San Pedro in Ambergris Caye is a bit like any other seaside town. Pricey restaurants with t-shirts and souvenir shops dot the main drag. Unlike other seaside towns, everything is locally owned or expat owned.
It’s lobster season right now. In fact, we missed the lobsterfest and the crowning of Miss Lobster Fest 2006. The finer joints in town charge NY prices for the lobsters and they don’t even cook it well enough to justify the prices. In typical Jonathan & Karen fashion, we seek out the mom and pop joint in a little shack that charge about half the price, but tastes twice as good. One such joint is Warguma (sp?) on the middle road. It’s easy to get pass it as it’s just a tiny little shack with only two tables. The owners hardly speak any english, which allowed us some spanish practice in ordering a lobster burrito and a fried snapper. The total was around $15 for the both of us. Cheap by AC standards.
Reef Restaurant across the street from tourist-filled Caramba is a good standby. While there is no air-conditioning, there are ample fans to keep you cool. You can also order an iced cold Beliken, among other drinks, to cool you down. It tries a bit too hard to cater to the tourists. The decor is completely overdone with giant seashells on all the walls. The flourescent lighting also makes you notice the white sand all over the floor. The food at pretty good prices makes up for it’s over the top cheesiness. What’s great about Reef is that it’s a place the locals go to for a nice dinner.
Ruby’s and Celi’s are great local delis/bakeries/snack shops. The locals swear by Ruby’s Johnny Cakes. Though, I have yet to have one, I think Celi’s version is pretty good as well. Either one of these are great for budget eats. Plus, there are also the small shacks by Jaguar Temple that are excellent choices.
The other joints we’ve eaten were all tourist restaurants. Caramba and Fidos were all really comfortable, clean, atmospheric, but the food was absolutely forgettable. The Fidos next the Royal Caribbean Resort has the great beach views. Once you dig into the food, you will quickly realize that your cash is paying for the views. I’ve eaten better at the CUNY cafeteria during my lunch break. The lobster burrito is wrapped in a cardboard thick tortilla while the lobster meat lacked any resemblance of lobster. I could have been served an imitation crab stick and would’ve probably enjoyed that much, much better.
Tonight, we’re headed for either Papi’s, another mom and pop shop, or the big bad Elvi’s for their Mayan buffet.
