La Guatemalteca

A co-worker of mine is from Guatemala and recommended this small restaurant with adjacent grocery store on east Colfax just west of Havana St. I googled them. It appears to be the only Guatemalan restaurant in Colorado. The menu boards are in Spanish, but their website provides photos and English ingredients. You order at the counter, get your soft drinks (no alcohol) and a table sign. The order taker, Paola C. said it would be 20-30 minutes since everything is prepared fresh. I ordered the Tapa Chapina combo plate for $24.99 and a Guatemalan hot dog called Shucos for $ 9.99 + a Mandarin Jarritos. The Shucos came out first. It was much bigger than a U.S. or Korean version of a hot dog. It had lots of meat (asada, chorizo, al pastor, longaniza (skinless sausage)) with cabbage and dressing. A meal in itself. I ate it all!! About 10 minutes later, the female chef brought out the Tapa Chapina on a large platter. I instantly knew I could not eat it all. I got 2 tostadas with curtido (slightly fermented cabbage) and beef. I got 2 garnachas, a street version of mini crunchy tortillas with various toppings. My had chicken & cabbage. Two chicken empanadas with salsa. A churchito, a pork filled tamale cooked in banana leaves and a chipilin, a corn masa dish with chipilin leaves also cooked in a banana leaf. The tamale was larger than the Mexican version and the Chipilin leaves tasted similar to spinach. I took home the 2 tostadas and the chicken empanadas . No cheese other than dry queso. They have plastic utensils but eco friendly takeout packages. The small grocery store has a cooler case of fresh cheeses, canned fruit juices, various cooking beans and dry items, cookies, fresh bread and pastries + an expansive rack of spices and herbs.

LOVE this place! I always get the pupusa. Great place to also get Hispanic treats I can't get anywhere else. Idk what Miriam's(aka Karen) review is talking about. I have never gotten sick from this food...ever. And also don't go to a specialty store with imported goods and expect walmart prices. Like...anyways. I love the Salvadorian coffee they sell. They deserve 5 stars! Also very kind staff.

Tucked in a little alcove off of Colfax, La Guatemalteca most certainly offers a wide range of canned, bagged, bottled and baked items from Guatemala, Central America and beyond. However, the purpose of my review is to tell you about the small canteen in back (I inadvertently referred to it as a restaurant when speaking to the lady behind the counter, which amused her to no end). This part of the business seems to do a brisk trade with the primarily Spanish-speaking clientele. On the morning I went, they had two dishes available - Sopa de Pata de Res (cow-foot soup) and Puerco con Frijol Blanco (pork and white-bean stew). That early in the day, the soup was just not what I had in mind. So, I tried the Puerco. This was no ordinary pork-and-beans, no sir. Huge, juicy, on-the-bone chunks of pork combined with meltingly soft white beans to create (with the help of a thin tomato-based sauce) a dish which transcended the sum of its parts. Paired with a tangy-tart tamarind drink from the shop cooler, this was a very nice way to start the day.

I was feeling melancholy. I was missing my family in Los Angeles and the flavors of Guatemala. Ran a search through Google and found this place. I was pleasantly surprised. Good food, reasonable prices and friendly service. It made my day. I enjoy eating at small, privately owned restaurants and this was no exception. I highly recommended.

We were the only gringos in the place and were treated like true guest. You have never had better quality and fresher food than this! As a person who lived in Guatemala, this is the real deal. The restaurant side of the business is only open Sat/Sun. and worth the wait! The store is pretty good too!

I found myself very disappointed at this place. I support small business and their growth, however when they hike up prices for the simple reason the can it is very sad. Review on the bread - Their bread is decent for a day, after a day it gets hard, and $0.60 cents per bread?? It only cost $0.10 cents to make the bread overhead and everything $0.25 cents should cover all cost and overhead costs. The service is really not too friendly, surprising because Guatemalans are some of the most cordial people I know.

Señores de la Guatemalteca, por favor corrijan el problema. no está bien que si ordena algo, sea completo, como los chiles rellenos, que ponen un pedazo no el chile completo, eso es deshonestidad.

La comida si estuvo bien pero los rellenos no son rellenos. Es un pedazo de chile (Bell pepper) relleno de carne cubiertos con huevo. El chile aún tenía la cáscara también. A pesar que si fue agradable el sabor, no es chile relleno estilo chapín. Los que atienden si atienden bien. Las tortillas son frescas.

terrible place none of the products have price , I spend 100 for hardly anything , on top of that I got sick with the tostadas eat

Really good food!!! You'll have to wait a little to get a table but besides that definitely recommend this place. You should get Carne Asada!