I'm going to San Pedro for the first time and was wondering if any of you guys had some suggestions on where to eat. My travel agent recommended Sweet Basil for lunch and Blue Water Grill for dinner. Any input on either of these places?

Sweet Basils is wonderful and fun just getting there.
Don't know about the Blue Water Grill...
But you have to try Calientes for lunch and dinner. Lunch they have a great lime soup and dinner the best shrimp.
Try Celi's for garnaches for a quick snack...they are so good.
Also try Elvi's...it was very nice as well.
And BC's for the BBQ on sunday about noon.
Can't go wrong...

Definitely Sweet Basils! Blue Water Grill was not there when I was there last May. I also liked Papis, La Margarita, and the street vendors.

Unless you eat a taco from one of the street vendors in front of the park, you will not have truly exerienced San Pedro. Once may be enough for you, however, my 16 year old son wanted to stop by every night, regardless of where or when we actually ate dinner.

Papi's (north of town, one street back from the beach - behind Seven Seas) is a great Belizean style diner. It's another taste of local flavor.

Haven't been there yet, but, Jambel's Jerk Pit has gotten great recommendations. Reportedly not the same league as Jamaican jerk, but, pretty good.

I think everyone on the board will agree about BC's beach BBQ on Sunday - don't miss it.

frozen north: (Us, too, by the way. Expecting 14" of snow in the next 24 hours!) We'll be in AC in mid-April and are planning to follow your recommendations for eats. What's a "garnache"? Checked out Celi's website and didn't see it on her menu.

[This message has been edited by BankerWoman (edited 03-01-2002).]

Jambel's is a must do! Haven't eaten better Jamican Jerk. "ALL" the other places mentioned are good too1......Richard

Up north
Rendezvous Restaurant next to journey's end
Capricorn south of captain morgans
Mata Chica 1 1/2 miles north of journey's end
Portofino 2 1/2 miles north of journey's end
Josh

A garnaches is a flat taco...with refried beans, cabbage and cheese....may sound a bit strange...but with a little hot sause...makes a great snack. They are .60 bz
Can't go wrong...give one a try. We would get a couple each and a Fanta orange and go sit on the beach behind Celi's. Give their restaurant on the beach a try, as well.
**I am adding to the recommendation of the street vendors...we tried hotdogs at Rosa's by the park. Not like New York...but good all the same.**

[This message has been edited by frozen north (edited 03-01-2002).]

Frozen,
Sounds like the fried tacos at Jack in the Box, at least down here! They are only 69cents here. Love em , buy em by the 6 pack every now and then.........Richard
I'd still rather go to AC for the Tacos!

[This message has been edited by Richard Chambers (edited 03-01-2002).]

Sweet Basil was my favorite- great sandwiches and salads. Calinte is good too the coconut shrimp are to die for! And also Rico's cafe located on the beach in front of Banyan bay.
With out these tree places I would have starved to death...cooking is a bit different on AC at the Blue Water Grill my Lobster tails and mash potatoes where sitting in an inch thick oil & butter sause- (needless to say was feed to the local cat that was walking through the resturant!)
But i do have a weak stomach-
Have fun

Both restaurants are great, probably our two favorites when we were there. Rendezvous and Capricorn are also excellent, and the boat ride to get to them is fun, but BWG has food that is comparable in quality and easier to get to. Sweet Basil is excellent, partly because of the staff who are really nice. Elvis kitchen is good, we liked Georges Country Kitchen for breakfast- get a bloody mary there. Award for most overrated restaurant goes to Victoria House. Have Fun!

lotsa good choices listed, on the cheaper and local side, try antijitos santelmo a lil south of town, by saeeds bamboo shop....

and master lee's downtown - across from the old post office location... in the same row of storefronts as Gecko Graphics

and the Lions Club BBQ, also the food vendors with carts...


[This message has been edited by Marty (edited 03-03-2002).]

Mickey's!! Good food and the friendly, smiling face of Maria!

Estel's Dine by the Sea, on the Beach in the middle of town!

We love the Blue Water Grill, Caliente (just for lunch, dinner is odd,) and Cafe Ole (by the Tropic Air office.) Mangos is very good as well. Celi's has the best conch fritters on the island. Try the Reef for good, inexpensive local dishes and Papi's dier...tropical chicken YUM! Too bad lobster season is over
Speaking of which, where's my lunch!?!

Estel's? I found a person there to be extremely rude and the food is nothing to talk about. Sorry but I have to say it. At least that was my experience. Rhonda

?? No one at Estel's has ever been even the slightest bit rude to me. In fact, the opposite. On the other hand, I don't mind the food but don't find it anywhere near as special as lots of other posters here would have me believe.

That said, I still eat there quite often and that is because I love the location. I like sitting in that shady spot, looking out at the ocean, being happy about being in San Pedro, watching people walk by and greeting others.

Seashell....I found everyone except one particular person there to be fine. It was one incident that just happened a few days back and it was enough that I would not go there again. I would tell you more but I don't think this site is meant for too much of that. I love San Pedro and the people there.It was just one unfortanate incident. I agree as well the food is simply OK. The location is nice but not enough to make me spend my money there again. Just my opinion though. Rhonda

Papi's..Papi's....Papi's-THE BEST FOOD and learning experience....on AC-for diner/lunch!! In Boca del Rio area!!!

Rhonda, I'm sorry you had that bad experience. If the person that was rude to you was that bad and unjustified, they probably won't be working there very long, so it will be safe to go back.

Definitely BC's Beach BBQ on Sunday, but get there early, they sell out sometimes. (I live on Caye Caulker now, but I try to make it to BCs on Sundays, there's nothing as good on the Caye) I also like BC's burritos, nachos and sandwiches. The bar is open until midnight and you can get food right up until closing, which is important to remember in SP, where most kitchens close at 9 or 10 p.m. Actuallly, there is another restaurant that I know of that stays open late, and that's Shark's Bar, the food is pretty good, more selection than BCs, but the food TASTES better at BCs.
--Silk

Ah geez, Silk, I sure wish I'd had that info on restaurant closings at the beginning of the year. I got a late start a couple of nights and couldn't get anything to eat at my usual haunts. And not one of them told me to go to BC's or Shark's Bar, go figure. hee, hee

Street venders one time at least.

I've been e-mailing with someone who was in AC over the Christmas/New Year's holidays and she said that she saw very few street vendors. In fact, I think she said only two in the week she was there. Would like to give them a try. Was she just not looking or perhaps are they concentrated in an area that she just didn't venture into?

As far as Eats go....
Ambergris Delight. #8 They had awesome conch pizza and they deliver!!!!

Papi's Diner. #9 This was our favorite place. Best lobster dinner on the island. Will also cook your catch for you if you go fishing. Reasonable prices.

Elvi's Kitchen. #2 It sucked. Plain and simple. For several reasons.

Sweet Basil's. #10 The best food on our trip. Although it was inconvenient to get to and a bit on the pricey side for lunch. But I've NEVER had a better salad.

Jambel Jerk pit. #9 It was awesome. Ate there several times too, and the guys that run the place are a hoot. The coconut curry was to die for, as well as the jerk.

Cannibal's. #2 Wasn't at all impressed. Sevice was poor.

Mango's. #7 Pretty tasty food, and nice location, but the place we sat was a little uncomfortable, and there were animals running around. Not that I don't like them, just not when I'm eating.

Estel's. #8 Great place for breakfast.

BC's BBQ on Sunday. #10 Not only was the food tasty but we had a blast!!! Had my birthday party there.... My favorite hang out.

There was a chinese restaurant in town, Down past Ramone's, Sandshaker took us to. It's upstairs. Can't remember the name for the life of me, but I thought I died and went to heaven. a definate #10. The soups were incredible. The curry was out of this world, if you like curry, and everything served was first class.....

That sums it up.
Debbie

That would be Jade Garden: //AmbergrisCaye.com/jadegarden/

yummy yummy yummy

For those who give a hoot, Debbie summed it up about as well it could be. She's dead on as far as we are concerned. However, we'll make sure she doesn't leave out the Jade Garden next time. Also worth noting would be the Patio, right around the corner from Coconuts.

Of course pizza from Dennis the "Bun Man" hasn't been mentioned, but that is just something some of us on the south end like to keep to ourselves.

CC

Y'know, on our vacations to AC, the last thing we ever worry about (after the first trip) was finding a great place to eat. The problem is deciding which great place we want to hit for a given meal. Too many choices.

Much easier to choose is what kind of beer you want with the meal. No choice necessary, the best every time.

silkpainter mentioned getting to BC's early on Sunday for the BBQ. What's your definition of early?

I was told to get to BC's by 11:00 a.m or noon, which I did and had no problem. Very good. I also agree with Debbie. Wasn't impressed with Elvi's, just so, so. Also, thanks Silkpainter for the tips on late nite munchies!

Capricorn....Very good food. We ate lunch there. The best homemade bread. Delicious. Everything was so good. Pretty spot. Take the island ferry there. Friendly people, great service. i agree with the opinion on Mangos at Mata Chica. Good food, not great, expensive, nice place in a bohemian up-scale sort of way, bizarre music, a little loud when we ate dinner there, sort of "artsie" There's so many good places. The german outdoor place across the street from Fido's was good. I've heard that Victoria House is good for a fancy dinner too.

CELI'S!!!!! They have the most awesome ceviche and chicken strips ever!!!! Fajitas and salads are great too. Capricorn's for steak, Victoria House for lobster and Nanaimo bars or flan. Antojitos is pretty yummie. And you must, MUST have one of Rosa's burritos. She's the second vendor from the corner...and she is just so wonderful. Jambel's pasta is delicious (well okay, ALL of their food is delicious) Cannibals has good burgers if you don't mind the wait. Caliete's is great for lunch and so is Tropical Take Out. Jade Garden of course... and for pizza (even though you ARE on an island), The Bun-Man!!! He's the bomb. Mata Chica was incredible chocolate suffle.

Good luck choosing and trying!!!!

Mango's was our favorite, the food was good and they have about 20 different delicious smoothies to choose from.

Gaelen

I'd have to say Caliente's at the Spindrift Hotel is the best. They had the best margarita shrimp dish. Their pina colada was great too, I think they used fresh coconut it was very creamy. Give it a try. Service is good there, we had a good waiter who kept coming back and gave you suggestions if you didn't know what you wanted.