Budget
Burger King
If you fancy something you know. Also open in the evening.
La Vida Verde
Good Chinese-vegetarian food. Self-service. Very popular at noon.
Most shopping malls have decent food courts with a variety of restaurants, however, they are located away from the centre. Bigger supermarkets often have a cheap self-service restaurant inside.
Supermercado El Pais
Upstairs is the buffet, with various meats, pastas and salads available. Pay by weight, ½kg around 15,000Gs. It is not recommended to dine in the evening, shortly before they close.
Restaurant Internacional
A good and not too expensive place. Sometimes with live music. Popular also with locals to hang out for a beer. Open in the evening.
Midrange
Lido Bar
Established 1954 in the style of a contemporary American cafe-bar, Lido Bar has hardly changed since. All the usual Paraguayan foods, plus a wide selection of desserts. Very popular during peak times, particularly dinner. The Fish Soup sopa pescado is famous and recommended.
Hacienda Las Palomas
Really good Mexican food not "chips & salsa Tex-Mex". The margaritas are particularly good, but the food is even better.
Shangri-La
Good Chinese food.
Confiteria/Snack Bar/Restaurant Bolsi
It has been there for decades, serving some more and some less traditional food to a mixed crowd of people.
Top end
Acuarela
For a traditional Paraguayan meal, visit "La Paraguayita."Don't miss a Brazillian steak house called a "churrasqueria."
Paraguay has a tradition for beef which is normally good quality and cheap. Grilled meat asado is the thing to eat. Pasta is also popular as are the street stalls selling panchos hot-dogs, hamburgers, empanadas and similar fast-food. Vegetables, salad and other types of meat are not that common but available. In restaurants you normally get manioc as a side dish for free similar to bread in other countries.
You must try the Paraguayan traditional food, which includes dishes like the following:
Mbeju is a starch cake made with manioc flour and cheese. Pastel madi'o is a manioc pastry stuffed with "So'o ku'Ã" or minced meat. Payagua mascada Guarani for chewing gum for dogs but has nothing to do with that is a tortilla also made with manioc and beef high in proteins and calories. The famous chipa is a kind of cheese bread made with manioc flour.
At lunch time there is no shortage of cheap restaurants to dine in or take away - you can't miss them. The places where you help yourself and pay by weight are usually very cheap and a decent option besides the slightly more expensive restaurants with their daily menu. At dinner time only very few eating places are still open and finding a good deal - especially if you are budget-conscious - is a lot harder.