When I was in high school I had a really close friend who was old school Italian. When I say Old School, I mean her parents were off the boat with all the old traditions in tact. Her mother reminded me of The Godfather’s wife (Don Corleone). This was most true in her cooking.
Honestly, I found a billion and a half reasons to always go over her house for a meal. I had never had food as delicious as hers. And from then on my love affair with Italian cuisine was born.
Since I haven’t met many ‘real’ Italians living in Central America (btw I have some of the best tips for traveling in Central America, read it here), finding a good Italian restaurant has become more of a hardship than a joy. Not sure why everyone and their sister thinks they can open up a restaurant and call it Italian food. Why do they think if you cook up some pasta and throw garlic, tomatoes (sometimes jarred tomato sauce) and sprinkle it with local cheese this constitutes an Italian dish.
And don’t even get me started on the Pizza situation here – let’s just say so far the top pick for pizza in Guatemala has been Dominos – yes it’s that bad.
Why La Fattoria Restaurant Is Different, Delicious, and Great Fun
I’ve heard of La Fattoria restaurant mentioned several times and plenty of great reviews on the web. Plus, in some gourmet food stores I’ve seen La Fattoria homemade pasta. So with all these elements, I decided to check it out next time we visited Guatemala City with the kids.
NOTE: Kids Eat Free – 12 and younger. This is such a HUGE treat. No restaurants in all of Guatemala offer this, plus the portions for the kids pizza are huge.
What really got me excited was that their pizza is cooked in a wood oven. I love wood ovens and figured this might be our new Pizza place.
The restaurant is located in Zone 10 of Guatemala City which is the prettiest part of the city, at least in my opinion. There are stores and paved streets to walk along. One thing difficult in the area, though, is parking. So I relieved to see they had their own parking lot.
Salads for Everyone
Cesar Salad – My oldest always gets a Cesar salad no matter where we go. It’s become a tradition for him (one that I absolutely love). The Cesar salad here was smooth and had real parmesan cheese grated on top of it. I can’t think of many places that have Parmesan cheese from Italy. Normally it’s a dry local cheese that doesn’t taste anything like the real deal.
Insalata Caprese – is becoming my new favorite choice for salads. This one came with a huge mozzarella ball which I later found out was homemade, done on the premises.
House Salad – anything with artichokes always calls to me, and this salad was no different. I loved the vinaigrette dressing which had a sweetness to it.
Pizza Pizza Pizza
OMG – when we were told that kids eat free and we ordered the Pizza for our boys I had no idea that first of all it would be so big and secondly so so delicious!
The crust was crispy and light.
We ordered two pizzas for us, thinking they were normal size and we would easily finish both.
Pizza Margherita – I’m a cheese pizza fan. So I had to try this one.
Pizza Capricciosa – Like I said, anything artichoke is usually a must for me. And this pizza’s main ingredient was artichoke.
While eating all I kept thinking was this pizza is different. It’s not like the other pizzas I have tasted in Guatemala and I couldn’t put my finger on it. That was until we talked to the owner, Mario. Mario’s family started La Fattoria almost 30 years ago and they are the Old School Italians I have been on a quest to find. The reason the pizza was so flavorful wasn’t only because of the Wood Oven but because of the ingredients.
The flour, tomatoes and most cheeses are all imported directly from Italy. And the mozzarella cheese is made fresh at the restaurant. This really makes a huge difference in the taste.
Want to enjoy these yummy foods, you can do it at home as long as you have a good countertop convection oven.
Related Read: Pizza Grizzly in Guatemala City
Pastas
I know, we are totally over indulging. But when I found out that their ingredients are imported and they make homemade pasta, plus the pasta is never pre cooked, but made to order, I simply couldn’t resist.
I can’t even remember the last time I had tortellini.
Desserts
One thing Guatemala doesn’t do well is desserts. It’s simply not in the Guatemalan DNA. I had to have me some real Italian desserts.
Nutella Mousse – how can anyone pass on this one?
Panna Cotta – one of my favorites always
Tiramisu – believe it or not, I’ve never had tiramisu before. So I said why the heck not!
Video Fun
Information about La Fattoria Pizzeria
La Fattoria Pizzeria restaurant was just what I needed to restore my love for Italian food and to have us some good pizza. Plus, it was super kid-friendly, as in my kids had plenty of room to run around without bothering other people.
I have to say this is the best Pizza in all of Guatemala and if you like real homemade pasta, I can’t think of anywhere else you can go. And if you do find another restaurant saying they have homemade pastas chances are they are coming from La Fattoria’s pasta factory.
Also, I have a blog post about the best restaurant in Guatemala, read it here. and if you’re a looking for a luxurious place to stay, go to Grand Tikal Futura Hotel, it’s an amazing place!
Food is essential to how we live and the nutrition it offers, check out mycookinghero.com for info how to have healthy meals in restaurants.
