ElChef — Restaurant in Panajachel

My dinner here was one of the more delightful surprises on a recent trip to the Pana area. I stumbled across it almost by chance: I was staying a bit south of the town, and El Rincon was the closest restaurant that received strong reviews for its food.

I'm not sure if it's more of a dine-early type of place, or merely if weekday evenings in January are somewhat slow, but I popped in for dinner around 7pm on a Thursday night. I was a bit concerned to see only two other people in their dining – and the ambience is what I'd describe as borderline dive-y in the U.S., with lighting coming solely from a fan with somewhat harsh compact fluorescent bulbs – but having lived in NYC for a number of years, I know by now that dives are oftentimes the best places to find incredible food.

Sure enough, I found myself sitting in front of a plate with a foot-tall stacks of camarones (large prawns) and astoundingly crisp cooked veggies a half-hour later! I know fish is a common dish in Guatemala (and in the Lago de Atitlán area), but I definitely wasn't expecting to see shellfish alongside perfectly cooked peppers, carrots & potatoes – and I don't even like potatoes in general. Nonetheless, it was all entirely spectacular, and felt almost like I'd been invited in for dinner with a private chef (a feeling admittedly helped by having a total of three diners in at the time).

The cuisine here is admittedly a fair amount pricier than what you'd see in most other Pana eateries – and not much less than that in the area's five-star-hotel restaurants – but it is absolutely worth it! That said, you should definitely bring plenty of quetzals: El Rincon does not accept credit cards, which would be my lone criticism of the place – well, aside from the lighting. It's 2022, and even in Guatemala higher-end tourist-oriented businesses of all stripes mostly accept MasterCard & Visa nowadays.

While I admittedly don't know the logistics of setting up merchant accounts in Central America, I would assume – based on both the quite-obvious sign on the front door saying that they don't accept credit or debit cards, on top of a verbal notification about it – that they're likely losing out on business from visiting tourists hesitant to use ATM machines (some of which are widely rumored to be used by criminals for purposes of stealing money from people's bank accounts after illicitly copying their debit card numbers & PINs).

But, again, use an ATM inside the airport in Guatemala City if possible – that was my own mistake in this regard! – and bring plenty of cash, if only to not miss out...

If you blink you might just miss this little gem! Don’t judge a book by its cover on this one. The chef has over 30 yrs profesional experience working in the finest restaurants and is an expert in culinary art. We ordered the sea bass with tequila sauce and I had my sea bass with white wine roux sauce. I’ve never had a sea bass so rich in flavor, succulent and crispy layer of skin before. I must have it again!

We also ordered the steak with fresh veggies. Although there wasn’t an appetizer menu the chef whipped us up some magnificent garlic buttered mushroom croquettes. The complimentary fresh cucumber juice was absolutely delicious! We are definitely going back tomorrow to try more items on the menu although I’m tempted to order the same delicious dishes all over again!

The kitchen is open to view and the chef shares his knowledge of the town while he’s cooking your food which is such a special touch. Chef Israel’s attention to detail...

Ten of us went here for dinner based on a recommendation from a trusted local resource. We called ahead and got reservations at 7pm, early for the local eating culture. As such, we were the only table, the real locals eat later. We also made our meal selections at the time we made the reservations. We knew the place was small and figured ordering ahead would allow the chef to be prepared. It worked perfectly as all food was delivered to the table at the same time and it was all excellently prepared. Everyone was impressed with the quality, presentation, and flavors. There were no complaints about anything. Since we ordered ahead, we were served quickly. We HIGHLY recommend the shrimp kabobs and the chicken enchiladas. Eat here...