Osteria El Portal — Restaurant in Municipio de Quetzaltenango

This was THE BEST dining experience I have had since moving to Guatemala in 2018. Everything was outstanding. I had the beef filet and risotto. Now, I am an expert at making risotto (the key is starting with good homemade stock), and theirs was better than mine. The meat was cooked exactly the way I ordered it and the red wine reduction that was drizzled over the top…mouthwatering! My boyfriend had the pesto pasta with shrimp. The pesto was super fresh and the shrimp were cooked perfectly. The server was there to bring a different glass of wine to go with my dinner at the exact right moment. But the piece de resistance was the poached pear desert. It may be the most perfect dessert I’ve ever had. It had everything. The pears were not over poached and the slightly acid flavor contrasted beautifully with the sweet vanilla sauce, but the bittersweet Carmel popcorn garnish was a pure stroke of genius. The restaurant sits on the Main Street into the park so we got to watch a procession go by as we sipped our wine. I live in Antigua and I am planning a trip back to Xela for the sole purpose of going back to this restaurant. My only tiny complaint was that I wish the risotto had been hotter. This is a must visit place when you...

Made a Valentine's Day reservation, staff confirmed reservation through FB messenger. Showed up and we have no table. Staff scrambled and thankfully were able to seat us.

After being seated it took over 10 minutes to receive our waters and 40 minutes before we received our appetizer. The food and wine were overpriced and not well prepared. Ordered an appetizer of steak carpaccio -- the meat was very tough and sadly this ended up being the best thing we ate. I ordered the entraña and my partner got the chicken -- both were very overcooked and tough, as well as cold. Only reason we didn't send the food back was because we didn't feel like waiting another 45+ minutes to eat.

Waitress brought the bottle of wine and left it on the table, unopened & without glasses. I had to open the bottle myself.

After around an hour of waiting we finally received our entrees -- they were cold and overcooked. In fairness to the staff they were apologetic for the service but did little to try and rectify the situation after we complained.

Spent $100 USD in total. Without a doubt the worst meal and dining experience I've ever had for the money. Save yourself the trouble and spend your money elsewhere. Happy...

Das Essen war in Ordnung, aber nicht wirklich überzeugend – vielleicht Meckern auf hohem Niveau, doch für die Preise hätten wir uns mehr erwartet. Es hat einfach der „Wow-Effekt“ gefehlt. Leider kam der Hauptgang, während wir noch die Vorspeise aßen, was etwas unkoordiniert wirkte.

Was allerdings sehr negativ war und zur insgesamt schlechten Bewertung führt, ist das Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis. 50 € für zwei Personen ohne Wein oder Nachspeise sind für die Verhältnisse hier extrem hoch. Zusätzlich war das Trinkgeld bereits auf der Rechnung ausgewiesen, was wir nicht gesehen haben. Ich habe den Betrag bezahlt und dann nochmal 10 % in bar als Trinkgeld gegeben. Später habe ich auf der Rechnung bemerkt, dass das Trinkgeld bereits inkludiert war.

Es hätte der Ehrlichkeit entsprochen, wenn die Servicekraft darauf hingewiesen hätte, aber so wirkte es, als hätte sie die doppelte Summe bewusst einkassiert – insgesamt 20 % Trinkgeld. Es geht mir nicht um den Betrag, sondern um die fehlende Transparenz und den Eindruck, dass hier eher Gier als Servicegedanke im...