Bistro Puertas del Cielo — Restaurant in Flores

This was one of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had (and I’ve been to many nice places) and the highlight of my trip to Guatemala. It was such a surprise as the restaurant is so lowkey and I just walked in to it with no preconceived idea of what was about to happen. Bernie is an extremely charismatic, professional, and passionate chef who takes his craft very seriously. For every table, to begin, he sits down and has a chat with you. There are no menus here. You get to know eachother, talk about each other’s life experiences and inspirations, and explore the raw ingredients he has available at that particular time to work together and create a dish you’d like. He tells you the different meats and fish, vegetables, salads, sauces, and carbohydrates he has available, and you get to build what you want with his input in real time. For example, my friend is from an island in Saudi Arabia who export a lot of fish, so he was craving some nostalgia and wanted a dish based around fish. He picked a white fish, with sautéed vegetables and a tangy sauce. The dish was excellent and it was cool how Bernie told us the story of how he found that particular white fish he used when on a trip to Brazil. Every ingredient is organically sourced, with a personalized history of how Bernie found it through his life experiences. I could talk to this man all day. I’ve never seen the concept of such an intimate experience with a chef, where you become friends and build a dish off your history and life experiences. It’s amazing. I would recommend anyone to have this experience and I will be coming back to Flores, Guatemala just to see Bernie again! Thank you Bernie! Keep doing what you’re doing...

Had to immediately come leave a review because this place. This owner. This food. It is truly worth sharing about.

Bernie is a gem. He has a staff and who has everything absolutely dialed in.

I am a chef from California and I said to him, I love your concept. I told him he must know this is a dream for any chef to have a restaurant like this. He said, “I hope everybody copies me.” :)

He sits down at your table and writes your order on the ticket. It’s not just an order through, he asks protein - flavors - sauce - accompaniments. He asks where you’re from and writes that on there too. He will recommend the best wine pairing.

Now let’s talk about the pasta. It was THE silkiest & most delicious butter sauce. Perfectly cooked. I mean perfectly. Its equivalent would be a plate of pasta in Italy or France.

I had a steak pasta with a buttery white sauce, mushrooms, broccoli, garlic, Parmesan and I special requested lemon zest. An ice cold glass of Malbec. My husband had the same drink and white fish with a citrus sauce and vegetables. He was so impressed and ate the entire plate!

They make their butter and sauces from scratch.

Top best meal experiences of my life! 100/10 recommend! Thank you Bernie.

You...

THE BEST FOOD IN LA ISLA DE FLORES. PERIOD. Those leaving a 1 star ⭐️ review because you couldn’t experience this delicious food just makes you look bitter.

I came here for my birthday in September with my mother. We were the only ones at the restaurant since it was around 1pm. The owner, a Guatemalan, came and sat with us to chat sporadically to give us space. He came me a free glass of wine because of my birthday. At one point, he joined my mom and I, and we were having a full blown conversation. I love this place! We came back less than a week later with my mom, mom’s husband, my sister and I. I highly recommend this restaurant without a menu! It wont disappoint you. The owner is unique.

Por si lee esto, soy Thelmita (Thelminita) y mi mama Thelma, el nombre que no tiene sentido jajaja fue un gusto conocerlo!!!! Me cayo super bien! Gracias por ser tan amable y por tratarme bien el dia de mi cumpleaños. La segunda vez que fui, estaba un poco enferma y me tube que ir, ya no me pude despedir de usted. Pero gracias por su comida tan deliciosa. Realmente cuando regrese a Peten, iré aqui siempre....