3 Best Restaurants in The Deep South, Belize

Count your lucky stars if you find Gomier’s open—the owner doesn’t always follow his posted hours—and enjoy an excellent vegetarian or vegan meal from organic ingredients grown locally, along with some seafood. Go with the vegetarian dish of the day, which could be stir-fried tofu or vegan spaghetti. Fresh seafood dishes, such as shrimp curry, sometimes are available. Garifuna hudut (green and ripe mashed plantains with fish and coconut stew) lunches are on Friday, and there's live music or documentary movies some nights. Prices are reasonable. The owner also offers tofu-making and cooking classes.

An established spot, Grace's has genuine value, a down-home feel, and hearty plates of beans and rice and other Belizean staples on the menu. Get a seat near the entrance and eye the town's street life. This is a good place for a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, fry jacks (a Belizean version of a Mexican sopapilla), and, of course, beans. For lunch and dinner you can always get chicken, but you can usually get fresh fish, too, plus pizza, chow mein, hamburgers, and several dozen other dishes.

Burritos are the thing here, and in fact usually just about the only thing, except for smoothies, shakes, coffee, and the occasional daily special. You get a selection of fillings and type of flour tortilla. The huge breakfast burrito easily serves two. It's mostly a take-out spot. There are a few tables on the patio for open-air dining, but the view is only of a neighboring parking lot.