12 Best Restaurants in The Southern Coast, Belize

Above Grounds Coffee Shop

$ Fodor's choice

Above Grounds sells shade-grown, organic Guatemalan coffee straight up, in lattes, iced, or however you like it. Fresh-roasted coffee by the pound is also for sale. The bagels come from The Bistro at Maya Beach, and the fresh donuts from a lady who sells them in the village.

Maya Beach Hotel Bistro

$$$ Fodor's choice

This bistro by the beach is, hands down, one of the best restaurants in the entire country. The setting, in a covered patio by the swimming pool with breezes from the sea, which is just a few yards away, is everything you come to the Caribbean to enjoy. The menu changes regularly, but among the standards you'll go gaga over are nut-encrusted snapper and cocoa-dusted pork chop on a risotto cake. There also are nightly seafood specials. The bistro has a selection of small plates and appetizers including fish cakes, baked garlic (wonderful spread on fresh-made crackers with chutney) coconut shrimp, and honey-coconut ribs. No matter what you choose, you'll find the flavors and presentation interesting and creatively inspired. At breakfast, don't miss the fresh-made bagels or the cinnamon rolls.

The place is small and extremely popular; online reservations are essential.

Amped Coffee

$
The line forms early for Amped’s savory meat pies, baked fresh each day. They’ll fortify you for a morning of sightseeing. You may simply want to grab a table and a coffee and revel in the air-conditioning—it’s one of the few small Hopkins eateries that have it. The Amped folks also offer a rotating selection of area tours.

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Barracuda Bar & Grill

$$$

This beachside bistro, part of Beaches and Dreams Seafront Inn, is one of the best eateries on the Southern Coast, with delicious dishes like fresh grilled snapper and smoked chicken or ribs. Catch the sea breezes on the covered, open-air deck while you munch a handmade pizza or enjoy a burger.

Coconut Husk

$$

A fun dining experience on an open-air porch adjoining the Coconut Row Hotel features a menu using local and organic ingredients. Coconut Husk truly shines at breakfast with filling pancakes or fry jacks with toast and natural fruit juices. The small lunch menu gives way to tacos and a variety of wraps. Bar snacks and lighter fare, rather than a full dinner, make up the evening menu.

De Tatch Café

$$

This open-air bar and restaurant near the sea with a "tatch" (thatch) roof has long been a popular hangout in the village. Try the huge shrimp burrito and wash it down with a few cold Belikins. Breakfasts are good and hearty here, too.

Placencia Village, Stann Creek, Belize
503–3385
Known For
  • filling breakfasts
  • cool sea breezes
  • shrimp burritos
Restaurants Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed.

Innies Restaurant

$

At Innies, as at most local restaurants in the village, you're eating in a spot that was once somebody's house or back porch. Here, you can dine inside or outside and get the full flavor of village life. The food is authentic (though some dishes cater to the taste of tourists), delicious, and inexpensive. You'll find the staff very friendly. Traditional Garifuna dishes such as hudut (fish cooked in coconut milk and served with mashed plantains) and ereba (grated cassava bread) with bundiga (a gravy of grated plantains and coconut) are available, but less exotic dishes like fried chicken and rice and beans with stew chicken are also served.

191 South, Hopkins, Stann Creek, Belize
503–7333
Known For
  • traditional Garifuna cooking
  • tamer dishes such as rice and beans for the less adventurous
  • homestyle service
Restaurants Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.

King Burger

$

No, it has nothing to do with the U.S. chain Burger King, but it is one of the best places in Dangriga to get an honest plate of chicken and rice and beans. Prepared by the Cuban owner, the fresh fish is good, and, yes, so are the hamburgers. Everything's affordable, too. No alcohol is served, but you can BYOB (Bring Your Own Belikin).

135 Commerce St., Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize
522/2476
Known For
  • great fish dishes
  • friendly, local atmosphere
  • BYOB
Restaurants Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun., No credit cards

Peer's Place

$$$

The engaging German owner here makes use of locally sourced and the best of in-season ingredients to whip up an eclectic menu of European and American food. He’s quite proud of the large pork chops they serve. Fresh salads, seafood, and cakes round and a good wine selection round out the menu selection here. You’ll find secure parking, too.

Riverside Café

$

The Creole and Garifuna dishes here are hearty, tasty, and prepared fresh. The restaurant is often busy with fishermen and the guys who run boats out to Tobacco Caye and other offshore cayes, but it's basic and clean. If you're going to the islands you can arrange transportation while sipping a beer or having breakfast or a plate of rice and beans.

Riverside and Oak Sts., Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize
661-6390
Known For
  • filling breakfasts
  • hearty rice and beans
  • local fisherman's vibe
Restaurants Details
Rate Includes: No credit cards

Thongs Café

$

This European-run coffee shop and bistro is small but stylish, with Belizean wood carvings and paintings on the walls and free Wi-Fi. Expect good coffee, well-prepared breakfast omelets, and satisfying smoothies. For lunch, try the salads.

The prime tables on the front patio fill up quickly so get here early.

Wendy's

$$

Long-established Wendy's—no, not that Wendy's—always delivers good, no-frills food at reasonable prices. The Belizean breakfast of fry jack (the local version of beignets without the sugar), bacon, eggs, and refried beans is nearly perfect. The grilled fish is fresh and delicious, and at lunch there are many dishes to choose from on the lengthy menu, including Creole items like cow-foot soup or mestizo soups like escabeche or chirmole with fresh flour tortillas. On Monday, there's usually gibnut (a ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodent that is commonly hunted for food in Belize). You can dine inside or outside on the veranda, and both are pleasant.

Main St., Placencia Village, Stann Creek, Belize
523–3335
Known For
  • filling breakfasts
  • great prices
  • solid Belizean dishes like gibnut, fry jack, and cow-foot soup