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Seeking recommendations for lunch in Antigua


Turtles06
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We'll be taking an "Antigua on Your Own" tour out of Puerto Quetzal in January, and I'd very much appreciate any recommendations for places to have lunch in the central area of Antigua.   (I did do a forum search before posting.)

 

Thanks for any information! 

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7 hours ago, DebInAntigua said:

What kind of food do you like or want to try? I live in Antigua and there are TONS of great restaurants here.

 

Hi Deb, I was hoping you'd reply!  We'd like to try local food, if that's a meaningful concept.    Thanks for any advice!

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59 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Hi Deb, I was hoping you'd reply!  We'd like to try local food, if that's a meaningful concept.    Thanks for any advice!


Ah... local food or what we call "tipico" Guatemalan food!

Our fav for an authentic meal experience is Rincon Tipico - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g295366-d2422724-Reviews-Rincon_Tipico-Antigua_Sacatepequez_Department.html

It's a few blocks from central park, close to Tanque de Union park. You won't find English menus there and it's mostly visited by locals and a few gringos eating on the cheap. For about Q45 ($5 or $6 bucks, roughly) you will get an entire meal. They will usually have a special of the day but my advice is to skip that. Get the charbroiled chicken that you'll see rotating on the giant rotisserie over open flame. It's amazingly good and comes with a couple of sides of the day and a fresco beverage, which might be Jamaica (hibiscus drink) or something like Tamarindo. You will be served on plain clay plates like locals use in their homes. Women make fresh tortillas on a griddle by the front door as you come in. We've eaten there several times and love it. I recommend Rincon Tipico if you want an authentic food experience vs. risking local street food where you may get sick, which would completely ruin a cruise.

For a more touristy ways to experience Guatemalan food, complete with some smattering of English on menus and much higher prices, I recommend one of these:

Los Tres Tiempos - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g295366-d5979554-Reviews-Los_Tres_Tiempos-Antigua_Sacatepequez_Department.html

Very good food and service. Close to the tourist area of central park and arch street. Nice variety on the menu.

Fonda de la Calle Real - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g295366-d1464300-Reviews-Fonda_de_la_Calle_Real-Antigua_Sacatepequez_Department.html
Charming Antigua ambience and quite good, with a wide variety of Guatemalan dishes mixed with more familiar American style food. Also near central park.

And the ultimate recommendation for a higher end Guatemalan food experience has to be the hotel restaurant El Refectorio   inside Casa Santo Domingo hotel. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g295366-d1090577-Reviews-El_Refectorio-Antigua_Sacatepequez_Department.html

The hotel itself is an amazing attraction, well worth taking an Uber or tuc-tuc over from central park just to walk around. It's a hotel built on the grounds of a historic site where monks used to live, all gorgeous stone and a fountain that is too huge to believe. The food there is excellent and the ambience can't be beat anywhere in Antigua. English is reasonably available (the waiters like to practice their English with you) and you will find a more modern interpretation of native Guatemalan cuisine. You will spend more but visiting Casa Santo Domingo is an experience you won't forget.

If you do go to Casa Santo Domingo hotel, be sure to walk past the restaurant area through to the open areas beyond. There you can wander back to the fountain area, talk to live parrots in the trees (if they are out on display), visit their tiny but delicious chocolatier shop or even tour a Guatemalan art museum (for a small fee).

Hope you love Antigua as much as we do!

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50 minutes ago, DebInAntigua said:

Hope you love Antigua as much as we do!

 

Thanks for all of those great recommendations, we will not go hungry!

 

We visited Antigua three years ago (also while on a Panama Canal cruise) but somehow missed having a really good lunch.  And we did love Antigua, which is why we are returning on this cruise!   

 

Thanks again!

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@DebInAntigua @cpayne  Today was our port call to Puerto Quetzal and our visit to Antigua.  We came armed with quetzales and a map and had lunch at Rincon Tipico.  OMG it was fabulous!!  Thank you both for the recommendation.  We had the chicken as Deb recommended, with two sides and a drink. It was all incredibly delicious, and being able to eat in a truly local place was very special.  The price was Q30 each.  It’s hard to believe we had a meal that good for under $5 pp.

 

Thank you again! 

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On 1/16/2020 at 10:37 PM, Turtles06 said:

@DebInAntigua @cpayne  Today was our port call to Puerto Quetzal and our visit to Antigua.  We came armed with quetzales and a map and had lunch at Rincon Tipico.  OMG it was fabulous!!  Thank you both for the recommendation.  We had the chicken as Deb recommended, with two sides and a drink. It was all incredibly delicious, and being able to eat in a truly local place was very special.  The price was Q30 each.  It’s hard to believe we had a meal that good for under $5 pp.


I'm so glad to hear you loved Rincon Tipico too. My daughter and her family will be visiting Guatemala for the first time in March, and it's definitely on the list of places to take them. Such a nice slice of local life, in a convenient location in Antigua.

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