The menu of El Viejo Café is written in English and Spanish, making it a great spot to start out your adventure in Antigua. Extensive drink selections share the menu with filling main dishes, sandwiches, and desserts—the restaurant includes a French bakery, producing plenty of tempting fresh pastries. Two large dining rooms are furnished in classical style with dark wood and bright table cloths, providing an appealing setting for your meal.
From the street, strings of twinkling lights draw patrons into Las Palmas, conveniently situated only a block from Parque Central between 4a and 5a Calle. This lovely establishment offers a full menu to result in full bellies; steak and seafood plates are available along with pasta or vegetarian dishes, so it shouldn't be hard to find something for everyone. On the weekends, come in (relatively) early and take your pick from the breakfast menu to get ready for a full day exploring Antigua.
Many a weary traveler comes to Antigua, Guatemala seeking rich, fudgy chocolate; the chocolate cake served at Portal Café is a good place to find it. Facing Parque Central, the wide-open façade of the café provides a wonderful opportunity to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the bustle of the park, or to gaze at the tempting glass-encased dessert choices. This is also the base of operations for Elizabeth Bell, a bastion of Antigua-centered knowledge who leads tours and has even written a book about the city.
A feast of curries, biryanis, and chutneys, properly accompanied by naan or dosas, is available at your request near the northern limits of town, at Palacio de la India. Truly Indian dishes should give a restaurant plenty of allure by themselves, but Palacio de la India also offers a Tuesday 2-for-1 special on any vegetarian curry, as well as delivery all over Antigua. The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday nights, and for lunch on weekends.
A bucket of kimchee, the staple food of Korean cuisine, must be a sign of authenticity; this restaurant not only fits a bucket of kimchee into its intimate space, but also two buckets of cubed cabbage ready to mix up another batch, an efficient kitchen, an equally efficient chef, and customers both Korean and otherwise. The complex spice blends, nourishing soups, and exotic vegetables that distinguish Korean cuisine all over the world are skillfully pulled together and served in traditional stone vessels or cavernous soup bowls, and their contents are sure to vanish surprisingly fast.
Reliably populated by a stream of popular-culture tourism, Monoloco is a sports bar with all the frills: lunch and dinner feature comfort foods in the guises of local or texmex cuisine, the bar features happy hour specials and a Tuesday ladies' night, internet is available on the premises, and delivery is available in Antigua. The sound system plays mainstream music for the tourist crowd hanging out and enjoying a few beers.