Top Rated Restaurants & Cafes in Antigua

The little shop filling the entranceway to Sabe Rico is a sweet place, in all senses of the word. It stocks specialty foods both packaged and homemade, including gluten-free products ranging from chocolates and granola to bread and pasta. The already impressive establishment is increasingly amazing as patrons walk deeper; the shop gives way to a courtyard, then two separate garden areas filled with lush greenery and charming shaded tables. The menu lists a delicious variety of dishes, and pleasant surprises like teas brewed from herbs grown organically just a few feet from your table... or, with luck, the pure white rabbit who was too cute to cook might pop out of the vegetation to lend a fanciful feel to your dining experience.

A small bookshop in the entrance of this well-known Antigua establishment stocks a good number of titles, and a gamut of seating arrangements provide the ideal spot to curl up with your new read or discuss it with new friends. To keep you fueled, the menu offers a variety of cuisines (including plenty of vegetarian food), such hummus and falafel, traditional breakfasts, and plentiful drink selections. Happy hour runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. every evening, with live music most nights and lectures about local history and environmental initiatives every Tuesday.

Amongst the beautiful gardens of Antigua, Escalonia offers a particularly enchanting seating area. Tables are sheltered by umbrellas lit with strings of white lights in the evenings, or sit under a vine-filled arbor with flowers dangling overhead like living ornaments. The restaurant serves a menu focused on lovely desserts, coffee drinks, and breakfasts. The establishment is also a plant nursery, and customers can carry home a variety of floral, artisanal, and culinary souvenirs, as well as their memories of the time spent in this lush garden.

Just across the street from Parque Central, Café Condesa provides a host of eating options; from the street, only the Café Condesa Express (+502 7882 4249) is visible, where customers in a hurry can grab meals to go like sandwiches, muffins, pastries, smoothies, and coffee drinks. Given a little more time, walk through the shop called Casa del Conde, just to the left of Café Condesa Express, to reach a verdant colonial courtyard complete with a fountain. Patrons settle at shaded tables for fresh omelets, creative salads, homebaked breads, succulent homemade desserts, and an assortment of drinks. A special all you can eat Sunday brunch is served from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., to rave reviews and full stomachs.

The McDonald's of Antigua holds a true surprise for visitors accustomed to the U.S. version: it is beautiful. The interior courtyard is almost a park, spacious and filled with greenery and benches. A fountain burbles in the center of the cobblestone plaza, and the sun shines onto typical McDonald's fare. Inside, tables and a play area are more familiar, and McDonald's makes its mark even out in the colonial-style courtyard garden, with a life-sized Ronald McDonald statue kicking back on one of the benches.