LA Chapina Restaurant — Restaurant in Marathon

We were wanting pizza and gps took us to LA Chapina in Marathon key instead. Best mistake GPS ever made for us. A small mom & pop restaurant serving authentic Guatemalan cuisine. We were quickly greeted by Karrina one of the owners who had a welcoming personality and a contagious smile. After asking a few questions,we put our trust in Karrina and asked her to just order something tasty for us. She brought us homemade chips and guacamole to start out. She then brought out 2 of the most scrumptious chicken dishes I've ever had. I had Pollo en Crema, my husband had Pechuga Asada with hand made corn tortillas. WOW, just wow! I mean Incredible!!! Between her and Roberto, her husband (who was cooking)everything was amazing. I found my new "go to" restaurant. La Chapina is the best kind of restaurant, the kind locals won't tell you about, only bc they want it for themselves!! Sorry locals,but you'll have to come early to get a table(I can't keep a secret) if you miss dinner come back for breakfast in the am, their Cafe con Leche and Juevos Rancheros will start your day off right. As a bonus, I learned a little Spanish, I now know why my coworker was laughing at my Spanish lol. We will def eat here every time...

I enjoy trying the new small restaurants and this is definitely a worthwhile addition to the Marathon dining scene. I went for lunch and had the Guatemalan chicken special: "Pollo En Crema". It was slow cooked chicken on the bone in a lemon butter garlic sauce. It came with rice, cooked carrots and a small salad. The portions were very large and it turns out that I ordered too much. The waitstaff were excellent and the speed of service were very impressive. My only issue is that I would have preferred a central American beer on the menu. But I can understand the reasoning behind not getting a liquor license and the probable increased insurance costs associated with serving alcohol.

This place would be great to take the family to. There is something on the menu for everyone and there is an ice cream place...

I drove past this place many times but it was until a friend of mine told me they serve beef soup that I got interest in trying it. Today I went looking for the beef soup or sopa de res how I’m use to call it in Honduras. We got inside an there were just 2 tables available (means food should be good) and I noticed a customer eating a big soup bowl containing something interesting, “looks like crab” I said but it was actually lobster so I though it was a seafood soup most likely. I went for it! It was great, with delicious rice and gloriously handmade tortillas, real tortillas! I also had a Michelada and it was really good but get ready to nap for 3 hrs after that. I’ll be trying more of this place...