Hi Guys, ok - i am here on the island now - - please tell me where you guys eat affordable food in or around town - - everything is SOOOOO expensive - many things are more than twice as much as Canada or the States... I have been living off pupusas, tostadas and tacos from some of the street vendors (which is good food but i would like to change it up from time to time).

Also, is there a place someone can get a drink that isnt twice as much as the States or Canada? so far the cheapest margarita has been $15.oo BZD.

thanks guys.

Marino's has cheap cold beer.

Drink local rum or Belikin beer and it isn't expensive. Especially at happy hours.

I've never considered the food in San Pedro to be really expensive, unless you eat at the high end places. Try The Reef, El Patio, Caramba's, Jam-Bel Jerk. It just depends on what you order. El Divino at Banana Beach has some very good and very affordable options. There's also decent Chinese carry-out (although darned if I know the names of the places). Try El Fogon for local food at decent prices.

I'm only there occasionally, I'm sure others have lots more ideas and suggestions.

Waruguma's has great lobster burritos and ceviche too. It may seem expensive but you will get several meals out of one burrito.

Eat like the locals and it is very inexpensive. Eat like a tourist and it willcost more. Chiken rice and beans from the strret is the best value from my experience. But I had tacos for breakast chicken rice and beans for lunch and pupusas for dinner 15.00 bz for a days meal. Beat that Rachel Ray. I also had acouple of $100.00 meals. all depends on what you are after. keith

Hummmm? The only place we thought was pricy was the place just north of BC's. Can't remember the name but the food was wonderful.

Blue WATER GRILL ?

That's it. Very good food.

We also went to the place between Blue Water and Rubies. Not impressed with the hostess there at..... all. :- Food was fine though.

We didn't have a bad meal on AC. Favorite was on the street one away from the beach side. Middle streed? Want to say it was Mexican style with several a killer snapper dishes. Starts with a C ??

I have eaten from several of the street vendors - never a bad meal for me. Also have eaten at a number of other establishments - my favorite based on taste and value was Elvi's. The evening I was there they were packed. They had their Mayan buffet and a dinner special that was enough to last a number of meals.

I have to say, I have not had a bad meal on AC and that is after quite a sampling.

If you go to Belize and order imported Mexican booze, it's going to be a bit expensive, just as if you go to New York and order pricey imported French wines. When in Rome ...

--Lan Sluder

Nancy would be thinking of Caramba's.....one of my favs.

And a certain admin/journalist would delete this if I named a certain good, inexpensive (local) restaurant located a 2 minute walk N of Banyan Bay and 30 seconds S of Marina's store.

begins with an a??? Trying to get my bearings.

.....Happy Birthday terrielinn.....

Thanks Chloe - Hope to not be getting older - just better

Mangos (referenced earlier I believe as the place between Blue Water and Rubies) has some nice apps. I made a meal of apps and a salad a couple nights and it was reasonable and very tasty.

Thanks KLCman, you are correct. Very good and great service.


We didn't go to Belize to order Mexican booze. Do they have it there? Though I would have liked to have a good dark beer.

Sal777, that's the name of it. They have a great menu and I agree about the appetizers. Very good.

thanks for the info guys - I have had good experices with the street vendors here as well - - but there will be a couple of kids joining us on the island in a couple of days and finding a good burger/fries place has been impossible - - by "good" i mean cheap.
So far, asside from the street vendors, everything else we have eaten has been far more expensive then back home. pizza was like 45.00BZD - for a pizza you wouldnt pay more than 10-15 dollars for at boston pizza back home. had a stir fry too - checked the price before hand and thought it seemed just slightly over "reasonable" but when i got the bill it said that all prices were in US dollars!!! What the heck... why would you have US prices in Belize? needless to say i was a bit shocked.

Ok i have vented enough - - asside from the food (prices), the island has been really good so far - But thank you all for your suggestions, i will check out all of your recomendations - we are here for a few more weeks yet.

Blue Moon in front of Big Daddy's does very reasonable and tasty burgers. Nice location too.

Hi Canuker...as far as the pizza price goes you have to remember that cheese is crazy expensive down here and so is the toppings thats why pizza is not a cheap meal option here.
Go to Celi's or Ali Baba's order one of the rotisserie chickens and a side will make a great meal. Waraguma I can't even eat a full burrito. Hidden Treasures great food good prices, Mickeys also very affordable and good food.
I agree with Lan if you want to drink cheap it has to be local rum and local beer. Everything else is imported and costs an arm and a leg.
Enjoy the rest of your trip!!

Okay.

Carumba's, Waramuga(sp?), Elvi's, and this place described below:
good, inexpensive (local) restaurant located a 2 minute walk N of Banyan Bay and 30 seconds S of Marina's store.

Is this last un-named place located on the right or left as you head north towards SP?

Antojitos...left side

Another question while I am thinking about it. Is it illegal to walk down the street with a Belekin or alcoholic beverage in your hand?

Yes

but balanced on top of your head is okay

Thanks Jesse for both answers. :-)

LOL. That might be tough to do after the second rum punch though...

canuker, don't know where you live, but we do not find it that expensive on the Island......imported booze is about the only thing we find much more expensive. We spend as much for a good meal here in the US (Washington State) as we do on the Island.

We are from Ontario, Canada and didn't find the prices that bad either except booze/wine and coffee!

Yes, the three necessities of life!!

A rum drink or a beer costs US$2...is that too expensive????????

I know kids can be picky eaters but they can also surprise you. Why have here what you can have at home – burgers and pizza? Beef and cheese are imported and costly. Get the kids to try tacos, salbutes, stew chicken with rice and beans and give them an ice cream treat if they do. A good option here are the soups.
If the kids like Kentucky Fried there are a lot of fast food places mostly run by the Chinese. Fried chicken with French fries is either $6 or $7 Belize.
Ali Babba's has whole rotisserie chicken for $17. Really good!
When I look at a menu when at a new place I have learned to read the fine print – at the bottom. If is says US dollars I leave!!! That is a rip off!
You may want to fix breakfast and lunch in your place and go out for dinner. You’ve had some good suggestions. For beef burgers go to Wet Willy’s. DO NOT order a ham burger – that is ham between to burger buns! LOL
I also like the Sunset Grill – go in time to watch the sunset and help feed the tarpon.

At The Monkey Bites Cafe we have a varied menu with two lunch specials daily. The portions are huge and nothing is priced over $16. Yesterday it was shepherds pie with carrots and garlic bread. Tomorrow we are having a BBQ lunch featuring a grilled shrimp kabob with a lobster tail and slaw for $16. We can feed you well and you can enjoy the reef views.

We find prices about the same as at home. The thing is the menu is a little different. No fast food like we might at home. I wouldn't be happy if a McDonalds was being built in town but I'll occasionally use one up north. All the above suggestions that were given you we already use and have often said to ourselves that we eat healthier in San Pedro than at home. Can't beat the stew & rot. chicken. Brazilian Grill for special nights. At home I very seldom eat rice but that changes when I get on the Island. Have fun "When in Rome...."

LOL You got it LOANSUM...

what are you guys talking about - - some of the information here is really good - but those of you who think the food on AC is the same price as back home are out to lunch... no pun intended... MOST of the main restaurants on AC are at least twice as expensive as back home. Those of you who think otherwise must eat at really expensive restaurants back home.
Either way, I was prepared for the cost of food as several of my friends have traveled to AC and gave me the heads up that almost everything is more expensive on AC – not just the food... I assume it has something to do with having to get it shipped from mainland and something to do with ripping off vacationers. Either way not much you can do about it.

But I also appreciate some of the advice provided here and I will be checking out some of the restaurants named as being more affordable.

How about a nice big meal of stewed chicken, rice and beans with cole slaw for US$3.50? Too much for you?

We are hungry and want to go out tonight to someplace which is any combination of on the water, seafood BBQ, decent prices and music.

Anywhere fit the bill for us tonight?

Where can I find this meal for sometime during the rest of the week?

I dunno, I live in the Heart of Dixie & never found food to be overly expensive on AC, but we did sort of stick to the ones that were named here. Lunches of stewed chicken & rice & beans, sharing the burritos at Waraguma for dinner, I doubt you could spend $25 US a day. We did enjoy a few of the the more expensive places, but none were "better". The local flavor is fantastic regardless.

one can not survive on tacos alone. But i eat a meal at least 2-3 times a visit at the taco place on the west side of the airstrip. three tacos for $1 belize. "give me $5 worth"

BLASPHEMY!

well,, with beer anyway.
and i'm a commonsewer!

I had a wonderful lunch at Blue Water Grill last month, a chicken Philly (I know there really isn't such a thing). It was about $BZ17.00. I didn't think that was overpriced, came with fries. I would have paid the same here in Iowa.

Same with the awesome chicken salad at Monkey Bites. About $BZ15.00. That's what grilled chicken salads cost around here, and I know lettuce is really expensive on Ambergris.

Same with the fried shrimp at Fidos for lunch. $25.00BZ last time I was there, with fries and coleslaw. Better than most fried shrimp dinners here for less money.

None of the above are cheap places to eat. But, they also aren't any where close to twice as much as here in the States.

"many things are more than twice as much as Canada or the States... "

I would like to see/hear/read specific facts to back up the allegations because never having been there, I'd like to not be "ripped off", using the phrase of another posting.

Street Venders !!!!

Try Papi's diner it is a little north of town close to the bridge. When I was there in Oct. My friend and I both had full dinners me a t-bone steak with smothered onions and peppers, fries and I believe a salad. My friend had yellow tail snapper with rice and beans, we both had a belikin and the bill came to around $30.00 U.S. I don't know anywhere in the U.S where you can eat like that for that price!!! And I must say the food was great!!!

Unfortunately Papi's has closed.

There is a little place just north of the French bakery...I have no idea of its name or even if it has a name. The mister and I stuffed ourselves full for $12BZ.

Try looking for the places that have a lot of workers and/or students as patrons. That's usually a good indication of value for money.

Waraguma - grilled lobster tail, rice and beans, cole slaw $35.00 BZE. I don't know anywhere in the US you can get a lobster tail meal for $17.50.

I think that is Neri's Tacos. They always look packed with locals in the morning so it must be good.

We always found that the food was the least expensive thing on our trip. We averaged about $15.00 per person per day. One day was $7.00 per person. Bakery, pampusas and vendor burritos. Going to a restaraunt comparable to the Boston area AC is a fraction of the price.

It is all about where you go and what you expect. We voluntarily went to one of the more expensive places on the island more than once (Blue Lotus) because it was just plain outstanding. But inbetween, we ofen enjoyed the roadside stands and local tacos, burritos and chicken rice and beans.

The best meal of the trip though was the invite to our friends Tim and Tina's house where they served us fresh shrimp that was just plain amazing.

So for the cheapest meal, befriend some locals and get invited over to dinner.

Thanks DeadSerious

I was hoping someone would mention us!! As for being the most expensive, last night I was told by a couple that we we're the cheapest meal out they have eaten. I guess it depends on where you compare us to!! Comparing us to street vendors is definately comparing apples and oranges!!

I have dined at Blue Lotus several times. Average tab including drinks about $50US per person. I consider that reasonable.

In my many visits to SP, I can't think of one meal where I paid more than in my visits to Blue Lotus, so I think it is fair to classify it as "one of the more expensive places"... but I don't want that to discourage people from giving you a try.

Indian food in general is more expensive everywhere and your prices are still in line with Indian places here in the US. In addition, your food is as good as or better than the top Indian restaurants I've visited.

IMHO, the most expensive dinner on the island was at Casa Picaso and tiny servings. Blue Water Grill, Sunset Grill, Caramba's, Jambal Jerk all fall in the same price range as Blue Lotus. I dont travel on the cheap side, I usually spend an average of $200US per day not including hotel. So, Blue Lotus ranks tops in my book.

The OP is looking for lower cost meals for a group including kids. Many families are on a much tighter budget.

Agreed, I was responding to Deadserious comment regarding Blue Lotus being the most expensive place.

Again, I did not claim Blue Lotus was the most expensive place on the island. "One of the more" does not equal "the most".



I completely disagree there. I've eaten at all of the above and can easily get away with 15 to 30 USD at each of them except Blue Lotus. Blue Lotus is around $45 USD at a minimum and if you eat Indian food like I do, you'll spend around $90 USD per person. Those prices do not include drinks.

If it's still there, there was a small walk-up, take-out place across from Royal Palms. We had the stewed chicken, rice and beans, and potato salad on the cheap (can't remember exactly what we paid. Food was great and wound up with leftovers for a snack later. We also like Antojitos.
Brenda C from Tennessee

good choices!

OK, DS ! You win. I dont know how or what you decide to order. I personally dont order by price, rather by what looks good or I have a taste for. Again just MHO.