La Danta Restaurant and Cafe: Eating in Flores Guatemala

Guatemala is an amazingly diverse place with many places to visit and things to do and see, Flores is one of them! And one of the most indispensable things about any travel is food! So I decided to look for a restaurant in Flores. That’s when I found La Danta Restaurant and Cafe in Flores Guatemala, and here’s my review.

Searching for a healthy restaurant in Flores always caused a major challenge for me. For several reasons:

1. Most restaurants serve the same type of food which is usually Guatemalan cuisine or Italian. These could be construed as healthy, but overall they weren’t ideal choices. Plus, living in Guatemala for almost five years, my family and I are overeating the traditional meals, plus I make a mean pasta dish, so basically, we wanted something different.

2. Family fun is another issue. Flores is a tiny town with little outdoor room. Or in other words, the restaurants were mainly indoors. When you combine excessive heat with hyperactive kids in a small space the outcome normally wasn’t good. So we were on the lookout for a restaurant that has a lovely outdoor sitting area and also the view of the lake.

3. Uniqueness – I am a huge fan of eating food that was from the region, or the menu has a twist that made it stand out.

In the end, my search was a tough one – but after reviewing and reading about the different restaurants in Flores, La Danta Restaurant and Cafe won.

La Danta Restaurant in Flores, Guatemala

Flores is a small island located in Peten Guatemala near Tikal. It is in the middle of Lake Peten Itza which gives it a gorgeous location with plenty of amazing vista points. However, since November the water levels have risen higher than they have in decades and a lot of the streets that were right on the lake were now part of the lake.

Getting to La Danta was half the fun. Since they were one of the few restaurants that was located directly on the lake, with a great outdoor patio, the main road to them was flooded and we had to park on another street.  But it was still really easy and actually fun to get there. And with kids, it was always the adventure in getting somewhere which counted more than the actual being there.

Having the water right outside the patio invited little fishies to be here. And the wait staff loved kids and while we waited for our food to come out, showed my kids how to feed the fish. (Just wash the hands well before eating.)

Why La Danta Restaurant and Cafe is Different Than the Rest

The menu of this restaurant was extremely varied so that everyone had good options. What caught my eye most was the fusion of the different local resources to contemporary dishes. Plus, their emphasis was on all natural ingredients cooked fresh daily.

The main ingredient that truly impressed me was Chaya. This leaf was considered the super food of the Maya, or better known as Maya Spinach.

The food is ready

They specialize in natural smoothies – Jungle Smoothie which contained the Chaya leaf and mint – frozen to help deal with the heat

We also had the Rosa Smoothie – with the main ingredient being Hibiscus Tea

We started our meal with a Maya Tortilla Soup made with Chaya and other ingredients that are normally never used in this soup. It was by far more tastier and lighter than the other soups I’ve eaten (and we eat a lot of Tortilla soup).

My kids are huge Crepe fans

But there was also a chicken and chaya crepe with cheese and special sauce that was out of this world

Homemade shrimp ceviche – freshly made

I had the special dish – Fried White Fish – which is only found in this region and no where else in the world.

And the fun part – cleaning up after being well fed

Bet You Didn’t Know These Fun Facts About Flores Guatemala

• Flores was once a Mayan City called Tayasal it has been occupied since 300 A.C.

• After the invasion from Spain, a settlement was founded on the island

• Whoever lived in Flores or around it had to do Free military service during the conquest

• The town went through 17 different names before the one it has now

• Flores is a slow paced Caribbean-like island in the middle of Lake Petén Itzá

• It is only 40 minutes away from a Mayan Archaeological site, Tikal National Park.

• A lot of the streets here are cobblestoned.

• The nearby places of interest are: Mayan archaeological sites (Tikal, Yaxhá, El Mirador) Actun Kan Caves, ARCAS rescue center and a museum dedicated to Maya History.

• There is a causeway that leads to it from the neighbor town of Santa Elena

Information About La Danta Restaurant and Cafe

The restaurant’s name was taken from the largest temple built by the Mayas, located in El Mirador Archeological area.

Hours:  From Tue to Sun 12:00 to 22:00 hrs.

Phone: (502) 7867-5707

Address: Playa Este | Malecon, Flores 00502, Guatemala