San Ignacio Restaurant Tips by Bwana_Brown Top 5 Page for this destination

Trek Stop: A Great Little Restaurant!

The photo shows the first view of the Trek Stop you will get as you ascend the stairs from the parking lot area. Behind the outdoor seating area of the restaurant (right side) is a small kitchen where the meals are prepared for guests. This area is part of the larger Educational building to the left, which houses a number of interesting exhibits, displays and inter-active activities geared to educating all about the geology, history, plants, animals and insects native to Belize. One of the three free-internet access computers at the Trek Stop is also located in this building. The restaurant hours are from 7 AM to 7 PM and it is basically a 'one-woman' show! One of the two friendly Belizian cooks who alternate here will take your order from either their standard menu or their Specials of the day. Depending on what it is, she may have to make a short trip to the Common Area (see my Accommodations tips) just up the pathway to retrieve some frozen ingrediants from the freezer located there.

Favorite Dish: The restaurant has a good menu selection of various American, Mexican and Belizian type dishes - ranging from steaks, chilis, quesadillas, sandwiches and so on. It is a very informal and pleasant place to eat and interact with the other patrons staying at the Trek Stop. Some of the meals we enjoyed were:

Breakfast:
- 'American' - scrambled eggs, bacon and toast (US$4) with coffee and fresh orange juice (the first 'fresh' one we had had in 2 weeks)
- French toast with syrup and bacon (US$3.50)

Lunch:
- Toasted Ham & Cheese sandwiches (US$2)
- Tuna sandwiches
- Cheeseburger with or without fries

Dinner:
- Vegetarian Delight (US$5) - a pasta covered in vegetarian tomato sauce with Parmesan, Garlic bread & Garden Salad Vinagrette
- Large bowl of Chili with a corn biscuit (US$3)
- BLT sandwich

For alcoholic drinks, Belikin beer seemed to be the favoured brand (US$1.50 each) and you can actually bring your own from the separate 'Common Area' building.

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: The Trek Stop back-packers accommodations, about half-way between San Ignacio and the Guatemala border

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: American

Cafe Sol: A Downtown Gem

On our first trip into San Ignacio, we had done enough wandering under the hot noon sun and decided that it was time to sit down somewhere cool. We had heard that the two best restaurants in town were Hannah's and Cafe Sol, so as soon as we spotted the Sol, we headed in to check it out.

We immediately liked it's large treed front lot, with a number of tropical birds flitting about making the appropriate jungle noises. That combined with the large shaded front patio area was enough for us, so we sat down and had a look at the menu, and we were not in any rush in these circumstances.

Favorite Dish: Things just kept getting better and better as we both grabbed cold Belikin beers (US$3.50 for two) while we checked out our options. The entire menu looked great, with an amazing assortment of either local dishes or those with an international touch to them. We decided to get something to take away so ordered a Chicken Curry Wrap - cooked in a coconut-based curry sauce, with rice and topped with chutney and yoghurt (US$3.50). I could not beleive how big it was for the price, and we thoroughly enjoyed it when we soon arrived back at our accommodations!

I just wish that we had spent more time in San Ignacio to properly sample what Cafe Sol had to offer.

Address: West Street, San Ignacio Town

Comparison: less expensive than average

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Eclectic/International

Trek Stop: On Your Own Here!

Located up the pathway between the Trek Stop Restaurant/Educational building and the actual accommodations is the Common Area. This building was the main spot for congregation and interaction between the various residents (see 'Accommodations' for more details) and it also contained a kitchen area for use by the residents. It was equipped with a freezer, refigerator, stove, sink, counters, cutlery and dishes - so it was possible to prepare your own meals here if you wished.

Favorite Dish: The Trek Stop brought in cases of Belikin beers and stored them at the owners house. A case was always left under the sink and bottles could be put into the fridge or freezer by the guests to chill them before use. Any time a resident wanted to have a beer, they just put a check-mark beside their name on a sheet of paper tacked onto the wall - the honour system. At the end of your stay, this was tallied up as part of your bill at US$1.50 per beer.

We had done some shopping at a small nearby supermarket (see 'Shopping') so sometimes had a breakfast here of granola and yoghurt or slices of fresh pineapple from the San Ignacio market, or even some left-over banana bread that we had bought in Belmopan a few days before arriving here. It was also a good place to mix a few sundowner drinks of the local rum or munch on Pringles chips while on the two free internet computers located here. All this in the wonderful tropical warmth with green surroundings - it was great!

Directions: Just outside San Jose Succotz on the Guatemala border

Rating: 4

Theme: Other