La Guagua offers culinary tour of Central, South American nations

SUSAN HILAND SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

La Guagua Latin Café is a family business that brings the tastes of many Latin countries together under one roof.

The owners’ dream of opening a café started back in 2020 but with the pandemic raging, they felt it was not the best time to open a new business, manager Fernanea Flores said.

“We started looking for a space and it was very difficult,” Flores said.

Eventually they decided on a spot in the Marina Shopping Center.

“They thought about opening in Vacaville but this just felt like the place it should be,” she said.

“We wanted a restaurant that celebrated Latinos and showcased the many flavors and cultures of their countries,” Flores said.

Visitors to La Guagua can taste candies from Mexico and dive in to dishes from Puerto Rico, Cuba, El Salvador and Peru, to name just a few places.

“This is a very diverse family,” Flores said. “We all come with different favorite recipes.”

A lot of people get confused thinking this is a traditional Mexican restaurant. It is not; it is a restaurant with the flavors of many Latin countries all in one place.

The name “guaguas” in many Latin countries refers to buses, which is a little like the experience of eating at La Guagua because it’s a ride through the cuisine of many nations.

The restaurant offers a mix of diverse traditional plates, baked goods, homemade empanadas, drinks, and coffee from Latin America.

One of the challenges with that is the spicing because many of the spices are not ones found in the United States.

“We found a wholesale place in San Francisco that helps us with that issue,” Flores said.

The cafe has partnered with Vasquez Coffee, a local coffee roaster in San Francisco that imports the best coffee beans from multiple Latin

American countries.

“She brings in beans from all over,” Flores said.

La Guagua also offers a special of the month, changing out dishes each month from different countries.

The cafe is not just a restaurant but also a bakery and coffee shop.

“Everything here is homemade,” Flores said. “Our breads, our pastries and our dishes.”

The recipes at La Guaguas are from the homes of family members.

“The mission is to share with the customers dishes the way we love them,” Flores said.