Mandarina — Restaurant in Municipio de Quetzaltenango

A review for potential vegan customers! The place itself is nice in concept, but lacks in execution. Ive visited 4 times now, each time trying a different vegan baked good.

The zucchini and apple bread was passable, but lacked in spice. 2 of the cookies I had were hard as rocks and could barely be bitten into but the flavor was okay. The last cookie I had literally turned into powder as soon as I opened it. I found this strange since it was a peanut butter oat cookie, which usually hold together well. It tasted heavily of baking powder and flour with no sweetness. I thought maybe it was old, so I mentioned this to someone who works there.

My main issue with this place, is when I gave feedback it was greeted with defensiveness. Apparently, the management's response was along the lines of "well, the cookies are supposed to be dry and our ingredients are expensive"

Okay, I understand vegan baked goods may not be everyone's speciality, but the sheer lack of consideration for customer feedback is unacceptable. Listen to customer opinion so you can learn how to better your products, it's a more sustainable business model.

I'm giving it 2 stars because they do try and have a wide menu of options I...

We were in Xela for a month doing a Spanish language course, and we were lucky enough to stumble across this fantastic cafe on our second day in town.

Great coffee, fantastic pastries, super-tasty salads and wraps (and really refreshing to find a place where you know you can completely trust the hygiene standards and eat the salad!).

We kept trying to find excuses not to go back so we didn’t look weird going here every day for our month in town, but it was hard not to...

To top it off, the owner helped us sort out a problem on our final day when our lift didn’t arrive, and we were struggling on the phone to the bus company with our limited Spanish!

You can’t get better in Xela, honestly. Best food, best coffee,...

Yay for gluten free and dairy free options! This place is great for vegans and vegetarians, but if you eat meat, they also have chicken options. My boyfriend loved the Greek chicken tacos.

I appreciated being able to order a sandwich with gluten free bread and I LOVED the chocolate-banana coconut milk shake and decadent hot chocolate (vegan) I had there. The staff is kind and one woman went out of her way to explain her dog rescue organization to me.

It’s a very COVID-friendly spot because the tables are outdoors. We were there twice when it rained and we were able to be under cover.

Note: This seems to be place where lots of expats hang but younger locals as...