Food

Snacks, Light Meals, and Coffee

La Casa de Todo (tel. 651-4185, www.casadetodo.com [1], 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily) serves delicious snacks all day, including delicious baleadas, flour tortillas filled with beans and cheese, or scrumptious homemade yogurt with granola and fruit ($3.50). The breakfasts here are excellent ($2–4) with good, potent coffee. Enjoy your meal in the sunny garden courtyard.

Another great place for a snack is Licuados Express (tel. 651-4152, www.licuadosexpress.com [2], 6:30 a.m.–5 p.m.Mon.–Sat., 6:30 a.m.–noon Sun.), just up the street toward the plaza, blending healthy shakes and smoothies (licuados) plus sandwiches, bagels, waffles, yogurt, and excellent hot or cold espresso beverages ($1.50).

Try the filling waffle breakfast ($3). Right on the plaza next to the Hotel Marina Copán, Café Welchez (7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily) is Copán’s best coffee shop, with espresso drinks and delicious cakes, pastries, and assorted other baked goods.

One block southwest of the plaza, Vamos a Ver (tel. 651-4627, 7 a.m.–10 p.m. daily) is a cozy covered- patio café that is a good bet for soups, homemade breads, a variety of international cheeses, salads and vegetarian dishes, smoothies, and strong coffee. There are very good sandwiches ($2–4) and it’s a popular happy-hour venue 5–7 p.m.

Italian

Across the street from Hotel Los Gemelos Pizzería Italia (tel. 651-4172, 10 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Tues.–Sun.) serves decent pizzas with a variety of toppings averaging around $6 for a medium pie. It also serves beer and wine in an agreeable cobblestone courtyard lit by quaint paper lamps.

Jim’s Pizza (tel. 651-4381, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. daily), a block south of the plaza, makes tasty pizzas ($6–10) and yummy rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob for $5.

Honduran Fare

Carnitas Nia Lola (tel. 651-4196, 7 a.m.–10 p.m. daily), two blocks south of the Museo Regional de Arqueología, is a hugely popular gathering spot for its scrumptious quesadillas, nachos, large baleadas, and savory carnitas served in a funky restaurant/bar. Stop in for happy hour 6:30–8 p.m. and stay to satiate your beer munchies.

Popular with locals is Restaurant Llama del Bosque (tel. 651-4431, 6 a.m.–10 p.m.), across from the Via Via, where the varied menu includes steak and seafood entrées for around $6. Go here for traditional breakfasts of eggs and beans or fondue cooked in a clay pot with beans and sausage ($4). It also sells Honduran cigars.

International

There are a variety of good choices for international fare. Twisted Tanya’s (tel. 651-4182, 3–10 p.m. Mon.–Sat.) manages to be classy and yet casual at the same time in a pleasant, second-story balcony setting overlooking the street. For $15, you get a soup or salad starter, main course, and dessert. Typical dishes include such creations as curry shrimp, Chinese dumplings with wasabi, fish fillet with sautéed vegetables, and seafood pasta with crab. The desserts are equally creative and appetizing. It’s a block west and then half a block south of the plaza. Stop in for happy hour 4–6 p.m.

Serving baleadas muy grandes is Tunkul Bar and Restaurant (tel. 651-4152, 7 a.m.–midnight daily), where the atmosphere includes a stone floor and saddles suspended from the roof. There’s a nice covered patio where you can enjoy a varied menu that includes half-pound burgers, fajitas, quesadillas, and chilaquiles, all for around $4. Things really get fired up at 6 p.m. when the open-air grill cranks out quarter chickens, pinchos, and barbecue chicken wings.

Next door, Café Via Via (tel. 651-4652, 7 a.m.–midnight daily) is a popular watering hole with travelers and that doubles as a hip and trendy café. You can substitute vegetarian options for many of its dishes, including veggie burgers ($4). It also makes a good stab at Thai curry ($5). There are tables overlooking the street where you can enjoy the wonderful organically grown coffee.

Fine Dining

One of the finest restaurants in Copán Ruinas [3] can be found inside the Hotel Marina de Copán. Glifo’s (tel. 651-4070/71, 877/893-9131 toll-free U.S., www.hotelmarinacopan.com [4], 6:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. daily, $8–14) serves a variety of international dishes with a distinctly Mayan slant in a pleasing blue and yellow dining room. For a local treat, try the Pollo al Loroco, cooked in a savory sauce of pungent edible flowers. The house specialty is Glifo’s Traditional Chicken, cooked in a sauce of roasted, ground sesame and squash seeds flavorfully seasoned with Mayan herbs. International dishes include curry chicken, steak in mushroom wine sauce, and tarragon fish.

Don Udo’s (tel. 651-4533, www.donudos.com [5], entrées $6–10) has a stylish restaurant to accompany the hotel’s tasteful atmosphere. Among the excellent dishes are steak and seafood dishes, homemade pastas, and Mayan cuisine.

Outside of town, the delightful restaurant at Hacienda San Lucas (tel. 651-4106, www.haciendasanlucas.com [6]) is the perfect place to catch the sunset from a perch overlooking the Copán Valley before digging into a scrumptious five-course dinner ($20). Much of the produce used in preparing the meals comes right from the farm. Typical dishes include cream of corn soup, tamales, chicken in adobo sauce, and flan for dessert. Reservations are required for dinner, though you can drop in for breakfast or lunch anytime.