Mi Guatemala Restaurant — Restaurant in Providence

6/15/24@12pmish —I took my friend to a Guatemalan restaurant to distract her mind. She has paused her apartment hunting until her mom in Guatemala fully recovers. Thank God, her mom is back home and well. My friend and I visited this restaurant over 10 years ago. Seeing the reviews, I decided to try this place again.

There is parking on the side of the restaurant and also on the other side, but there are no signs indicating that there is another front entry. This is the side that still has dirt parking. Additionally, it seemed to me that there was no way to get out through it; I didn't notice that they had paved a decline with asphalt. So, I thought I had to exit the same narrow way behind the restaurant. Nonetheless, I got a bad look from a lady who was going to eat there anyway.

I was here maybe ten plus years ago .I don't remember what this place looked like before; I just recall a weird smell, which is why I never went back. This time, the smell wasn’t as prevalent. The restaurant is colorfully decorated, with plants on the windows and a waiting area at the entrance. We were seated right away, even though it was around 12 PM and quite busy. Many families were dining there.

All the tables have a map of Guatemala on them. They start you off with chips. I didn’t even attempt to ask for coffee, as these places aren’t known for great coffee. Instead, I ordered a Horchata de Arroz, and my friend chose a tamarindo drink.

The chips were good. I ordered carne de res. I almost opted for chicken soup, but it was a whopping $23, and the sopa de res was maybe a dollar or two cheaper. We ordered chuchitos to go, and they were good too. My friend had camarones al ajillo, and she liked it. Our waitress was courteous, checking in on us every now and then to see if we needed anything.

I don’t blame this on the restaurant, but on inflation; my bill for two people came up to about $90 . I looked around and saw families of more than five people dining, and I wondered, wow, these people are shelling out big bucks to eat here. It’s not a high-class restaurant, so I was surprised. I don’t know how many businesses will be able to stay afloat with prices the way they are.

The place is dark inside. There are windows, but whatever little bit of sunshine could come through is blocked by plants or something else. If you want to know the history of the place, there are a couple of news articles in the waiting area that talk about when they started and how. I found that pretty interesting. There is something about the place although there is still a mild smell I don’t know if it’s from the carpet or what . It used to be worse but either the look of the place combined with the slight smell kind of gives you the feeling that it may not be clean . But the smell it’s not as bad as it used to be anyhow it will be a long while for me to go back again probably in another...

Well...today I had to think twice between 3 or 4 stars since the 3.5 option is not available but let's go straight to the review...most of the star rating is for the presentation and size portions, the restaurant food presentation is awesome and a lot of food but the taste is not that original...the seasoning of the steak, chicken breast or shrimp...tasted just the same the "traditional Guatemalan black beans flavor was not there, just as another example or the flavor of traditional Guatemalan dishes like Pepian was not close to the real deal, the flavored alcoholic drinks "lacked" flavors like Mango, Orange or other offered flavors, it was more tequila and a well craft presentation. Over all costumer service was not the best, the restaurant was half way full and the waiting staff was already overwhelmed to the point of making the costumer feel pressured to order or to leave. The restaurant Guatemalan authenticity is in every corner of the restaurant...in general I think the management has the right vision they just have to work a bit harder when it comes to authenticity of flavor/seasoning for the real Guatemalan food. (This review is coming from a "Chapin" that had the opportunity to taste a great Guatemala cuisine most of my...

We went for a birthday.

The staff does not know English. That’s fine, we speak fluent Spanish. I’m native to Puerto Rico.

Whats not fine is the constant disrespect and dismissive attitude given to us during our dining experience. We were constantly interrupted— servers would walk away from us mid conversation while trying to ask questions or request water/plates/utensils for the 10th time. I wish I could pretend it was a language barrier

Took one bite of our first dish, it was gross and inauthentic. They wouldn’t take it back or comp it. Because there were no mistakes on their part. They messed up our next dish and gave us the wrong item. They wouldn’t take it back because we ‘waited too long’. I didn’t know I was supposed to walk back to the kitchen myself instead of waiting for our server to come back. But thanks for the heads up— I went back to the kitchen and got boxes for our food myself.

I am a waitress myself and I have to say that this is definitely the worst place in the city I have ever been to. And the absolute first time in my life I didn’t tip. The only chance the owners have at saving this place is firing their entire team and hiring all new staff....