Restaurants in Southern Belize
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Earth Runnins’
Earth Runnins’ Every now and then, you come across a restaurant run by someone for whom food preparation is a matter of ‘artistry’ first and ‘business’ second. Earth Runnins’ is such a place. At this restaurant, a party of four can order four separate dishes, which, though nutritionally similar in composition (meat or fish, starch, vegetable), are completely different in presentation, texture and flavor; each one offers something worth raving about. The decor is also fabulous, with mahogany furniture and walls painted in rich earth tones, and there’s a fine bar where you can have a few ice-cold Belikins while waiting for your meal.
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Marian’s Bayview Restaurant
A 3rd-floor outdoor eatery with an amazing view over the Gulf of Honduras, this place is worth visiting for the ambience alone. But add to the mix excellent East Indian cuisine dished up by Marian and her husband Hubert, and some of the wickedest homemade hot sauce south of the Rio Grande (you can bring a bottle home for BZ$5; watch out, it’s a slow burn!), and you’ve got one of the best little restaurants in Punta Gorda. Very popular with locals, visitors and Peace Corps recruits alike.
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Il Tempio
Multicultural is the first word that comes to mind with this place, built to resemble a cross between a Mexican hacienda and a Maya pyramid, with a set of antique redwood Chinese doors thrown in for good measure. Inside, however, the food is strictly Italian, served by the Roman owner Stefano Parisse. Prices are steep for the area, but meals are expertly prepared. It doesn’t get more eclectic than this.
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Purple Space Monkey
This place is garish, done up in wild shades of hot pink, lemony yellows and key lime greens. But what do you expect from a place called Purple Space Monkey? Free internet, good cuisine (Belizean and Western) and a decent book-swap library. Portions aren’t huge, but they’ll refill your coffee mug (if you ask nicely). Be warned: Wednesday night is karaoke night.
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Marencos
For a place in southern Belize, Marencos serves up some suspiciously good American-style food, including fine double cheeseburgers, french fries and Coke floats with vanilla ice cream. If it weren’t for the presence of some Belizean dishes on the menu, you might think you’d stepped into a scene from American Graffiti.
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Waluco’s
If you’re wondering where everybody is on Saturday or Sunday afternoon, they’re probably out at this big breezy palapa a mile northeast of town, swimming off the pier, eating barbecue and knocking back a few Belikins. It’s normally open Tuesday to Saturday evenings, too, and Garifuna drummers often play here.
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Roots Kitchen
The place in Dangriga to eat like the locals do. In addition to the usual Belizean standards, such as beans and rice with stew beef or chicken, Roots is also known for its Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Garifuna feasts, when chef Delone cooks up fish stewed in coconut milk, served with hudut, a paste made from plantain.
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Cedar Street Deli
This is a sight for sore eyes in a country where heart-healthy food is hard to come by. Open for lunch only, it serves salads, homemade lasagna and other distinctly non-Belizean dishes. There wasn’t a sign on the restaurant the last time we went, so look for the red and green doorway on the lower corner of a yellow house.
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Riverside Café
Just east of the Stann Creek bridge, this cafe is the place to meet fishers and the folks who do boat tours to the outlying cayes. Food is good and the fish is always fresh. Don’t expect a full lobster for BZ$25 (the costliest item on the menu); it’s only a Mars Bar–sized tail, tasty but expensive.
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Starlight Restaurant
The best Chinese restaurant in Dangriga, and probably one of the better ones in Belize. Starlight has been in operation for decades, and serves a good variety of traditional Chinese dishes using local ingredients. For some real Sino-Belizean fusion, try the conch chow mein. Lobster noodles are a surprising bargain.
reviewed
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Trattoria Placencia
The trattoria serves great handmade pasta, seafood and salads in a cozy wooden cabin with a terrace opening onto the beach. The fettuccine with smoked chicken and broccoli is hard to beat. Located next to Julia & Lawrence Guesthouse, it is in the busy part of town. Get there by 6pm to 6:30pm to avoid a wait.
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Grace’s Restaurant
A longtime favorite of locals and travelers alike, Grace’s offers a wide range of dishes, from Belizean favorites such as stew chicken, fried fish, and rice and beans to more exotic fare, including Chinese food and even grilled lobster for those with deeper pockets. Breakfasts are especially good value.
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Cella’s Pizza House
A cool-looking pizza joint in a private home at the north end of town, Cella’s serves good pizza and bottled beer in a fairly untrodden section of Dangriga. A bit pricey, but understandable as all ingredients are imported. (Pizza is definitely not native to Belize!)
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King Burger
No relation to the chain restaurant of the reversed name, King Burger serves reliably fresh though somewhat mediocre breakfasts of eggs, beans and fryjacks for BZ$6.50, as well as hamburgers and plates of fried shrimp. Coffee is instant, but juices are fresh.
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Serenade Restaurant
Even if you aren’t staying at the hotel next door, you’ll still be serenaded by its wind chimes at this patio restaurant serving Belizean seafood, chicken and meat dishes. Feeling adventurous? Try the gibnut stew, a specialty of the house.
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De-Tatch Café
Head to this popular, thatched-roof, open-air beachside place for satisfying Caribbean, Belizean and North American dishes. Favorites include the coconut shrimp curry, charbroiled steaks and chicken in mango-rum sauce. Internet access too.
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The Shak
Indian curries, healthy Mexican dishes and excellent smoothies all served with pride by the lovely Magda. With the exception of the occasional fish dish, all dishes are 100% meat free. For vegetarians, this must be the place.
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Karen’s Delight
Another unassuming, small shack restaurant serving wonderfully prepared local dishes, such as fry fish (caught daily) and stew chicken and beef. Karen makes some of the meanest pickled peppers you’ll find in town.
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Cozy Corner Restaurant
A popular open-air beachside palapa, Cozy Corner scores with generous portions of seafood, steaks, chicken and burgers – and several types of enormous burritos for BZ$10 or less.
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Tommy’s Restaurant
A decent Chinese restaurant, Tommy’s serves up localized Chinese dishes such as conch fried rice and lobster chow mein. Try the fried stuffed crab claw (BZ$30), expensive but tasty.
reviewed
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Hang Cheong Restaurant
One of the few Chinese restaurants in town, Hang Cheong seems to enjoy the best reputation (if lunchtime crowd sizes are anything to go by).
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Gomier’s
Serves excellent vegetarian cuisine; the tofu-based ice cream is absolutely to die for.
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The Snack Shack
A popular outdoor venue serving burgers, burritos, sandwiches and pastries.
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