One of my favorite things about vacation is eating traditional cuisine, and not caring about diets, health, etc… and really just eating good. Mitch and I most definitely did this during our trip to Belize. We ate good pretty much every single meal. There were so many restaurants on the small island of San Pedro, it took some good research and simply just asking the locals what their favorites were.
Breakfast
The Baker
Our first morning, Mitch and I stumbled upon the cutest little bakery called The Baker. It seemed like a great little place to grab a light breakfast. There were tons of fresh bread and baked goods. I had a croissant, and Mitch had a massive cinnamon roll. I also had a strawberry banana smoothie that was so fresh and refreshing! Mitch said his fresh squeezed orange juice was some of the best he’s ever had. We enjoyed our quiet morning sitting outside and watching the world of San Pedro go by – people going to work, children going to school, and tourists heading to the beach for the day.
Rum + Bean
Rum + Bean was the only restaurant we actually went to at our resort. We felt that everything on the resort was over-priced and we wanted something more traditional and local. However, this little coffee shop was right outside our little island hut, and it was a true hidden gem. It is completely open to the public, and they serve coffee in the morning, and then cocktails in the afternoon/evening. We both had caramel iced lattes and they were some of the best I’ve had. They were made with local coffee beans, and they were so nice in the hot morning. We actually went there twice. The second time we picked up a couple pastries to bring snorkeling with us.
Estel’s
We read a lot about this place, and honestly didn’t get to try it out until our last morning about an hour before we were heading to the airport. This massive turquoise house sits right on the beach, and you can watch the ocean with your toes in the sand while you enjoy your breakfast. We enjoyed some watermelon mimosas and I had some yummy banana pancakes, while Mitch had a Belizean breakfast burrito. This was definitely a good option to fill up on food before a long day of travel.
Lunch
Truck Stop
The Truck Stop was a place I knew I wanted to try during our time on the island. We decided to stop one time on our way home from Secret Beach. The Truck Stop is a one stop party. There are food trucks, a food truck bar, pool, yard games, hammocks, ice cream, anything you could ever want on a hot day, the Truck Stop has it. We decided to take a small break from traditional food and have some Asian. We had amazing pad Thai and chicken satay. It was so so yummy! The Truck Stop is a must if you are on the island in my book.
Dinner
Caramba
Caramba was the first meal we had while in Belize, and it was hands down one of the best. Our hotel recommended this restaurant to us, and it did not disappoint. Full of Belizean dishes and fresh seafood, I knew it was going to be up Mitch’s and mine alley. Mitch and I decided to “go fishing” for our dinner. This means that you meet Charlie outside, and he takes you down the line of all of the day’s fresh catches. From so many different types of fish to crab legs, to calamari, to octopus, we were in for a real treat. After asking Charlie for his recommendations we decided on a local fish called a Porky, a Hog Snapper, and Snow Crab Legs. HOLY MOLY! It was so delicious. It came prepared with rice and beans and fried plantains.
Happy Grouper
There’s nothing I love more than a good hole in the wall restaurant. Let me tell you this was the best hole in the wall and our favorite restaurant of the trip. Happy Grouper comfortably has 6 tables with a sand floor and the nicest down to earth owner. Now I have to give a shoutout to my mother who actually found this restaurant for us. If you are ever in San Pedro you will most definitely pass this place if you are not looking for it. It is to the left of the soccer field down a side road off the main road. I am so happy we found this little gem. I enjoyed a fresh watermelon rum punch, while Mitch had his signature lime rum punch. We started off with a wonderful shrimp ceviche, which I am drooling thinking about. For our main entrees, I had the garlic butter fish, and Mitch had a cajun Belizean fusion fish. I am not exaggerating when I say we were both licking our plates it was so delicious.
Elvi’s Kitchen
Elvi’s Kitchen is one of the most famous and popular restaurants for tourists in San Pedro. It is known for its traditional cuisine and sand floor. So we decided to give it a try since pretty much everything I read said that this was a good restaurant. We waited around 40 minutes to get our table, it was extremely full of tourists. We sat down and ordered an appetizer of fried avocado with crab to begin. It was very good – extremely small, but good. I had the Mayan fish, which was a red fish cooked in a banana leaf with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Mitch had red fish in a black bean sauce. Both of our dishes were prepared beautifully. This place was a good experience since it is so well known on the island, but truthfully we thought it was a little overpriced and touristy.
Dessert
Las Paletas
Mitch and I stumbled upon this little joint just cruising around in our golf cart. It was 88 degrees and we both wanted something cold. I saw the popsicle sign and made him whip around so we could check it out. It was the perfect sweet snack! They had fruit juice popsicles or cream popsicles. We both decided on the fruit juice ones. I got a watermelon lime and Mitch got a strawberry. In total we paid $2.00 USD for 2 popsicles. It was so cheap and so yummy I wanted to take 3 more to go!
Parad-ice cream
Who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot night? This ice cream place is right across the street from the airport and has so many flavor options. We heard from so many people that we met that this was the ice cream parlor to try, so we listened and we were happy we did. Mitch was a little boring and got a simple vanilla, while I got chocolate brownie. They were both great. I mean who doesn’t love a good ice cream cone? Fair warning this place is cash only, but it only cost us around $4 USD for the 2 ice cream cones.
Eating is one of my favorite activities on a vacation. Mitch and I definitely hit a few home runs with the places we found. I hope that if you ever find yourself on San Pedro island, you will check out a few of these yummy places!
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