Restaurants in Belize for Divers

Belizean Dishes to Try

• Rice and beans with stew chicken. The national comfort food: red kidney beans cooked with rice in coconut milk, served with chicken in a rich, dark stew and usually potato salad or fried plantain. Look for it at lunchtime in local cafés.
• Fry jacks. Puffy fried dough served at breakfast with beans, eggs and jam or honey. Filling enough to carry you through a two-tank morning.
• Ceviche and conch fritters. Fresh lime-cured seafood and crispy fritters are on menus all along the coast, in season.
• Hudut. A Garifuna dish of fish in a seasoned coconut broth with mashed plantain, found in southern towns such as Hopkins, Dangriga and Placencia.
• Salbutes, panades and tamales. Mestizo street snacks: small fried tortillas topped with chicken and cabbage, crispy filled turnovers, and corn tamales steamed in leaves. Cheap, quick and good between dives.
• Grilled lobster and fresh fish. Spiny lobster is the star of the season, grilled with garlic butter or added to pasta, burritos and even pizza. Snapper and grouper are staples the rest of the year.
• Hot sauce. Bottles of habanero pepper sauce made in Belize sit on almost every table. Try a drop before you pour.

Prices and Tipping

Menus in the tourist areas often list prices in Belize dollars, which are fixed at two to one US dollar, so a price that looks high may be half what you expect. Ask which currency a menu uses, and check the bill for a service charge before adding a tip. Local cafés and street stalls are far cheaper than beachfront restaurants and are often where the best home cooking is found.

Lobster Season

Belize closes its spiny lobster fishery for part of each year to protect the population, so lobster is only on menus in the open season, which usually begins in mid-June. The opening is celebrated with lobster festivals in San Pedro, Caye Caulker and Placencia, with food stalls, music and every lobster dish you can imagine. Dates are set by the Belize Fisheries Department, so check the current season before you plan a trip around it. Out of season, choose fish or other seafood instead, and never buy undersized lobster or lobster offered during the closed season.

Planning a trip around lobster? Our post on Belize lobster season covers Lobsterfest, the closed season and lobster dishes to try.

Where to Eat in the Dive Towns

Ambergris Caye (San Pedro)

The island with the most dive shops also has the widest choice of food, from beach bars and taco stands to fine dining. Golf carts and bikes make it easy to try a different place every night, and many restaurants sit right on the water. Ask your dive crew where they eat: the best local spots are often a short walk back from the beach.

Caye Caulker

Caye Caulker’s “go slow” pace carries over to its food. Expect simple seafood grills along the main street, fresh fruit stands, bakeries and casual bars at the Split, where the island is divided by a narrow channel. Prices are usually lower than on Ambergris Caye.

Placencia and Hopkins

The southern peninsula mixes beachfront restaurants and Garifuna home cooking. Hopkins is a good place to try hudut and other Garifuna dishes, often with drumming in the evening.

The atolls and liveaboards

On an atoll lodge or a liveaboard, meals are usually included and served on a schedule built around the dives. Tell the operator about allergies or dietary needs when you book, because there are no shops to fall back on once you are out on the reef. Our Belize dive accommodations guide explains what each type of stay includes.

Eating and Drinking Around Your Dives

• Eat a light, early breakfast. A heavy meal right before a rocking boat ride is a recipe for seasickness. Fruit, toast or a fry jack with eggs is plenty.
• Drink plenty of water. Heat, sun and dry tank air all dehydrate you, and dehydration is thought to raise the risk of decompression sickness. Carry a refillable bottle and top it up on the boat.
• Save the beer and rum punch for after the last dive. Belize’s local lager and fruit-filled rum punches are part of the fun, but alcohol and diving do not mix. Have them in the evening, not between morning and afternoon dives.
• Choose sustainable seafood. Respect the closed seasons for lobster and conch and avoid parrotfish, which keep the reef clean of algae.
• Pack snacks for long trips. Atoll and Blue Hole days are long. Most operators provide lunch, but bring extra snacks if you get hungry between dives.

Plan the Rest of Your Trip

Good food is one part of a great dive holiday. Use our Belize dive travel guide to plan flights and transfers, read how to choose a Belize dive shop, and check our scuba diving gear guide for Belize before you pack.