Four years ago, Adan Matul was selling a Guatemalan sweet bread called pan de Xela, out of a street cart in the San Fernando Valley. Now, Matul and his family run El Sabor Auténtico de Xela, a Guatemalan restaurant and bakery in Chatsworth.
Matul opened the restaurant in February with his partner, Yolanda Barrios, and her daughters, Hellen Rodas and Selena Barrios. The family works together every day to bring dishes and pastries from their ancestral home of Quetzaltenango.
“Everything we serve here is a reflection of our roots — the dishes our parents cooked, what we snacked on, the bread we had with our coffee,” Matul told The LA Local. “We want our bread and dishes to evoke memories of home, the warmth that we felt eating our mothers’ food.”
The demand that led to El Sabor Auténtico de Xela opening its doors reflects a broader shift in LA. Los Angeles County is now home to the largest population of Guatemalans outside of Guatemala, with more than 280,000 residents as of 2025 — a roughly 35% increase over the past decade. As the community has grown, so has the visibility of its food, even as many Central American immigrants face increased immigration enforcement and political pressure.
“We’re living in a time where so much systemic harm has been done to our people,” Rodas said between greeting customers at the restaurant. “We’re told we need to assimilate to thrive in this country, and that mindset took so much of my cultural identity when I was a child. Part of my healing has happened through working here.”
Growing up Guatemalan American in Los Angeles, I know that feeling. For years, food from our homeland was hard to find — even in one of the most diverse food cities in the world.
That’s no longer the case.
Across LA, dishes like pepián, garnachas and tapado are moving from the margins to the mainstream. What was once hidden is now defining neighborhoods.
These five restaurants capture that shift.
No. 5 Puchica Guatemalan Bar & Grill
San Fernando Valley
4523 Sepulveda Blvd., Sherman Oaks
Walk into Puchica and you’ll likely spot a wall of photographs — Lake Atitlán, Antigua, Tikal. There might be live Chapin music filling the room. There will definitely be some of the best Guatemalan food in LA.
Owner Ronan Lurssen, a native of Suchitepéquez, and his wife, Taryn, have made it their mission to bring regional Guatemalan cooking to Los Angeles — and that means going beyond the usual menu.
Puchica is one of the few restaurants in the area serving tapado, a coconut-based seafood stew from Guatemala’s Caribbean coast. The dish traces back to Garifuna communities — Afro-Indigenous people whose roots come from West African survivors of shipwreck and the Indigenous Kalinago and Arawak people.
The tapado here delivers on that lineage. The broth is rich and creamy, the seafood layered with deep umami flavor. It arrives with rice and mojarra frita — a whole fish, scored, garlic-lime marinated and fried until the skin shatters and the meat pulls clean. The plate comes with tortillas to make fish tacos that you should definitely dip into the broth. It’s a dish that demands you slow down and find comfort in the experience of finishing everything on the plate.
No. 4 Mi Cocinita Chapina
Pico Union
1325 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles
Mi Cocinita is a little hole in the wall that serves some of the best traditional Guatemalan dishes in the area. Nestled on the corner of Malvern Avenue and Venice Boulevard, it is known for its authentic Guatemalan breakfasts.
Put some pep in your step with Mi Cocinita’s desayuno tipico — eggs, savory mashed black beans, fried plantains, queso fresco and your choice of chorizo or puyaso steak, a cut of sirloin with a thick layer of fat.
You can also start your day here with carne guisada, a savory stew featuring beef simmered in a thick, rich gravy and potatoes.
No. 3 Amalia’s Restaurant
Koreatown
4210 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles
Amalia’s Restaurant is a rarity in LA — a Guatemalan spot that’s been holding it down since 1994. Long before the current wave of regional Central American cooking, Amalia’s was serving Koreatown’s Guatemalan community, quietly becoming a neighborhood staple.
The sopa de mariscos is the move here. Built on a deeply seasoned tomato broth, the soup is loaded with fish, shrimp, crab and mussels, simmered down into something rich and restorative. It’s the kind of dish that hits immediately — briny, citrusy, just enough lime to cut through the depth.
If you’re hungover, it’ll fix you. If you’re not, it’ll still feel like it did.
No. 2 Shucos LA
South LA
753 E. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles
(closed on Mondays, cash only)
Southeast LA
2470 S. Atlantic Blvd., Commerce
Shucos started as a backyard setup near Jefferson Boulevard and 41st Street in 2020. Within a few years, it grew into a storefront in Commerce, fueled in part by a steady rise on TikTok, where staff showcased their Guatemalan-style hot dogs to a wider audience.
Those hot dogs — known as shucos — are a staple of Guatemala’s street food scene. Built on a toasted bun, they’re loaded with grilled meats, guacamole, cabbage, grilled onions and the classic trio of ketchup, mayo and mustard. Messy, smoky and fully loaded, they eat more like a full meal than a snack.
But the menu goes deeper. Shucos also serves a range of traditional dishes, including bistec encebollado, salpicón de res, pollo en crema and churrasco.
The churrasco features meats that are tender with a strong char, the seasoning pulling everything together without overpowering it. On the side, garnachas — crisp, saucy and so delicious, they were consumed in a matter of minutes.
No. 1 El Sabor Auténtico de Xela
San Fernando Valley
21818 Devonshire St., Chatsworth
A true one-stop shop for Guatemalan food, El Sabor Auténtico de Xela earns the top spot on this list. The restaurant and bakery showcases dishes from the Quetzaltenango region alongside a lineup of nostalgic snacks like Tortrix chips and Chiky cookies and sodas like Tiky.
Matul often points first-timers to the Pepián, Guatemala’s national dish. The stew is rich and layered, rooted in both Mayan and Spanish traditions, with slow-cooked meats and vegetables in a thick sauce made from roasted tomatoes, tomatillos and toasted seeds. It’s served with rice and tortillas — simple on paper, deeply complex in flavor.
Rodas recommends the caldo de res, a hearty beef soup packed with corn, cabbage, zucchini and potatoes. It’s the kind of dish that hits even on a 100-degree day.
But the standout is the carne adobada. The meat is tender, deeply seasoned, with a subtle smokiness that lingers. It’s served with Russian salad and Guatemalan chow mein — a local adaptation shaped by Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century that has since become a staple of the cuisine.
Guatemalan food: a glossary
Key terms from this guide, in order of appearance.
Breads & snacks
A sweet bread from Quetzaltenango (nicknamed Xela), Guatemala’s second-largest city. A staple of Guatemalan bakeries, traditionally eaten alongside coffee.
Guatemala’s most beloved snack chip — a crunchy, corn-based curl that has become a national icon. A nostalgic staple for Guatemalan Americans far from home.
A popular Guatemalan sandwich cookie, similar in format to an Oreo but with a distinctly local flavor. A comfort food shorthand for Guatemalan childhood.
Breakfast
The classic Guatemalan breakfast plate: eggs, savory mashed black beans, fried plantains, and queso fresco, with a choice of chorizo or puyaso steak.
A cut of sirloin with a thick layer of fat, common in Guatemalan breakfast plates. Grilled or pan-fried, it’s prized for its richness and char.
Beef simmered in a thick, rich gravy with potatoes — a hearty stew served at breakfast or as a main dish. A comforting staple across Central American home cooking.
Soups & stews
A rich, coconut-based seafood stew from Guatemala’s Caribbean coast, rooted in Garifuna culinary tradition. The Garifuna are an Afro-Indigenous people descended from West African shipwreck survivors and the Indigenous Kalinago and Arawak. Served with rice and whole fried fish.
Guatemala’s national dish — a slow-cooked meat and vegetable stew in a thick sauce of roasted tomatoes, tomatillos, and toasted seeds. Rooted in both Mayan and Spanish culinary traditions. Served with rice and tortillas.
A deeply seasoned tomato-based soup loaded with fish, shrimp, crab, and mussels. Briny, citrusy, and restorative — the signature dish at Amalia’s.
A hearty beef soup packed with corn, cabbage, zucchini, and potatoes. A restorative Guatemalan staple — the kind of dish that works in any season.
Mains
A whole fish — scored, marinated in garlic and lime, and fried until the skin shatters and the meat pulls clean. Often served alongside tapado with tortillas for dipping into the broth.
Meat marinated and slow-cooked in a seasoned adobo sauce until deeply tender, with a subtle smokiness. At El Sabor Auténtico de Xela, it’s served with Russian salad and Guatemalan chow mein.
Literally “Russian salad” — diced potatoes, carrots, and peas bound in mayonnaise, brought to Guatemala through European influence and now fully adopted into the local table. A common accompaniment to grilled and adobo-style meats.
Grilled beef with a strong char and deep seasoning — a staple of Guatemalan grills. At Shucos LA, it arrives tender with seasoning that pulls everything together without overpowering.
Thin-cut steak smothered in grilled onions — a simple, satisfying classic found across Guatemalan and Central American menus.
Shredded or finely chopped beef salad dressed with lime, mint, and radish. Bright and refreshing, it’s a common fixture on Guatemalan menus.
Chicken braised in a rich cream sauce, often with peppers and onions. A mild, comforting Guatemalan staple.
A local adaptation of Chinese chow mein, shaped by Chinese immigrant communities in Guatemala in the late 19th century. It has since been fully absorbed into the national cuisine and commonly appears as a side dish.
Street food
Guatemala’s signature street hot dog — a toasted bun loaded with grilled meats, guacamole, cabbage, grilled onions, and the classic trio of ketchup, mayo, and mustard. Messy, smoky, and substantial enough to eat as a full meal.
Crisp fried tortillas topped with a savory sauce — a beloved Guatemalan street snack. At Shucos LA, they arrive alongside the churrasco and disappear quickly.
