6 Best Restaurants in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

That just might be the ghost of Che Guevara plotting the next revolution off in the corner of this unpretentious little coffeehouse with a slightly political bent. Paradiso serves local beverage specialties, but is best known for its carajillo (coffee with cognac). The food is basic but filling, with locals leaning toward favorites like the tortilla española (Spanish omelet). While you wait, peruse the selection of books on Honduran history and politics, or stop by on Thursday evenings when a film is screened.

You smell the sizzling chorizo and carnitas (chunks of beef) cooked by Don Manolo even before you see his popular restaurant.

This restaurant is named for a traditional Honduran mush of refried beans, cream, and cheese served with tortilla chips in a clay container, but don't be misled: other items on the menu, the pastas and pizzas in particular, are good here, too. It's a great place to down a beer, as it is often open until 10 or later.

Tegucigalpa's best-known Honduran restaurant dishes up ample helpings of típico (traditional) food. The rustic building with brick patio evokes an old Honduran country home. You can watch your food being prepared on the open grill, with pinchos (Honduran-style chicken, beef, or pork kebabs) being special favorites here. It's all accompanied by anafres, a dip of refried beans and cheese. The waitstaff wear traditional Honduran clothing (think white dresses and pants with thin, colorful stripes).

A combination pony farm, playground, and miniature zoo, La Florida is a popular place for families and weekend events. There is a restaurant with typical Honduran beef and chicken dishes, as well as anafres of refried beans and cheese. The outdoor area has a small swimming pool, children's playground, and sand volleyball, as well as shaded picnic and dining areas. Don't miss the L10 pony rides, if you belong to the under-10 age bracket. There is a very large stable of ponies and horses, and they offer trail rides for adults as well. In the back is a small zoo with the white-tailed deer of Honduras and a tapir, as well as many birds.

How many restaurants keep a shrine to the Virgin Mary on their premises? At the entrance to the restrooms, no less? This downtown eatery does. The statue of the Virgin of Suyapa, Honduras's patron saint, appeared wrapped in newspaper in Don Pepe's men's room one night in 1986. A miracle or a drop-off by a thief? You can decide Standard Honduran fare—hearty chicken, beef, and pork dishes—are served here; the lunchtime plato del día, a combination of meat, rice, and vegetables, includes a beverage and is a good bargain.