From traditional Guatemalan food to fine dining, the food scene in Antigua Guatemala is outstanding. There are so many places to eat in Antigua; you will never run out of new places to try. Here are my recommendations for where to eat in Antigua Guatemala.

Union Cafe

The food here is delicious and healthy! If you are a vegetarian or a vegan, Union Cafe needs to be your first stop in Antigua. I ate here several times during my stay. My favorites where the Chapin, which is the traditional Guatemala breakfast but served slightly different, and my other favorite was the vegetable quesadillas. Breakfast is served all day too! Breakfast comes with two coffees as well. If you want something besides, the coffee I recommend the Mint Lemonade with Chia Seeds or one of their outstanding smoothies. Both will leave you feeling refreshed. There are two locations for Union Cafe, and they are just down the street from each other. I recommend the one that is across the street from San Pedro church as it is bigger and has a lovely partially outdoor eating area.

Cafe Condesa

This cafe is right in the main square of Antigua. One of my friends who is from Guatemala recommended this place to me. They serve breakfast and have great sandwiches and quiches. On the weekend, they serve a buffet brunch. The coffee here is excellent, and so is the food. You can sit inside near the front door and do some people watching or sit in one of the open air patios inside. Do some shopping in their lovely shops located inside the restaurant. Cafe Condesa has been open since 1993 and definitely know what it is doing!

Samsara

This is another excellent choice for vegetarians and vegans. This is an Indian inspired cafe. I am not vegetarian or vegan but do enjoy the food, so when some girls from my hostel wanted to grab dinner here, I happily when along. It is very small inside so you may have to wait if it is full, but do wait! You won’t regret it. The menu is quite extensive, and I really had a hard time deciding what to get. We were brought out a sample of some soup. We asked what it was and they said it was vegetable soup from whatever they had left in the kitchen that day. It was so good, I almost canceled my order and asked for the soup. I had ordered the Sweet Potato Quesadilla, which was amazing and covered in cheese. For the vegans, they did ask if I wanted vegan cheese instead. Samsara also has a small amount of packaged food for purchase in the front.

Bella Vista Coffee

A friend of mine who lives in Antigua posted about this place on Instagram, and I knew I wanted to check it out. When you walk in, you may think you are in the wrong place as it looks like a wine shop and not much of a coffee shop. Walk past the wine, or don’t, and find the stairs. Upstairs is where you find the cafe area of Bella Vista Coffee and where you find out why it has this name. The balcony area offers excellent views of the Agua Volcano. The balcony area is covered, so you don’t have to worry about getting hot. Try the chicken and avocado sandwich! It is tasty and huge, leaving you full for the rest of the day. Bella Vista also serves breakfast. If you need a quick coffee fix, you can get coffee downstairs at the coffee bar to take away.

Caoba Farms

Not only was the food great here, but Caoba Farms place has a beautiful atmosphere. It almost felt like I had been invited to a party. The farm is located a bit outside of Antigua, but they offer a shuttle that will take you to the farm and back to Antigua. I walked there and took the shuttle back. In addition to the restaurant, there is an organic grocery store, and on some days, there is a farmer’s market. I happened to go on the weekend so I got to see the farmers market, and there was live music. The falafel I had was delicious, and the homemade hummus was excellent. However, the pineapple smoothie was the best thing I had. It was tasty and filling!

Rincon Tipico

Another person in my hostel recommended this to me for an inexpensive place to eat lunch. She was not wrong! Rincon Tipico serves only lunch, and they make their food fresh, including the tortillas being made by hand in the entrance. For 30 Queztals you can choose your meat, and the meal comes with potatoes, coleslaw, tortillas, and a drink. 30 Queztals is about $4 US. The meat is cooked over a fire slowly. However, the potatoes are the star in my book. They were cooked in butter and garlic and melted in my mouth. I did not care for the horchata drink, but that is my personal preference. There was so much food; I took one of the tortillas home with me.

Bistrot Cinq

I had walked by this restaurant several times but initially I wasn’t interested as French food is not usually my thing. However, I was doing some research on where I should eat, and someone mentioned Bistrot Cinq. In their review, it mentioned gourmet macaroni and cheese. I was sold! After I finished my meal there, I declared it the best mac and cheese I had ever had. I looked at the menu again to see why. Their mac and cheese are made with truffle oil! That was it. Not only did they have the best mac and cheese but an excellent wine selection and a beautiful interior. Bistrot Cinq is fine dining, so this was the most expensive meal I had in Antigua but I still only spent about $26 including entree, wine, water, and tip!

La Cocina Del Obispo

Technically this gem of a restaurant is not in Antigua but in a village about two miles from Antigua, and I was lucky enough to be taken by a local, the housekeeper of my Airbnb. However, it had the best Guatemalan food I had while I was there. You can get there by taking a chicken bus to San Juan del Obispo, which is about $.50 each way! Get off the bus at the entrance to the village. Right after you walk into town, there is a house on the right, and it is La Cocina Del Obispo. They are only open on weekends for breakfast and lunch. My recommendation is the Chile Rellenos. You should also know that the menu was only in Spanish, so get your translation book ready. To get back to Antigua you can catch the bus outside the entrance to the village or walk up the hill towards the big church and the bus leaves from there also. The driver may not speak English, but you can tell him Antigua, and he will make sure you get out where you need to.

Roots

Good food comes to those who wait! Roots prides itself on making everything fresh when you order it so if they are busy, you may have to wait a bit for your food. However, the food is totally worth waiting for. I ordered the Santa Fe Chicken Bowl. I didn’t expect the chicken to be the star of the dish, though. The chicken was so flavorful! Plus it came with about half an avocado! You can’t go wrong there. They also have some delicious looking smoothies.

Las Antorchas

Las Antorchas is primarily a steak restaurant, but I am not a big meat eater. However, I really wanted to eat there because the inside looks so pretty. I went during the week and fairly early in the evening, so there were not many other people there, so I had some fantastic service. I order the stuffed chicken with mushroom sauce. It came with rice and vegetables. The chicken was so good I ate everything else first so I could finish with the chicken. Later I was told this is a place that big tourist groups come so it may not be a good idea to go here if you want a quiet dinner.

Apetito

Here is another recommendation from another traveler I tried. She raved about the courtyard and the wine they had. I had wanted a pizza because sometimes you just do! I did have to wait a while as I ate there during Semana Santa and they were swamped. They did tell me in advance, so I wasn’t bothered by it. Apetito offers many different kinds of pizza and has several crust options. The pizza is cooked in a wood-burning oven giving it extra flavor. They also had a fantastic wine list. Eat outside to enjoy the magnificent courtyard. There is no picture of the pizza because it was too dark.

Yzote Kape

This tiny food bar is located in the same courtyard as Apetito. They serve traditional pupusa. A pupusa is like a tortilla stuffed with ingredients. You can get plain cheese ones as well. You can get two pupusas here with a drink for 25 Queztals. Locals eat the pupusa with pickled cabbage and salsa. They are a filling inexpensive eat!

La Bruja

La Bruja is also in the same courtyard as Apetito and Yzote Kape. It serves vegetarian and vegan food. I was eating lunch with a vegetarian friend, so we want to try somewhere new. La Bruja has a huge menu, and you can build your own vegetarian/vegan burger! I went with the eggplant empanadas, and she had a vegan burger. Both were amazing! The burger was huge and came with fries. La Bruja service was also outstanding, and the prices were reasonable.

I hope this list of where to eat in Antigua Guatemala helps you give you a start to finding excellent food there. Have you been to Antigua and recommend a place I haven’t included on this list? Share with us in the comments!