Paraguayan cooking is hearty, starchy, and deeply tied to Guaraní tradition. Cassava (mandioca) is the staple carbohydrate — it appears boiled alongside almost every meal, much as bread does elsewhere. Meat is central: Paraguay has a long cattle-ranching tradition and the asado (grilled beef) here is excellent.
Sopa paraguaya is the national dish, and it's not soup despite the name. It's a dense, savoury cornbread made with corn flour, fresh cheese, eggs, and milk — somewhere between a corn cake and a soufflé, baked in a clay pot. You'll find it at almost every family meal and market stall.
Chipa are small, chewy cheese rolls made from cassava starch rather than wheat flour, giving them a distinctive texture. They're sold on every street corner, at bus stations, and from baskets carried by vendors on long-distance coaches. Warm from the oven, they're hard to resist.
Mbejú is a flat cassava-starch pancake, often eaten at breakfast with tereré or mate. Simple and filling.
Tereré is the national drink — cold yerba mate infused with iced water and often mixed with medicinal herbs. You'll see Paraguayans drinking it from a metal straw (bombilla) at all hours, sharing the same vessel communally. Being offered tereré is a social gesture; accepting is polite. Hot mate is also common in the cooler months.
Restaurants in Asuncion range from basic parrillas to decent international options. Outside the capital, eating is simple: set-lunch menus (the almuerzo) at local restaurants offer soup, a main dish of beef or chicken with mandioca, and dessert for very little money. In Mennonite towns like Filadelfia, dairy products and German-style bakeries are a welcome surprise.
Street food is worth exploring: chipa guasú (corn and cheese cake), mbeju, and various fried snacks are sold at markets and bus terminals throughout the country.