9 Best Restaurants in The Cayo District, Belize

This little open-air restaurant near Xunantunich has won many fans who come for hearty Mayan, mestizo, and Creole dishes at rock-bottom prices. You'll find mostly locals here, many from San Ignacio, Benque Viejo, and other parts of Cayo District. Most items on the menu are BZ$12 or less, including chilimole (chicken with mole sauce), cow-foot soup, Belizean escabeche (marinated fish or meat), and stew pork with rice, beans, and plantains. You can make a meal of the mestizo appetizers including salbutes (puffed fried tortilla with meat), tostadas, and empanadas, most under BZ$2 each. The classic Mayan pibil (pork cooked in an underground oven) is sometimes on the menu. The banana and mango licuados (milk shakes) are delicious, and you can also enjoy the official national drinks of Belize, Belikin and Fanta.

Inside the Sleeping Giant Lodge, you'll find a gastronomic delight. In a beautiful setting, The Grove House serves up fresh-from-the-field, homemade meals that look amazing and taste even better. Start with homemade bread and fresh churned butter; for breakfast, try the stuffed fry jacks. At dinner, the coconut shrimp is a surefire hit.

Located in a remodeled colonial framehouse on the far end of Burns Avenue, Guava Limb Café serves an eclectic mix of delicious soups, seafood, salads, and local and American dishes that have given it a reputation as the best restaurant in San Ignacio. Run by the owners of The Lodge at Chaa Creek, there's open-air seating and a bar on the first level, while a second-level veranda overlooks Macal River Park. You'll enjoy fresh, artful dishes like herb and garlic pan-seared shrimp with butternut squash bisque and jasmine rice, or glazed spare ribs with potato croquettes.

From the Mayan language, Ko-Ox Han-Nah roughly translates to "let's go eat." It's far from fancy—you eat on simple tables in what is essentially a large open-front building on busy Burns Avenue—but service is cheerful, and the food is inexpensive and well prepared. Much of the food is raised on the farm of the Zimbabwe-born owner. In addition to the usual Belizean beans-and-rice dishes, Ko-Ox Han-Nah serves fusion food influenced by Mexican, Southeast Asian, and North and South Indian cooking, with salads, sandwiches, burritos, Burmese dishes, Cambodian and Korean chicken dishes, and Indian lamb curries.

In business since 1984, the Caladium is one of the oldest businesses in this young capital. Most Belizeans know it, since it's next to the bus station at Market Square. Here you'll find many of the country's favorites on the menu, including fried chicken, tender barbecued pork ribs, traditional rice and beans with chicken, beef, or pork, and conch soup. It's authentic, clean, affordable, well run, and air-conditioned.

The vegetarian breakfast and lunch menu has yummy fare like waffles, veggie dumplings, and vegetarian sandwiches. If you're looking for a sweet treat look no further. Stop in for nutty caramel cheesecake, donuts, or homemade ice cream. A full line of hot and cold drinks includes coffee, tea, smoothies, and milkshakes. Bring your own to-go cup for 50¢ off.

Nothing fancy here, just down-home Belizean dishes at moderate prices, and that's exactly why it's popular. Go for the traditional beans-and-rice dishes or a fish platter; the ceviche is good, too. If you're in the mood for something else, you can get a pizza. It's a couple of blocks off the main drag, so it's quieter and more relaxing here, whether you dine on the veranda or inside in the homey dining room.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a faster, tastier, cheaper Belizean meal than at this hole in the wall. Grab and go breakfast burritos will fill you up before a tour and the watermelon or lime juice will keep you hydrated. Seating is very limited so take your feast down the street for a picnic in the park.

The most popular place for breakfast in San Ignacio is here at Pop's, where it's served all day from 6:30 am to 3 pm. You can get an American full breakfast here, but you can also try a Belizean breakfast such as a cheese and chaya omelet, Belizean bacon, refried beans, and fry jacks.