The best food in Antigua, Guatemala

Looking for the best food in Antigua, Guatemala? I got you!

When I visited Antigua for the first time in March 22, I was not expecting much of the food. Indeed, I had read everywhere that Guatemala is not known for its food and culinary scenes. I even had troubles finding lists or blog articles of the best food and best places to eat in Antigua.

I have to admit, people who say the food in Antigua is not the best are totally wrong (in my opinion). I don’t know where they ate, but I had the best time ever trying all the food and it was delicious!

So, in this article, I will share with you the best food I had while visiting Antigua. You’ll get a a glimpse of my favorite restaurants in Antigua as well and the best food to eat there.

1. The Guatemalan breakfast at Rooftop Antigua

Rooftop Antigua, as the name says it, is a rooftop restaurant and café. From there, you can get amazing views of Agua and Fuego volcanoes. It’s about the food, but having breakfast while watching Fuego erupt is also a once in a lifetime experience!

For the best food in Antigua, I recommend trying the classic Guatemalan breakfast at Rooftop Antigua. We went there on our first morning in the capital city and it was the perfect first meal. It was fresh, delicious, generous and was a great way to taste the Guatemalan favors.

The breakfast is called the San Augustin breakfast and is composed of scrambled cage-free eggs, fried black beans, fresh cheese and Guatemalan fried plantains. It is perfectly balanced and will give you lots of energy for the day of adventures ahead!

2. Burgers at Pappy’s BBQ

I am surprised to say that one of the best burgers I have eaten in my whole life was in Antigua, Guatemala. So Pappy’s BBQ‘s burgers had to be on my list of the best food in Antigua.

Pappy’s BBQ offers real Texas Style-smoked barbecue and is known to make the best BBQ outside of Texas. They use only slow cooking methods using white oak wood in their handmade pits. The quality of the meat is incredible and the flavors are insane!

Me and my boyfriend had the Pappy’s BBQ burger with fries and we just couldn’t believe how good it was. The burger was juicy, flavorful and perfectly cooked. I am super difficult when it comes to fries, but the fries at Pappy’s BBQ are perfectly seasoned and crispy. They also bring you three different kinds of sauce that you can dip your food in.

So, Pappy’s BBQ offers one of the best food in Antigua, but the atmosphere, the good drinks and the friendliness of the workers there makes it also one of the best places to have a good time. If you plan on doing a volcano hike in Antigua, I suggest you keep Pappy’s BBQ for your after-hike meal, there is nothing better!

3. Smoothies & Sandwiches at Cafe Boheme

Cafe Boheme is very well rated online and definitely has the best healthy food in Antigua, Guatemala. After the burger at Pappy’s BBQ, I needed something fresh, light and healthy. Also, when it’s super hot in Antigua and you’ve been walking all day long, a fresh sandwich, salad and smoothie is so perfect!

This french cafe and restaurant makes delicious healthy meals, snacks, coffee, desserts and drinks. If you are gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan, there are a lot of great options there.

I really recommend the De La Casa Sandwich. I wasn’t sure at first, but the mix of avocado, cheese and BBQ sauce is unique and very tasty. I tried a couple of smoothies and drinks as well and they were all excellent, but I fell in love with the Amour -love in english- smoothie (see what I did there?). It’s a mix of pineapple, orange, ginger and raspberries. After I tried it once, I had one everyday. I even make my own Amour smoothies at home now, but it’s not the same unfortunately!

4. Hearty healthy meal at Caoba Farms Restaurants

A little outside of the city center, Coaba Farms is a true peace oasis. The farm-to- table restaurant offers only fresh organic produce and meals. Their mantra is ”Eat well, feel good” and this is what attracted us to Caoba Farms. Honestly, whatever you get on their menu will be one of the best food you have in Antigua.

If you are looking for a healthy restaurant in Antigua, it’s the spot! While you are there, you can also visit the butterfly sanctuary, the healthy food market and enjoy the many activities they offer.

5. Ice cream at Glacy Cream

I could not make a list of the best food in Antigua without an ice cream option! Glacy ice cream has the best ice cream in Guatemala in my opinion. Their ratings of 4.9 stars on Google is well deserved.

While it is not a traditionally Guatemalan ice cream spot, it is totally worth it. Glacy is dedicated to create, reinvent and innovate with modern unique flavors. Their ingredients are fresh, and you can definitely taste the quality of the ice cream. The flavors taste so real, I got a dirty chai flavored ice cream cone, and it literally tasted like a real creamy specialty coffee shop dirty chai. So delicious! Their charcoal vanilla flavor is also to die for!

6. Fresh fruit from the market

Guatemala, like most place in Central America, is a real fruit heaven! If you like in North-America, you probably don’t get that much fresh delicious fruit. You can find fresh bananas, papaya, annanas, apples, etc. And they are so delicious!

You can find high quality fresh tropical fruit almost anywhere in Antigua, but I personally preferred to stick with street vendors and local markets. There are a lot of local farmer selling their fruits around the city and in the Central Market. That way, you can encourage the local economy and the money goes directly to ther farmers’ families. Moreover, fruits at supermarket like La Bogodena are not as great quality-wise and most of them are imported.

7. Churros at the a street food stall

I’ve kept the best for the end. One night after the Pacaya hike, we passed in front of a churros stand at the La Merced Church. We bought some and sat in the park to eat them. At that exact time, I did not know that was going to experience my first real food-gasm. I am telling you, those churros are to die for. Maybe it was the after-hike hunger, but we went back for seconds and they were just as good.

They are thick, crispy and soft, perfectly sweet; they are heavenly! Unfortunately, I discovered these on our last night in Antigua. Thus, I cannot tell you if they are there every night or if they are always at the La Merced Church. But if you walk by a churros stand, buy some, it might be the best things you’ve ever tasted (if you like sweets)!

So this is it, the best food in Antigua, according to my opinion! I would like to note that I did not get to experience and taste as much as I wanted. I did not have a lot of local food, since my partner was a a little bit of a picky eater. I totally recommend to taste a much food and local meal and desserts during your trip to the beautiful capital city of Antigua!