on the Parque Central, where you can watch the vendors setting up their stalls while you feast on Belgian waffles or sip one of the finest cappuccinos in the country. If you're in a hurry to get to the market, remember that the service here can be miserably slow. The other location, called simply Los Cofrades, a block away on 5 Calle, has a less hectic atmosphere on a second floor that lets you survey the fringes of the market.

An eclectic collection of local handicrafts brightens the walls of this excellent second-floor steak house. The chef, formerly of the Hotel Santo Tomás, grills up a great steak, but there are plenty of other options, including a delicious longaniza (a spicy sausage similar to chorizo). Music and a full bar keep things lively, but not intrusively so.