El Chapin

delicious steak!

«Very inexpensive strip mall Guatemalan food»
Tucked into a strip mall next to a Subways is this small new Guatemalan restaurant. I ordered a mix of 4 appetizers for dinner, and despite paying ~$ 10 including tip, left quite full.
Garnachas ($ 1.75 each)– small but tasty crispy corn tortilla topped with meat.
Chuchitos ($ 1.75 each)– corn flour cakes with chicken– OK. Chicken had bone still inside, in my case broken with bone bits loose in the filling. Chicken tasted funny, too. I wouldn’t order this one again.
Tamales ($ 3.25 each)– I got chicken. It was fine, but mild and not tastier than other local tamales I’ve had.
Pastelitos ($ 1.25 each)– fried folded potato cakes– this was my favorite dish of the ones I got… quite tasty.
(I confess I may have the chuchito & tamale reversed in the descriptions above)
My wife had the tamalitos de chipilin ($ 1.50 each), and those were quite good & flavorful– I’d be more inclined to get those next time rather than regular tamales.
Service was EXCELLENT– they checked on us numerous times and were generally helpful.
Setting was a bit unusual with the groceries on one wall, counter in the back, and tables spread in the middle. But it was clean and welcoming.
While I confess I wasn’t thrilled with half of the dishes I ordered, the other half were quite good, and the price was amazingly cheap for the quantity of food I ordered, and the service was excellent. 3 – 4 star border, but I’ll be kind and round up (though may revisit in future visits).

I was really surprised when I stumbled across this Guatemalan restaurant tucked away in a little unsuspecting strip mall off 15 – 501. I’d never had Guatemalan food or even seen a Guatemalan restaurant anywhere, so how could I possibly not eat here? You gotta love Durham… what can I say, there really is no other place like it. Case in point, El Chapin! I don’t know if it’s authentic or not, but every time I’ve eaten here it’s been a experience filled with great food and Guatemalan exposure to the nth degree. I had no idea what to expect from here, and so far have been pleasantly surprised every time, and have also become extremely intrigued by the distinctly unique cuisine of Guatemala. For those of you who believe Latin American cuisine is all the same, I challenge you to eat here and still tell me that’s true.
it’s pretty much a given your gonna come here and see many things you’ve never even heard of. Well luckily they have a ton of inexpensive appetizers you can sample to get a feel for the place. I’d recommend trying a Garnacha for sure and possibly a Pastelito de Papa, a Chuchito, or a Guatemalan Enchilada. The Garnachas are similar to Sopes or Chalupas but distinctly different, you can’t go wrong trying them. The Pastalitos de Papa are kinda like a fried mashed potato cake topped with cabbage and great tomato sauce, my second favorite for sure. The Guatemalan Enchiladas, which are more similar to a Tostada than a Enchilada, are another must try! They have beef with diced cabbage, beets, carrots, and cilantro all piled on a Tostada shell topped with sliced onion and a hard boiled egg. That is one of the most unique things I’ve had here and it’s a winner. The Chuchitos are very similar to Tamales except that they are more oval shaped and more like a meatball coated with masa. They taste about the same as Tamales, except the ones here come with a cabbage salad and are covered in tomato sauce and white cheese.
Most of their entrees come with a full on lettuce side salad„ refried black beans, and white rice with veggies mixed in. Aside from their many grilled meat dishes they have a ton of soups and stews. My brother tried the Seafood soup here and said the broth was phenomenal. Fair warning it not only has whole shell on shrimp but also has a tilapia fish head in the bowl. You wouldn’t think so but some of the best meat is on the fish head, especially the collar. Just keep in mind that there is a lot of work involved deboning the fish and peeling the shrimp to take this dish down.
I decided to go with Pork Carne Adobada my last visit cause I love pork. The dish was huge and the pork had great flavor and wasn’t dry even though it was thin and had good char to it. Entrees come out with really thick tortillas that are a bit smaller in diameter than most corn tortillas but taste great and look like they are definitely made in house. I haven’t had a chance to try this yet, but most of the people dining here seem to be pretty fond of the Beef Churrasquito Chapin, just saying it does look pretty tasty and will probably try that next time.
If your at all into Latin American food you got to go here! The food is fresh, the dishes are unique, and the service is always fast and solid. It’s definitely a family run restaurant, and there are so many dishes here I’ve just never seen anywhere. If your in the mood for a exploratory dining experience you will have a field day here. How often do you see a Guatemalan place anyway, that alone should get you interested enough to try this place out, I doubt you’ll regret it.

This is a good addition to the local Taqueria and Latin American scene. For the record, this place is Guatemalan, not Spanish…
I got a few different Guatemalan things to sample.
–Garnachas — these were my favorite. Little crispy corn tortillas, with meat, then lettuce/​cheese/​salsa on top.
–Chuchitos — sort of like pupusas but smaller.
–Tamalitos — I guess these were like Tamales?
–Ribeye steak — my kids got this, didn’t love it, but they ate all the steak. (they’re ingrates anyway and only agreed to come here because they had just bought Magic cards.)
Like I said, I just ordered some things I had never heard of and hoped for the best, I may not have all that stuff right, I had to go back and check their menu online.
One wall is dedicated to a grocery store.
Service is above average considering you do the tray and number thing.

The people serving are not very pleasant. They lack communication skills. Also, the food is over priced and not great quality. I ordered some fried chicken and it was over cooked, tasteless. I called to make an order and the young guy who answered got annoyed when I asked him about charges they didn’t tell me about before, then he hanged up. That is why I say, they have no communication skills. Maybe because they are young, they don’t know how to treat customers. I felt that I paid a lot for their food and yet I got bad service. I hope it changes. I was very disappointed.

Delicious food! And the service is excellent!!! Please try garnachas!!! Soo good. I’m definitely returning to this place awesome food!

I’ve been here a couple times now and had a great experience both times. The service is fast, the food is fresh and tasty, and it’s reasonably priced. I hadn’t had Guatemalan food before and I’m sold! There’s also a small market, which is fun. Go here! Keep them in business!

Very good thought it was a little over priced but there is cheap options on the menu and the food is delicious

Delicious food and very attentive staff. The portions are very large (I usually have leftovers for two more meals) and the food is obviously made fresh and with care. I often go here for lunch and stay for upwards of two or three hours working on paperwork. It doesn’t matter how long I’m there. The staff still stops by to see if I need anything else and I never feel rushed to leave.

My BF and I’s first experience w/​Guatemalan food! Stopped by here while waiting for Toyota to service my car, and they took an incredibly long time so I was in this restaurant for a WHILE!
Upon first walk in, this place looks like half restaurant, half mini-​Latino grocery store! Tables decorated in traditional latino décor take up the bulk of floor space while foods for purchase border the remaining wall. There is a fountain drink machine and salsa bar (did not try). The drink machine was out of ice. Someone greeted us immediately and let us know to order up at the register.
For the food I ordered the stuffed peppers which comes with an undressed house salad, rice, and beans. My BF got the «carne guisada» which was a bit like a stew, also with the house salad, corn tortillas, and pickled red cabbage.
Portions are huge! Oh my gosh, I finished, but barely. And I took my sweet time eating. I will say, I was pleasantly surprised with the food. My pepper was nice and crispy on the outside, served nice and hot, dressed in a tomato sauce, and just overall very tasty. At first the plain salad seemed strange, but I quickly found the pepper and sauce complemented the salad well when eaten together. The corn tortillas came out super hot, flavor was there and they were good but very dense. I sampled my BF’s dish as well and it was delicious! I don’t like beans so I can’t speak to those. The food reminds me of the kind of cooking you get from a friend’s mom, and that’s always good.
Service was good. Someone checked up on us often enough and they took away our food for us at the end of the meal. We went to do it ourselves and the guy stopped us to do it for us. I just wish they had ice in their drink machine!
I’m rating this place solely on their food, but I warn ya, there is little ambiance and you do feel like you’re eating in a supermarket.

Excellent, authentic Guatemalan food. My partner (who is from Guatemala) and I have enjoyed the carne adobada, tamale de chipilin, and garnachas. This is an awesome place for Guatemalan appetizers (antojitos) in particular. The atol de elote (only available on the weekends) is also very tasty! So glad to have a Guatemalan restaurant in the Triangle!

I lived in Guatemala for more than one year, and nothing stateside has taken me back there until El Chapin. Rustic food, lovingly and skillfully prepared with great service.
I started with a refreshing homemade watermelon juice.
The corn tortillas are obviously handmade and served hot off the griddle. They accompany most entrees. As a starter, I had a crispy tostada with creamy guacamole, but many of the other ones looked good too. My meal was the Caldo de Pollo. they served it as one bowl of rich chicken broth, rice and veggies with lots of fresh cilantro. To the side was a crispy chicken thigh, cooked perfectly.
Guatemala has a rustic cuisine that utilizes lots of fresh herbs, lime juice and simple ingredients. El Chapin is Guatemalan hospitality at its best.

The food wasn’t as good as I expected and was way over priced. Lacked in pretty much every aspect of how a restaurant should be. Service was slow, food was not good and priced higher than it should. I had really high expectations for this restaurant but so far has really disappointed. I’m from Guatemala and I really want this business to succeed. I might try again in month and see how they’re doing but for now 2 stars is well deserved.