01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Antigua.
Mayan Meals
Antigua
Eat Antigua at lunchtime — pepian, kak'ik and chapin tortillas off the comal.
Pepián Plates
Antigua
Discover Mayan food refined by Spanish convents — pepian, kak'ik and hand-slapped chapin tortillas.
02 Meet the tastemakers
The local food experts who help us research, refine and lead every A Chef's Tour.
Pepian rich with pumpkin seed, kak'ik turkey soup, chapin tortillas hand slapped, chocolate ground with almond. Antigua cooks Mayan food refined by Spanish convents.
04 The pantry
- Pumpkin seeds, ground into pepian and jocon
- Achiote, red annatto for stews and marinades
- Miltomate, small green tomatillos for salsa
- Ayote, native squash for pipian and stews
- Chocolate, ground with cinnamon and almonds for the morning cup
05 In the kitchen
- Toasting pumpkin seeds and chillies before grinding into pepian
- Slow-simmering kak'ik turkey soup with achiote and coriander
- Griddling handmade tortillas fresh at every meal
- Grinding cacao with cinnamon and almond for chocolate de mesa
- Steaming tamales colorados in banana leaf with chicken and salsa
06 Eat this first
- Pepian rojo, seed-and-chilli stew with chicken and vegetables
- Kak'ik, spiced turkey soup with achiote and coriander
- Tamales colorados, banana-leaf tamales with red sauce and chicken
- Jocon, green tomatillo and coriander chicken stew
- Rellenitos, sweet plantain fritters stuffed with black bean paste
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
09 Recipes
A collection of authentic recipes we couldn't leave behind.
Crusty roll split open, spread thick with refried black beans and stuffed with crumbled fresh cheese. Guatemala's morning-market breakfast, dunked in hot chocolate.
Chicken slow-cooked in a thick red-brown sauce of toasted pumpkin seeds, sesame, dried chillies and roasted tomato. Guatemala's national dish, Mayan by origin.
Stone-ground cacao whisked into hot water or milk until frothy, dusted with cinnamon. Guatemala's return-to-roots hot chocolate, from the country that gave the world chocolate.
Small pork tamales wrapped in corn husks and steamed, served with tomato sauce and a scatter of grated cheese. Guatemala's everyday tamal, sold at every market.
Shredded cabbage salad tossed with sliced hot dog, pickled sauce and lime, served in a small plastic bag. Antigua's street-snack cure for a mid-morning appetite.
Fresh sweetcorn blended, strained and thickened with cinnamon and panela into a warming corn drink. Guatemala's morning-cart pour, poured hot into small cups.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Antigua.
Weather
Highland climate at 1,500 m. Spring-like year-round (18–24°C by day, cool at night). Rainy season May to October brings afternoon storms.
Currency
The Guatemalan quetzal (GTQ). US dollars widely accepted but change comes in quetzales. Cash almost everywhere. Cards at mid-range restaurants and hotels.
Language
Spanish. English is widely spoken thanks to Antigua's Spanish schools and tourism. Kaqchikel (Mayan) is heard in the surrounding villages.
Etiquette
Modest dress at churches and religious sites. Bargain gently in markets (Chichicastenango, Nim Po't). Ask before photographing indigenous women, many prefer not to be photographed.
Getting around
The colonial centre is entirely walkable on cobbled streets. Tuk-tuks work for short trips outside the centre; shared shuttles run to Lake Atitlán and other destinations.
Prayer
Deeply Catholic with Mayan traditions layered underneath. Holy Week processions are among the most elaborate in the world, with alfombras (sawdust carpets) laid on the streets.