When you sit down at Marimbas Guatemalan Bakery & Restaurant with a piping hot cup of coffee and a champurrada (a traditional sesame seed cookie), you’ll be struck at how homey and familial the place is.
In many ways, the restaurant on North Lamar reflects the soul of Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America, and the restaurant’s founders, sisters Liliana Villa and Geny Guzman.
“When people visit Guatemala, they always talk about the people and how humble and down to earth they are. You see that everywhere you go, especially outside the city. It’s just a peaceful, down to earth place with a lot of culture,” explains Guzman’s son, Mynor Alvarado, who helps with operations.
He and his family originally hail from Pajapita, Guatemala, and moved to Austin from Guatemala City, the nation’s capital, 35 years ago. They’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, operating businesses ranging from landscaping to cleaning. Now, Villa and Guzman’s longtime passion for cooking has come to life.
Alvarado says the family opened Marimbas on North Lamar because many of them grew up in the area – and because it’s home to a number of ethnic restaurants.
“One of the important things with this space is that we wanted to create a space for Guatemalans,” he says. “There’s a growing Guatemalan community here and there’s only a handful of places to eat [Guatemalan food].”
Although Marimbas is a bakery, it also serves as a restaurant that has plenty of hearty traditional Guatemalan cuisine. We stopped by and had a sampling of a variety of foods, such as pepián, a traditional Guatemalan chicken stew, chuchitos (Guatemalan tamales), and dobladas (a pastry similar to a chicken empanada), along with signature drinks like arroz con leche and atol.
”Our food is very colorful,” Alvarado says. “It’s a lot of corn-based meals. It’s very earthy and simple food with a lot of flavors from the salsas, and that comes from locally sourced stuff like poblano peppers and pumpkin seeds.”
Differentiating between Mexican and Guatemalan food, Alvarado points to Marimbas’ sauces, or “recados,” which he describes as the restaurant’s “special ingredient.”
“The pepita is grinded up and used in a lot of the salsas, stews, and soups,” he says.
When we met Alvarado for coffee, we had the “desayuno típico,” the typical and traditional Guatemalan breakfast plate of eggs, refried beans, queso fresco, fried plantains, and homemade tortillas, along with a champurrada that one traditionally dips in coffee – an important part of the Guatemalan economy.
“There are a lot of co-ops in Guatemala where they partner up with local people, usually indigenous, and try to create some type of living for them,” Alvarado says of the industry.
Although Marimbas has been open since December, the staff has been working out the kinks in preparation for a grand opening party planned for the end of March. Looking ahead, they’ll celebrate Guatemalan Independence Day with another party on September 15. For those looking to explore the country’s cuisine, Marimbas brings a taste of Guatemala and its tropical vibes to the diverse culinary melting pot around Lamar and Braker.
Marimbas Guatemalan Bakery & Restaurant
11220 N. Lamar
512/524-3060
This article appears in February 28 • 2025.
