Romantic dining in Belize restaurants is a multi-ethnic feast. Restaurant menus reflect influences from as many as ten major ethnic groups from Mexican, Mestizo, and Mennonite to the Garifuna, who descend from African slaves. What links them all together is Central American “rice and beans” that are cooked in one pot -- not to be confused with Latin American “beans with rice,” where beans are cooked separately. Stewed chicken serves as the national dish. Ceviche is on every menu, often made with fresh conch. Colorful tropical fruits and fruit drinks are abundant. Romantic, casual settings abound.
Palmilla Restaurant at Victoria House
© Victoria House.
Pink orchids appear to float above white tablecloths in this romantic room. Victoria House's princess of a restaurant offers some of the finest dining in Belize. Couples can start with Taittinger or Veuve Cliquot champagne and continue with a high-end Louis Latour chosen from a very good wine list. The menu reflects a Mexican influence of seafood and vegetables but is easy on the palate. Divine appetizers include a seafood soup, an excellent ceviche, and a shrimp tempura cooked to a crackling perfection. Molten chocolate dessert is so dreamy and creamy that it will be remembered long after the return home. A “romantic table” can be reserved in advance; it’s dinner by torchlight on the beach, under swaying palms.
Rojo Lounge at Azul Resort
© Harriet Bernstein.
Chinese-red rules in this red-hot romantic lounge up the beach from San Pedro. Under a thatched roof, bright red couches lure couples to a low table that encourages slow drinking and dining. Eat, drink, smooch, lounge at this restaurant – not necessarily in that order. Chef Jeff Spiegel is an ex-pat from the music biz and background music is as cool as the setting is sexy. The exotic menu offers mouth-watering tropical creations such as lobster chorizo, shiitake wonton, and guava-glazed ribs. The cooking could use some culinary discipline (Chinese noodles were too al dente and polenta was not enough). But good frozen mojitos and popular chili-and-ginger-infused Rojo Poison from his bar make up for culinary lapses.
Blue Water Grill
© Harriet Bernstein.
This thatched-roof restaurant/bar is right on the beach in the town of San Pedro, Belize. The sea breeze renders a romantic feel to this otherwise bustling and fun venue. Island-style cuisine starts off with crispy coconut shrimp, ceviche, or light lobster rolls with mango. Dinner continues with dishes infused with the tropics such as a succulent Mongolian pork or lobster topped with pineapple habañero sauce, but an array of pastas and pizzas and sushi on Tuesday and Thursday keep the place hopping. Its Key lime pie, topped with a marvelous meringue, finishes the meal off nicely. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the large venue can accommodate 80 under its roof — good for a rehearsal dinner or informal wedding reception.
Hidden Treasure
© Harriet Bernstein.
Nestled in an upscale neighborhood of Belizean-owned private homes, this eatery is a treasure off the usual San Pedro path. Voted Best Restaurant by the Belize Tourist Board in 2008, Hidden Treasure is an open-air plantation hut illuminated at night by romantic, amber-colored little lights. Latin jazz plays quietly. The bar’s watermelon fruit punch with lime deserves its good reputation. One of two female chefs in town, Isabella Romero’s Latin American cuisine douses chicken, shrimp and lobster with ginger, lime and orange; wraps fresh snapper in a banana leaf; or glazes tender ribs in pineapple or papaya barbecue sauce. It’s hard to leave this lovely setting. The rich coconut flan will keep couples lingering at this restaurant longer.
