It’s a long way from the capital to Livingston, Guatemala’s Garifuna settlement on the country’s Caribbean coast, but you should at least make time for a meal at this Zona 1 restaurant by husband-and-wife team Carlos Caballeros and Karla Pacheco. Opened in 2012, the restaurant serves Caribbean and Garifuna cuisine like shrimp and fish ceviches made tangy cocktail style with a mix of shrimp stock, chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and squirts of ketchup; grilled sea snail in a saffron-coconut sauce; and steamed Caribbean lobster in garlic-butter sauce. Try traditional Garifuna dishes like tapado (tapou) — a sweet, starchy seafood soup of fish, shrimp, and crab in coconut milk stock, crammed into a bowl with yucca, banano verde, and sweet plantains — or machuca, a whole fish stew of coconut milk thickened with mashed plantain, basil, and zamat, a pungent wild herb.

For more than three decades, Elsa Morales has run a white- and blue-tiled stall in the Mercado Central, where she serves a rotating menu of deeply flavored comfort dishes from steaming pots. One favorite of Morales, caldo de gallina (hen soup) is full of chayote and potatoes, scented with mint. A few other stews commonly make appearances, like carne guisada, a Guatemalan pot roast seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves; or hilachas, a shredded, tangy beef stew of tomatoes and mild chile guaque that’s a staple of Guatemalan cuisine.

Refacciónes are the snacks in between meals, and there’s no better place to get from breakfast to dinner than the Doña Mela stand at the Mercado Central. Founded in 1960, the stand is now run by María del Carmen Salguero, who serves well more than 20 dishes, including tostadas; soft tortillas de maíz filled with chicharrón or hog maw with chopped radishes; sweet mole de platanos; savory tortitas de yuca (yucca fritters); and revolcado, a stew of pork head in salsa.

Señora Pu is one of the most exciting kitchens in Zona 1, where Indigenous cook, anthropologist, and chef Rosa Pu prepares haute cuisine from the K’iché Maya people. In a small dining room painted in contrasting bold colors, Pu presents Indigenous dishes that are both alive and evolving, such as camarones al gusto del rey kiq’ab, or shrimp in a sauce of chiles and spices steamed in a banana leaf; k’ilim de pescado, grilled fish in a secret sauce accompanied by roasted vegetables; and jurum de conejo, a rabbit and cacao stew.

Guatemalan chicharroneras are stands that fry up crispy chicharrones and carnitas, the deep-fried meat on the latter either attached to the skin or separated into chunks or strips. This Zona 7 street vendor fries delicious, reddish-orange chicharrones dyed vibrantly with Orange Crush (or another orange drink) poured into the lard. Orders are sold in packets by the pound, and include corn tortillas, guacamol, fried spring onions, limes, picante (hot sauce or chiles), and whole jalapenos fried in the same fat. Be sure to order some piconas (aka picositas), Guatemalan beer cocktails mixed inside cans of Gallo beer.

Guatemala City’s 23 municipal markets supply the raw material for chef Pablo Diaz’s restaurant. Mercado 24 celebrates Guatemala’s seasons and centers on local seafood products, with a touch of international flair thrown in, all in a casual, welcoming space. Diaz’s minimal approach can be seen in seafood items such as smoked, adobo-rubbed black sea bream head with fresh greens, grilled squid stuffed with fish sausage in an aromatic sauce of herbs, and cured sierra in corn miso. The restaurant’s beef tartare incorporates local mushrooms and a spicy gochujang dressing, an expression of Diaz’s love for Asian flavors.

The dark, elegant dining room of Flor de Lis is gently illuminated by lava red lighting and spotlights focused on the tables, while the walls are lined with figurines. This is the setting for chef Diego Télles, who plates modern Guatemalan cuisine inspired by Maya culture and mythology. Tasting menus are available in both eight and 10 courses, including infladitas, thin corn pouches filled with caramel foam, orange, and passionfruit pulp; tomato confit, a plate inspired by Huehueteca monay, a Lenten dish; and baked fish wrapped in brilliantly green maxan leaves, paired with a rich emulsion of ash and coconut that forms a well for a pool of herbed olive oil.

In 2013, chef Debora Fadul opened her “one-table” restaurant, where diners share a single table set on a terrace encircled by transparent glass walls. Fadul uses Guatemalan ingredients and produce grown in the restaurant’s garden to create evocative dishes. Glistening pearls of white chayote float in dual-toned achiote oils with samat (culantro), chicharrón, and a deep-fried piece of honeycomb tripe, all together evoking a Sunday morning spent slurping beef stomach stew. Look out for Fadul’s mini-pupusa stuffed with quesillo and a spread of squash butter, then topped with various flavors from around the Americas.

Shucos come big and loaded with meats at Campo Marte. This Guatemalan-style hot dog stand is the home of el Especial, aka the Transmetro, a hulking pan shuco, more than a foot long, packed with multiple charcoal-grilled hot dogs, longaniza, salami, chorizo, chopped bacon, a thick lining of guacamol, and sliced cheese. The behemoth is the talk of Zona 5, and it’s made its way onto the menus of shuco vendors all over the city.

Demetrio Moliviatis opened the first location of this franchise in 1994 as a meeting place for friends to enjoy a few beers along with regional soups, stews, and meat dishes from all over the country. Now under the direction of celebrity chef Mirciny Moliviatis, Demetrio’s daughter, the restaurant serves plates of Guatemalan classics like jocón (pumpkin seed, tomatillo, and sweet pepper stew) with chicken; subanik de tres carnes, a Kaqchikel Maya dish of pork, beef, and hen in a sauce of various chiles; and on Fridays, siete caldos, the restaurant’s signature stew of seven meats.

In 2012, Guatemalan restaurateur Joselito Ramirez opened a modest establishment that’s grown to a 400-seat Argentine steakhouse, a source of pride for the grill master and owner who has spent a lifetime working in restaurants. Typical Argentine cuts — entraña (skirt steak), sweetbreads, and vacio (flank steak) roasted over coals — are accompanied by mashed potatoes, salad, and fries. Many Guatemalans favor local steaks, so those are on offer too, like lomito (beef medallions from a cut similar to tenderloin) and puyazo (rump steak).  

La Casa del Tamal has been one of Guatemala City’s most established tamale vendors for decades. When in season, plain corn tamales blanco, also known as tamales de viaje, accompany typical plates like revolcado (pork head stew), pepian (pumpkin seed-based stew), or pickled foods. Paches (potato tamales) come filled with pork or chicken, while tamales rojos de arroz (rice tamales) come with pork or chicken in a chile guaque sauce. For locals, this is the place to go to enjoy special tamales on holidays.

It’s a tamale festival every day at this beloved Zona 10 restaurant, which offers a half dozen rotating varieties that change with the seasons. There are two year-round favorites, wrapped in hojas de maxan (rattlesnake plant leaves): tamales colorados, filled with pork in a red stew of chile guaque and achiote; and tamales negros, pork in a black aromatic stew of dark chile pasa, spices, and chocolate. Other menu items include chuchitos (chicken tamales in corn husks), tamalitos de cambray (sweet red rice flour tamales), and tamalitos de chipilín (small tamales stuffed with leafy greens).  

After passing through the narrow entrance of a Colonial building, guests find a rustic interior and charming patio, where La Cuevita de los Urquizú serves a colorful array of typical recados (stews) in clay pots. It’s nearly impossible to choose one dish from the bounty, but top selections include frijol blanco con espinazo, white beans and pork spine in a rich tomato and chile guaque stew; pulique de costilla, a beef rib stew thickened by masa and stained deep red from achiote; or pepian, a pumpkin seed-based stew with chicken. The plato formal comes with a recado, tortillas, and a pair of sides from a buffet of 30 options, including salads, beans, rice, and vegetables. 

La Fonda is one of Antigua’s cultural landmarks for its rustic setting, traditional Guatemalan soups, and churrasco, Guatemalan-style grilled meats plated along with sides such as guacamol, refried black beans, fried plantains, fresh cheese, rice, and chirmol (tomato-based salsa). The house specialties are chicken soup and rice “perfumed” with cilantro, ground chile Cobanero, oregano, and chopped onions. Check out the kaq’ik (turkey in an herbed vegetable stew) that’s a ceremonial Maya dish from Cobán.

In 1993, Don Víctor Hugo Bolaños de León began serving Guatemalan-style ceviches from a red pickup truck in front of Monumento Landivar in Antigua. Shrimp, sea snail, and blood clam (concha) ceviches are made to order with lime juice, canned tomato juice, both mint and cilantro, chopped onions and tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce. This is also the home of the perfect picosito, the legendary Guatemalan beer cocktail prepared in a can of Gallo beer with Worcestershire, fresh squeezed lime, salt, and picante (a mild chile powder), plus a couple of chile-dusted, cooked shrimp on top of the can. It’s a refreshing blast of umami that lives up to the fame.