Montagu Antigua — Restaurant in Sacatepéquez

The best meal, by far, that we've had during our time in Antigua (and we've tried multiple top recommendations like Sobremesa and Casa Escobar). Montagu has super creative and flavorful dishes highlighting local ingredients, executed superbly - on par with some of the best restaurants at home in San Francisco - at a very reasonable price. It was so good that we immediately made a reservation to go back in a few days for our last meal in Guatemala!

The cocktails (house-made fruit shrubs with mezcal, gin, or rum) were a very tasty start to the meal - highly recommend the pina & jalapeño shrub + mezcal, which had just the right notes of smoke, heat, and sweetness. Their agua de jamaica was also very nice.

For food, we had the taster of 4 conservas, al pastor tacos, the bolognese pasta (with fresh egg pasta that we saw being made as we walked in), and closed with a taster of 4 housemade ice creams. All dishes were excellent; we wanted to order more but were too full (hence going back in a few days to try more of the menu).

Finally, the good food and drinks matched the ambiance - we enjoyed the intimate open kitchen concept which let us observe the cooking process and chat with the chefs (who were approachable and friendly) to learn more about our dishes.

So glad we found this under-the-radar gem in Antigua. It deserves to be more well-known.

Note that they are reservation-only, but it was easy to get a reservation for a Thursday night during rainy season on short notice and the restaurant was not busy at all while...

What an unexpected amazing surprise! My wife and I are in town for a wedding and were looking for a place to eat dinner. We're so grateful for finding this gem. The owners, Andrés and Ale, are absolutely wonderful cooks and they're even better people to get to know. When you enter, you're greeted with warmth and hospitality. It's an intimate space with an open kitchen and it allows you to see your food being cooked to perfection. We sat at the bar and while Andrés and Ale made our food, they still made the effort to engage us with conversation. We had Degustativo Montagu which was a sampler of different types dips/toppings to go along with our bread. Then for the main course we had bolognesa and Camarón y Tocino. Wow! Everything was so delicious! Along the way we had various cocktails filled with rum/vodka and fresh fruit and shrubs to make for some of the best drinks we've had. To top it off we had homemade ice cream. Overall this was one of the best experiences my wife and I have ever had at a restaurant and we definitely will be returning. When visiting Antigua, you must stop by for a meal and a...

The food was good, and the pasta (including the gluten free option) was very nice. The space is cute and intimate, and makes for a sweet setting whether in a big group or as a couple.

The service however, was indifferent and disinterested, which is surprising because of the open kitchen. In other open kitchen experiences I’ve had, the chefs are outgoing and friendly (when time and the pressure of cooking permits). Here, there was hardly any interaction at all although we were the only group and our food was prepped beforehand. Some of us got plates which, while delicious, we weren’t sure what was in them.

It’s odd and off-putting to be eating a meal, knowing nothing about it, while the chef scrolls on his phone. I think the experience could be vastly improved if the chef (or waiter on a busier night) talked about the restaurant, the food, etc, even if just for a bit. As it is, the experience which should have been really special (because of food and setting) was...