Driven El Mirador (tel. 504/764-5540, open until 9 p.m. daily) offers local Honduran cuisine, including breakfasts, steak, chicken and fish, and light snacks like simple sandwiches and salads, and accordingly high prices. Since the owner also runs the Hotel La Casona, outside of town with its very own set of tilapia fish ponds, locals swear by the fried-fish platters.

The buffet-style Casa Gloria Restaurante (tel. 504/764-5869) is a good bet for quick, filling, and good meals, with an array of meats, chicken, rice, vegetables, and other side dishes during lunch, and eggs, beans, cheese, and ham typical for dinner. The restaurant, right in the central park, is decorated with paintings, pottery, and sculptures by local artists.

Newcomer Malú has quickly established itself as the top restaurant in town, although the menu is filled with the standards, such as plato típico (US$3.70), burgers (US$3), tacos (US$2.50), and anafre (US$1.50). The place is clean and cute, and there is a “traveler’s bookcase” where you can exchange that paperback you’ve just finished reading.

Comedor Mexicano, on the main street a block and a half down from Banhcafe, serves up tasty burritos, enchiladas, hamburgers, and Honduran dishes at reasonable prices. The owner lived in the United States and happily speaks English to tourist customers and serves up tasty Mexican burritos, American-style hamburgers, beef plates, enchiladas, and typical Honduran dishes for a reasonable price. It’s a good place to watch a sports match on TV and drink a beer.

Local legend Pupuseria El Paso Colegial (late afternoon and early evening) serves up pupusas, the standard Salvadoran snack, cooked by a gregarious señora on the front patio of her house on the main entrance road to town.

If you’re looking for a change of cuisine, Palacio Chino near the Hotel Nueva Jerusalen serves up Chinese standards 10 a.m.–10 p.m. daily.

For good pastries, fruit juices, and even baguettes at low prices, head to La Princesita, just off the main parque.