Always a good quick and inexpensive meal - the food is fresh. Anything you order is pretty authentic to the cuisine. BUT the best part in my opinion, is the condiment bar!! Load up on everything to elevate your meal. Can't go wrong!

I have returned a few times. The space has been remodeled with more seating. Service is still on the slower side, but courteous. The food is still excellent. I took my vegan wife and children and they struggled to find things on the medu that they could eat.

Visited El Chapin towards the end of the lunch rush. It was pretty full when I arrived but empty when I was paying my bill. I was sat by the window. I wasn't able to get a sense of beverage options so I just got a water and then ordered the Hot Dog Mi Tierra. I was excited to try a Guatemalan hot dog. The food came out relatively quickly. It was two hot dogs with fries as the side which was a pleasant surprise. This hot dog was fried, the bun interior covered with guacamole and the dog topped with cabbage, ketchup, mayo, mustard, and a cheese (crumbly, cotija-like). The hot dogs were good. Loaded with the toppings, a good bite, and a slightly toasted bun. The fries weren't seasoned which was disappointing because I bet they could come up with an awesome spice blend for the fries. The biggest let down was probably the service. Even as I sat alone in the dining area at the end of my meal with my empty plate at the edge of the table, it still look 8-10 minutes for anyone to bring my check. I know they were focused on cleaning up after lunch, just wish someone had checked on me sooner. All in all, pretty good. I'd definitely return to try more of their menu.

I've ordered takeout from El Chapin many times and have always received excellent food and service. Their menu is awesome and I'm glad they're here.

Was in the area, read the reviews and we ran over here. Overall it's a very informal dining area within a small market. The food was good and the service as well. The prices I think were a little steep. We ordered caldo de res and was asked if we wanted it with rice and avocado, my mistake was assuming it came with it, at the end we paid like $20.50 each per soup, rice and quarter avocado which in my opinion was steep. The avocado alone was like 3.25 for not a whole one. In NY they're 1.25 for a whole one so to me that was a lot. Anyways, would I return, yes. I just know better for next time.

A little Guatemalan place. Food is good. Service could be better. I got a little nostalgic of Guatemala as they played music and the food flavors are great. You can buy bread but the last time I bought it, it was a bit burned. It is what they advertise to be.

I am not well-traveled enough to know what is/is not "authentic Guatemalan food". What I do know is the following: 1) The food here is super tasty. I've only tried their various appetizers so far - I think it's more fun to have a little of lots of things rather than just one big plate - and they've all been flavorful. Even the cooked cabbage side that came with my papusa was delicious. 2) I've been here a couple of times at random off peak hours (e.g. 4 pm), and there's always several Latine folks eating and enjoying themselves. I'd call this place low key/unassuming rather than a "hole in the wall". The service has always been friendly, and the ladies room has a changing table in it, so I'd consider them super family friendly as well.

Durham needs more places like El Chapin - affordable, upbeat, and no-frills. I'm not generally a fan of Central American food, but the Plato Típico Chapin won me over - I actually went back a week later and ordered the same thing again! It's enough food for two people if you add an appetizer (probably even if you don't) and just varied enough to keep you both interested. The folded potato cakes are a nice crispy alternative to fries, and a better vehicle for sauce should you choose to use them that way. I think this was my first time having garnachas - like a little crispy mini-hamburger. And the stuffed pepper was truly stuffed - oozing with meat, cheese, and ribbons of some kind of leafy green and maybe part of the pepper, too. I kind of wish it came with beans in addition to rice, but no problem - just order it with one of their incredibly moist bean tamales. My dining partner got the chicharrones, which were also excellent - crunchy without being tough and hay-like on the inside. I recommend their mango juice (not too sweet, very fresh-tasting) and their champurrado (also not excessively sweet, very cinnamony).

Wonderful rustic Guatemalan food located in SW Durham. This restaurant located in unassuming strip mall. Inside is a store/ restaurant with non-perishable goods and marinated meats to purchase to take home and grill. While it would be helpful if you spoke Spanish, there were plenty of Anglo speakers for monolingual customers. While I don't normally bring this up... I'll just say that one becomes extra thirsty when eating at the restaurant if you get my drift. The male and female staff were trim and lovely, respectively. Appetizer was 3 pupusas; loroco, Queso and revueltas. They were wonderful, I do wish the curtido was a bit more crunchy, but there's a salsa bar for some additional texture. Came out pipping hot and not too oily. Entrees: Carne Guisado & Churrasquito Chapin. The Guisado was lovely this time of year and warmed me up. More of a soup than stew, it had an interesting cereal undertone which I think is corn? It felt hearty without being overly thick. The Churrasquito grilled beef was tasty, comes with some tortillas if you want carbs, but otherwise very keto friendly. The grilled onion was a nice touch. The extra Longaniza were a bit salty for our preference. While I have consumed Central American food before, I'm not too familiar with Guatemalan. That being said, I'm very pleased to say this place is worth a visit.

TLDR: You want mostly authentic Guatemalan food with friendly service and lots of options stop here. It frustrates me a little when I see reviews from so-called Elites talking about all Latin American food with a blanket description of "Mexican Food". They both use many of the same base ingredients because that was what was available however Mexican leans more towards Spanish inspirations and Guatemalan has a bit more Mayan influence. Guatemalan foods are those like "Pollo En Pepian" which El Chapin offers and makes correctly and well. I recommend trying this with a side of plantains and pupusas. Technically pupusa is a bit more El Salvadorian (and I've had authentic ones from an older generation of El Salvadorian immigrants which were amazing) but in the triangle area this is about as good as it gets for pupusas if you're going out. Staff is always nice and are used to dealing with the ignorance of not pronouncing the menu options properly or in one case a couple next to me ordered and then later had no idea what they ordered then asked to see the menu while complaining one of their dishes wasn't up to temp. The staff was very nice and accommodating but there's little worse than people looking dumb when they think they are right about something. If you don't even know what food you chosen for yourself (even though you just told someone 10 minutes ago) how do you know if it is at the correct temperature? Some people I'm convinced you could throw any random plate of food down and if it was plated well or looked exotic enough to them they wouldn't know the difference. Anyway, I digress... If there's any real criticism of this place in my opinion is that the menu is too large and they need to do away with some of the hotdog and hamburger offerings that don't really go with the theme of the restaurant and muddy up the menu. Overall a great go-to place when I'm looking for some comfort food!