Atitlan Express

Food not bad. Prices are good. Cash only. You must speak spanish in order to order food.

Atitlan is a dream come true if you’re a single male Guatemalan looking for a cheap meal. Thousands of unmarried Guatemalan men, and men who left their wives back home in Central America crave a taste of home, and Atitlan delivers that.
But I don’t think most Americans would enjoy the precooked food. You can pick from a dozen dishes, and get a quick and filling meal for about five bucks.
Choices always include roasted chicken, mostly a Chicken thigh, sometimes a breast.
Sometimes Guatemalan stuffed peppers which are very different from the more familiar Mexican Chile Rellenos. More like a stuffed bell pepper. Beef, and Chicken soups, or caldos are also a mainstay. White rice and black beans are the omnipresent side dishes, always served with thick hand made corn tortillas.
They don’t normally serve guacamole, but they make it for me as a special favor when I accompany my Guatemalan friends.
Atitlan and a dozen similar dining establishments in the immediate vicinity fill a certain and vital need, but it is not fine dining, nor Guatemalan cuisine at its finest.
Many Guatemalan men don’t have cooking facilities in their hotel rooms so they eat at Atitlan.
Street parking is hard to come by. Most of the clientele is pedestrian traffic.

It’s not the fanciest place and the presentation isn’t the best. Parking is likely a major issue. However, it is insanely cheap, delicious, and authentic, which is strangely rare in the area. Brush up on your high school Spanish, though! There’s a good chance your cashier will speak next to no English. Cash only, too.
I always get both of the display chicken dishes with refried black beans, rice, and sour cream. It comes with super fresh handmade tortillas. They don’t reheat well, but there’s really no reason to not eat them immediately. They also had the best horchata I’ve had in a long time. Perfect consistency, not too thick, and not overly sweet.

I love this place. My husband and I frequent it. You know it’s good when the line is out the door full of Chapines at lunch time. It is so inexpensive for so much food. We typically get the carne asada dish (comes with the most amazing beans, rice) and one of the soups (also comes with rice). They really load on the carne asada. Every dish comes with a drink (very watered down, but not super sweet), handmade tortillas (very good), salsa choices, crema, avocado and lime. We have plenty of leftovers afterward and spend around $ 17.

Este lugar es bien sencillo pero muy rica comida la pacalla esta. buenisima, mojarra fresca mmmmm good lo recomiendo

Yeah, the express part of things is right on. If you know what you want they can get you in and out in under 5 minutes.
Your satisfaction with your purchase? Well… that’s another issue. The chicken was OK but forgettable. The beans were nearly cold while the rice was scalding. The drink was watered down.
It’s a drink and a plate full of food for $ 5. Designed for folks more in need of a cheap meal than a wonderful meal.