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Grilled pork with bean sauce in Guatemala

Food & Drink • Guatemala

7 Cheap Places to Eat in Antigua Guatemala

Jazzy Williams February 23, 2021
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We are budget travelers and it’s no secret, that during lunch and dinner time you will find us in local restaurants or wherever there’s a grill. We normally stay away from big restaurants with menu prices deeper than our pockets. I mean why would we pay double the price when we can find cheap and fresh local meals a few doors down?

Before we got to Antigua, we heard that it was expensive, which meant we wouldn’t be able to find our cheap fix. But after eating the best pollo asado (grilled chicken) in Santa Elena, the sister town of Flores for just Q20 (~$2.50 USD), we were determined to find cheap places to eat in Antigua as well, and we did.

If you are traveling on a budget or simply don’t feel like breaking the bank just to get a comida tipico (typical local food), we recommend visiting one of the places below. The prices in big restaurants range between Q40 – Q110 (~$4-$15 USD) or higher in Antigua, but the price for the places listed below range between Q20-Q30 (~$2.30-$3.50USD).

Oh and we promise that the food is good, we wouldn’t recommend places with shitty food because we wouldn’t eat shitty food either. We have eaten from all the places listed below at least once.

1. La Cocina de Paulina

We found this small restaurant by following our nose. It lead us right to a few Guatemalan women grilling some delicious food. Jackpot! Fresh food right off the grill.

At La Cocina de Paulina you can get lunch for Q20 and you have a choice of either Chuletas (pork chops), pollo asado, res (steak), or longaniza (sausages) and grilled fish. For sides you get guacamole, grilled potatoes, grilled scallions, tortillas and a drink, usually fresh fruit juice.

Location: 3a Calle Poniente 29, Antigua Guatemala

places-to-eat-antigua-guatemala_road-affair
Pollo Asado con Frijoles, Papas y Ensalada

2. Aroma de Café

This local restaurant is right next door to La Cocina de Paulina and they have a wider variety of food options with each meal costing Q22.

Every day, the choice of meat and how it is prepared changes, which is great because if this is the only place where you’d like to eat, you don’t have to worry about eating the same thing over and over again.
The two times we were there, they had chuletas con queso y salsa (pork chops with cheese and sauce on top) and filet pescado (fish filet). So if you want to know what’s on the menu, you would have to walk by and check their white board for the meal of the day.

The meal is served with a small bowl of soup, a fruit juice and a choice of 3 sides with tortillas. The sides are usually arroz (rice), pasta, ensalada (salad) and papas (potatoes) that can either be baked, grilled, or mashed. So I would say you are getting more than your money’s worth.

Location: 3ra Calle Poniente 27, Antigua Guatemala

seafood-dish-guatemala_road-affair

3. La Casa de Las Mixtas

This place is an actual restaurant with a full menu but also offers a comida ecominca (cheap meal) option for lunch. The meal of the day changes every day and comes with a refresco (drink), sopa (soup), tortillas, and a dessert.

We weren’t too fond of their dessert or their version of the rice milk drink called horchata. However, we did enjoy the soup which also changes every day.

The meal of the day costs Q20. For the same price you can also get a good sized burrito with your choice of meat off their main menu.

Location: 3a Calle Poniente 31, Antigua Guatemala

Pepián de Gallina
Pepián de Gallina. Image Credit: Rudy Giron

4. Refacciones y Pupusas Odila

Before you see the restaurant’s name, you will see the grill with pots on them and a Guatemalan lady making either tortillas or pupusas. Here they usually have a soup or salsa base with meat in it. Nine times out of ten, the meat is chicken.

They also offer longaniza, or chile rellenos (ground minced meat, covered in fried egg patter) accompanied with rice, tortillas and a drink.

Regardless of what you choose to eat, the meal still costs Q20. You can make your meal Q5 cheaper if you opt not to have tortillas with it.

If you are still hungry after your meal you can order a pupusa (maize dough filled with either cheese, pork meat or refried beans-grilled then topped with a cabbage slaw) for Q10.

Location: 3a Calle 1 (between 4a and 5a Avenida)

mole-dish-guatemala_road-affair

5. Sapo y La Rana Pupusaria

This small El Salvadorian restaurant has seen our faces and our money more times than we could remember. After having our first pupusa in Flores, we were determined to eat more of it, actually we became pupusa addicts!

And after asking around Antigua, we found Sapo y La Rana Pupuseria where we could not only get regular size pupusas (Q10) but also a mediano (Q25) and a grande (Q35), or what we like to call a Mayan Pizza!

The added bonus was that instead of the traditional fillings queso (cheese) and chicharron (fried pork skin) you get over 10 other ingredients to choose from like chicken, ham, jalapeno, carrots, asparagus or even a Central American flower call Loroco.

On average people can eat two or three pupusas and be full but my fat ass enjoys eating a grande which includes a choice of four ingredients and queso. I usually come out the other end barely breathing but it’s totally worth it.

Location: Calzada Santa Lucia Norte 11, Antigua Guatemala

6. El Porton

El Porton sells an array of different foods all for Q20. They also have a grill in front of their restaurant and the meat is made to order, meaning fresh off the grill.

There are days where you will get soup as an appetizer with your meal and days you won’t. They mostly serve what they have available that day. For example, one day you will have a regular lettuce salad as a side and the next day you will have steamed vegetables.

Even the same soup you ordered the day before will have different vegetables in it or a different side. But we liked that about this place because it kept us wandering what we would get next.

Location: 6a Calle Oriente 6A, Antigua Guatemala

Insider Tip: Though they serve other dishes in their menu, we wouldn’t recommend getting any of the grilled food as the meat can be chewy and not as delicious as other places that serve grilled meat. Eat what they are best known for, their soups. Pepian, and Caldo de Gallina are a must try!
Traditional Guatemalan Food: Jocón
Jocón. Image Credit: Rudy Giron

7. Rincon Tipico

Rincon Tipico is the most expensive place on this list. They serve fresh food for lunch for Q30. The menu usually consists of the same typical options, Pollo a la plancha, Pepian, Longaniza and Res.

The meal is usually accompanied by rice, tortillias and ensalada (potato, vegetable or lettuce salad) and a nice natural fruit juice, which is whatever they have that day. We had the best lemonade here!

They also serve different soups if your tired of rice and tortillas. A cool thing about this place is that the meals are served on traditional Mayan pottery.

Location: 3ra Avenida Sur 3, Antigua Guatemala

Insider Tip: We won’t recommend going here for dinner as they serve the leftovers for dinner.

guatemalan_dishes_antigua-road_affair

8. Antigua’s Parks

In the park areas (especially at Parque La Merced on 1.a Calle Poniente and 6.a Avenida Sur on the weekends) around lunch and dinner time you can find locals selling cheap street food and snacks. You can get anything from sandwiches, tacos, empanades, to grilled corn or even pepian.

Our favorite park snack is rellenito de platano. Rellenitos are my version of a piece of heaven. The first time I bit into a rellenito, I experienced my first foodgasm.

After that we had at least 2-3 rellenitos every day for the two weeks we were in Antigua. Rellenitos are made from mashed sweet plantains which are molded into a semi-round shape and filled (hence the name) with black frijoles (bean sauces) then fried. It’s a popular Guatemalan dessert served with sugar and/or crème on top.

Rellenitos taste best when hot, and the best ones are found in the mercado behind the bus terminal. The price for one ranges between Q2.50 to Q5.

rellenitos_de_platano_guatemala_antigua-road_affair
Rellenitos de Platano

Avoid: Food Stalls Inside of the Mercado

Another place you can get cheap food is inside the mercado near the bus terminal. However, we were told by locals that many people (including the locals) get sick from the food there and to avoid it all cost. But us being us, we checked it out anyway.

Though we ate there, we wouldn’t recommend it. Despite the fact that we didn’t get sick, it wasn’t really sanitary and all of the restaurants at the food court sell the same things, so when they see someone they are literally grabbing, pulling and harassing you to come to their stall. We weren’t too fond of that so we didn’t go back.

But hey, if you don’t care about those things, feel free to check it out!

So there you have it, even in this expensive colonial town called Antigua, you can still find cheap, fresh and good local food. Oh and if this list was too pricey for your budget you can always live off of tortillas and fruits from the market. :D Buen provecho!

Don’t forget to also check out our guide on the best things to do in Antigua Guatemala.

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Comments

  1. Kemkem says

    May 19, 2015 at 2:57 am

    OMG! those Rellenitos look fantastic! Plantain is my favorite food in the world, and was even my nickname growing up. All the other dishes look fantastic as well, but plantain..oh yeah!

    Reply
    • Jazzy says

      May 19, 2015 at 2:58 pm

      I hear you Kemkem, plantains are one of my favorite foods too! So you know I was in heaven when I took my first bite into a rellenito. Plantain was your nickname, now that is serious. Your love for plantain maybe a little stronger than mine but I still love me some plantains

      Reply
  2. Olga says

    May 19, 2015 at 7:42 am

    I just ate lunch, but I suddenly feel hungry again :D
    The food looks fantastic!!

    Reply
    • Jazzy says

      May 19, 2015 at 3:00 pm

      The food is fantastic Olga, and the bonus is that it’s cheap too! #winning

      Reply
  3. Ryan Biddulph says

    May 19, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    Hi Jazzy,

    Great eats and awesome images! We dig fare from that region of the world; platanos and such work for us, although my wife struggles to find consistent vegetarian food other than….rice and beans lol….either way, fun recount here. Thanks for sharing!

    Ryan

    Reply
    • Jazzy says

      May 21, 2015 at 4:43 pm

      No problem Ryan! Central America is not the most vegetarian friendly area as they love their meat. When we can’t find gluten free food for Ben we opt to cooking our own meals.

      Reply
  4. Shere says

    May 20, 2015 at 9:03 am

    All those dishes look delicious!! and so cheap!! we also prefer to try the small local places and dishes, most of the time the dishes are tastier and you get in contact with locals.

    Reply
    • Jazzy says

      May 21, 2015 at 4:39 pm

      The best way to eat is always the local way! (At least that’s my opinion)

      Reply
  5. Kate says

    May 20, 2015 at 4:48 pm

    I loved Antigua, Guatemala when I travelled there. Food was delicious and your photos make me want to eat it right now. The set menus that are cheaper are usually really good. I hope you got to check out ChocoMuseo and Cafe No Sé, great places too. This is a brilliant post for budget food advice & gluten free. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Jazzy says

      May 21, 2015 at 4:37 pm

      Thanks Kate! We did go to the ChocoMuseo which had delicious varieties of chocolate and an informative tour. However, we did not go to Cafe No Se! What kind of food do they sell there?

      Reply
  6. Revati Victor says

    May 21, 2015 at 3:27 am

    Love these roundups of yours! Cheap Eats are always on everyones “To Research” list before we get packing!

    Reply
    • Jazzy says

      May 21, 2015 at 4:38 pm

      Thanks Revati! I know that is especially true for budget backpackers like ourselves.

      Reply
  7. Erika says

    January 14, 2016 at 4:09 pm

    Great list! My husband and I followed it closely and really enjoyed Rincon Tipico in particular. If my navigation was correct, Refacciones y Pupusas Odila and El Porton may have been replaced by other non-food businesses, because I couldn’t locate them. Thanks for the tips!

    Reply
    • Jazzy says

      January 16, 2016 at 11:13 am

      Hey Erika,

      Glad you found the list helpful. We were back in Antigua in September and El Porton was still there, we pretty much ate there everyday for a month. It is a small restaurant between the origimi restaurant and a travel agency. It’s always busy there with locals! I hope it did not close down because we love that place :) As for the other place I am not sure if it is still open.

      Reply
  8. Genesis says

    March 2, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    I’m a huge fan of Casa de Las Mixtas. We pretty much eat there any time we eat out. I started going there in 2002, when the set menu was Q10 and the babies in the photos were babies or not born yet. :) Still take my kids there.

    Reply
  9. Brittany Thiessen says

    May 15, 2016 at 12:12 am

    This list is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing your favourite inexpensive places to eat. I’m currently researching my trip to Guatemala for later this year and this list will definitely come in handy for during my travels.

    Those rellenitos sound and look absolutely delicious as well! I will definitely be searching those out.

    Reply
    • Ben says

      May 21, 2016 at 4:34 pm

      Thanks Brittany . I am sure you will have an awesome time in Guatemala and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask us.

      Reply
  10. Rob & Linda Jones says

    January 26, 2017 at 10:53 pm

    You missed Taqueria Dona Lupita
    Great tacos, burritos, nachos y gringas.
    3 tacos 15 q
    7 calle poniente

    Reply
    • Ben says

      January 29, 2017 at 12:42 am

      Thanks for the suggestion. We check it out the next time we are in Antigua Guatemala :D

      Reply
  11. Patty says

    July 24, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    Any suggestions for cheap and delicious ice cream places in Antigua

    Reply
    • Jazzy says

      July 27, 2017 at 2:57 pm

      Sorry we don’t have any :(

      Reply
  12. Jael says

    September 8, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    You missed my favorite cheap place to get Tacos!
    Taqueria Doña Lupita
    ( on 7a. Calle Poniente close to the corner of 6a Avenida Sur)

    You can get a plate of 3 tacos for 22Q.
    There is also a ‘buffet’ of salsas and toppings that you can add to them for no additional charge.

    In addition they have cheese quesadillas (great if your a vegetarian) and a few other options all for around 22Q.

    Reply
  13. Abena says

    April 23, 2018 at 2:18 pm

    Thank you!! I’m in Antigua now desperate to find more local and cheap eats!

    Reply
  14. Katie says

    May 9, 2018 at 10:28 pm

    Ohh great suggestions! We’re headed to Antigua soon, so this will be super helpful :)

    Reply
  15. Korgsters says

    February 14, 2019 at 7:17 pm

    thanks so much for taking the time to do write this.
    Would have never know of the local place you mentioned Casa de las Mixtas.
    What a gem! Home cooked and ever cheap! Today I had a fantastic Burrito on their terrace upstairs.
    Thanks again for sharing the treasures

    Reply

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