Dinner at the Welten Restaurant Ends the Vacation Nicely (and Deliciously)

The interior of the Welten Restaurant is best described as "eclectic"

Some youtube clip about things to do in Antigua recommended the Welten Restaurant. I don't normally do what youtube videos tell me to do, but I did. And I am so glad I did.

This is a fancy gourmet restaurant. But the atmosphere was great. Christmas lights and strands of living rattan falling from the ceiling. A live band (actually, just a keyboard player/singer and a man on tom-toms) playing Latin lounge jazz versions of Toto's "Africa," the Cuban classic "Guantanamera," "Oye Como Va," and even "Hotel California." What's not to love? 

And there was the pool filled with flower petals in the back. I ate in the front, the better to hear the band.

And the food? Beyond awesome.

The bread was a little extra, but it was so worth it if only for the butter.

Garlic and sweet bell peppers mixed into the butter. So good.

And for a starter, I had the cream of corn soup. I know, doesn't sound like much, but ...

This smelled more like fresh corn on the cob than fresh corn on the cob does. And the taste of the corn was sweet and strong.

The main course was chicken medallions in what was advertised as "California plum" sauce.

Actually, it was prune sauce. And it worked. And the chicken breast had flavor (unlike American chicken breasts). It was not dried out; it was moist. And the texture was melt-in-your-mouth. It didn't feel like chomping on a mouthful of rubberbands like American chicken breast meat.

I couldn't decide on an after-dinner drink or dessert. So I had both.

I ordered a Fernet Menta. a mint-flavored beverage. I ordered only a single, but the waiter poured a very healthy double.

The only thing that was not off-the-charts awesome was the dessert. This was supposed to be lemon ice cream.

It was good, but I am guessing it was a mild lime. The English language portion of the menu said "lemon," but I'm guessing if I had read the Spanish-language dessert menu, it would've used the word for lime,

And the after dinner tea was on the house.

I really felt happy here. It doesn't happen often enough for me, but occasionally I will be somewhere where I just feel so happy that I start smiling even without thinking about it. I only find this sort of "happy place" on rare occasions, maybe only five or six times in my life. This was that sort of "happy place" for me.

Prices were on an American level, not a Guatemala level. But for an excellent gourmet-quality meal with dessert and an after-dinner drink, the bill with a (heavy) tip was about $45. Well worth it.

Diners were scarce as we are still living in the COVID era of almost nonexistent tourism. I hope places like this are still around when (or if) travel booms again.

And the band played on.