5 Best Restaurants in Antigua, Guatemala
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Like Guatemala City, but on a smaller scale, Antigua assembles a mix of regional and international cuisines into its restaurant scene. Few other cities pack such a variety into a 10-block-by-10-block area. A good rule of thumb: more expensive restaurants line the streets east of the city's Parque Central. Less pricey options line those west of the park.
Welten
You'll feel like a guest in a private home when you arrive at this restaurant. Take your pick of tables, which are on a patio with cascading orchid plants, by a small pool, festooned with candles and flower petals, in the rear garden, or in one of the elegantly appointed dining rooms. The menu includes homemade pasta dishes, such as anolini served with a creamy pepper-and-cognac sauce, as well as fish and meat dishes served with a variety of sauces. All the vegetables are organic, and the bread is baked right on the premises.
Bistrot Cinq
Guatemalan colonial meets French country bistro at this eatery two blocks east of Parque Central. Trout amandine, pied de cochon, and steak frites with béarnaise sauce make up some of the French-themed highlights on the menu, along with an ample wine list that features mostly Chilean and Argentine vintages. You'll find a whimsical hog theme throughout, with pewter, ceramic, and wood pigs used to decorate the room with its dark wood and worn, exposed stucco walls. Lighting is low and romantic, with small spotlights and chandeliers made from frosted-white glass bottles. Jazz and blues provide the background music.
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Café Opera
You half expect Enrico Caruso to emerge from the shadows when you walk into this trattoria a couple of blocks from La Merced church. It's generally a bit cluttered and crowded, and it fills up quickly. You'll find overflow seating on the back patio, but sitting out there isn't nearly as atmospheric. For an Italian restaurant, the selection of pastas is small, but the café's signature plates are its various tenderloin dishes—we like the beef prepared with Gorgonzola cheese, nuts, and rosemary. There's also a wide selection of paninis and gelato.
El Cazador Italiano
This fun place behind the cathedral has gained cachet with Antigua's foreign population, expat and tourist alike, who have made it one of the city's liveliest restaurants. You'll find a good selection of pizzas and pastas on the menu, along with less traditional dishes such as panfried salmon and grilled beef fillet with sautéed spinach. Italian music—it might be Sinatra, it might be Pavarotti—wafts through the three dark-wood rooms (one upstairs), along with convivial chatter from the spirited bar, making it an especially good place to eat if you're here with a group.