Pepián Plates Antigua Food Tour with 14+ Tastings

Antigua is a marvel of baroque churches glowing smoky volcanoes. But behind the postcard façades, lies one of Central America’s most fascinating cuisines, one of maize, cacao and chillies with roots stretching back thousands of years.


Our four-hour evening feast of 14+ tastings explores Antigua from the plate up, ducking between neighbourhood eateries, street carts and local institutions across atmospheric historic centre.

Before we get started, our tour reflects the local cuisine and the limitations of traditional eateries mean we unfortunately cannot cater for every dietary restriction. Here's an honest appraisal so nobody is disappointed:


✔ Suitable for mild nut allergies and no seafood diets
⚠ Possible for no pork diets, gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance, though some tastings will be unsuitable.
✖️ Unsuitable for vegetarians, vegans, gluten intolerance, pescatarians, and halal diets

We'll ease into the late afternoon with two everyday staples that reveal just how important maize remains in Guatemala.First comes pan con chile relleno, a soft bread roll wrapped around a generously stuffed Guatemalan pepper. Then handmade tortillas con queso arrive warm, their toasted corn aroma paired simply with fresh local cheese. Next, we'll unwrap two distinctly Guatemalan parcels. Tamal de cerdo hides seasoned pork inside soft maize dough, while pache de cerdo, a highland speciality, replaces corn with silky potato. A glass of tart, lightly fermented chicha de jocote cuts through the richness.

Then Antigua gets messier. The shuco is Guatemala's gloriously overloaded answer to the hot dog: a toasted bun packed with Guatemalan sausage and punchy accompaniments, cooked on the griddle and best tackled with both hands. We'll chase it with chinchivir, a fermented drink with a warming kick of ginger, before continuing through Antigua's cobbled streets as the city settles into the evening.

Now for the serious stuff. We'll sit down for a trio of traditional stews that form the heart of the evening. Pulique de pollo is thick and comforting, using techniques with deep Maya roots. Pepián de pollo, one of Guatemala's defining dishes, coats tender chicken in a dark, deeply savoury sauce built from toasted seeds, chillies and spices. Then comes jocón, almost startlingly green beside it, with herbs, tomatillos and green chillies creating something altogether fresher. Three bowls, three completely different personalities, and a glimpse at just how sophisticated Guatemalan cooking can be.

As the evening cools, we return to maize. A compact chuchito de cerdo wraps seasoned pork in corn dough before being steamed in a husk, followed by a cup of thick, warming atol de elote made from sweet corn. Drinks like atol have nourished communities across Mesoamerica since long before the Spanish arrived.
Then cacao gets its turn. We'll slow down over velvety Guatemalan hot chocolate, alongside the wonderfully simple pan con frijol y queso - soft bread layered with creamy beans and local cheese. Nothing fancy. Just the kind of combinations Guatemalans actually grow up eating.

We'll cross Parque Central as Antigua reaches its most atmospheric. The cathedral and surrounding arcades glow in the early evening, while the silhouettes of volcanoes rise beyond the rooftops. There's one final taste waiting for us - plátanos en mole. Sweet fried plantains are covered in a dark, bittersweet sauce of cacao, spices and toasted ingredients, a combination that sounds improbable until the first mouthful. After 14+ tastings, Antigua should look rather different. The churches, ruins and volcanoes might dominate the postcards, but it's the comals, street carts, steaming bowls and generations-old recipes that bring the old city to life.