A new Guatemalan restaurant that grew out of a Richmond food truck is drawing more customers in search of good eats to El Cerrito.

Antojitos Guatemaltecos (11252 San Pablo Ave.) is serving up traditional Guatemalan cuisine in an unassuming but pleasant storefront on San Pablo Avenue near Potrero Avenue. The appearance of the new spot further revitalizes a stretch of San Pablo that already houses the popular local eateries Tashi Delek Cuisine (Tibetan/Indian/Nepali) and Los Moles Beer Garden (Mexican).

An appetizer of dobladas, served with cabbage, avocado, sour cream and cheese. | Photo: Laila Weir/Hoodline

It's a stretch of the sometimes-seedy, sometimes-up-and-coming San Pablo corridor that connects the East Bay's bayside towns. To the south, new wine bar Banter Wine is making a bid to draw more local traffic and visitors alike. To the north, local gems like El Mono Peruvian restaurant hide away in quiet shopping centers. 

In El Cerrito, a 2014 city plan aims to transform its stretch of the avenue from just "a thoroughfare" into "a place that provides opportunities for living, working and community life." It's a goal that has felt closer on some blocks than others, but a recent burst of new businesses, including Antojitos Guatemaltecos, is bringing more of the avenue to life.

The restaurant's stretch of San Pablo Avenue. |  Photo: Laila Weir/Hoodline

The restaurant's interior. |  Photo: Laila Weir/Hoodline

The Guatemalan eatery offers a selection of specialties from the Central American country, including dobladas – Guatemalan empanadas that the restaurant offers with beef or vegetarian filling ($13 for an appetizer with four), Guatemalan rice tamales ($5), and fried plantains ($5, including a decadent version of fried plantains filled with custard). 

Main dishes include traditional Guatemalan plates with options like chuleta adobada (bone-in pork, $14), churrasco chapin (carne asada, $17) or fried shrimp ($15) served with rice, beans, fried plantains, collard greens, and other sides. 

An appetizer of fried plantains with beans and sour cream. | Photo: Laila Weir/Hoodline

There's also fried chicken, more-familiar corn tamales, chile relleno and more. The reasonably priced (non-alcoholic) beverages include horchata; agua de nance, a mildly sweet fresh juice made from small yellow fruit known as nance or nanche; hot atole de elota, a sweet corn drink; and hot atole de haba, made with fava bean flour.

Overall, the menu selection was crowd-pleasing, with something for everyone, and the service was friendly. After a tasty meal that started with fried dobladas so fresh they were still piping hot, the servers brought a complimentary dessert of churros with strawberry sauce.

Fresh churros. | Photo: Laila Weir/Hoodline

The restaurant also features a shopping corner with a small selection of packaged Guatemalan snacks and candy, as well as Guatemalan gifts for purchase.

Antojitos Guatemaltecos is located at 11252 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito. For more information, call (510) 224-8018 or visit www.facebook.com/antojitosguatemaltecoss/.