Four great places to eat in Placencia, Belize, and a bonus travel tip.

We have been to Placencia several times now during our house sitting job in Belize and always enjoyed the atmosphere and lively going ons in downtown Placencia. Unlike the rest of the towns we have visited in Belize, Placencia is a tourist town most of the year.

Placencia has a nice harbor for watching sail boats and a pretty clean beach for sun bathing. There are many little tourist shops and Mayan souvenir stands along the newly built wooden boardwalk and of course there are a variety of places to eat. From full menu restaurants like ‘Rumfish’ and ‘The Pickled Parrot’ to small vendors like ‘Dawn’s Grill ‘N Go’. We hope to be house sitting a property in Placencia some day.

One of our neighbors, he goes to Placencia once a week or more and has many friends in town, states “You can’t go wrong in Placencia when it comes to good food!” Well, we can’t vouch for every one of the many restaurants and food vendors, but we can tell you about the places where we ate.

Here are 4 of our favorite places to eat in Placencia

Above Grounds Coffee House

Once we discovered the Above Grounds Coffee House on the south end of Main Street in Placencia we had to stop in every time we were in town. We’ve had fantastic Vanilla Latte’s, iced coffee drinks, plain coffee and also tried their bagels with cream cheese. What a treat! By the way, they also sell the coffee by the pound.

Above Grounds Coffeehouse

If you love coffee and people watching than you’re in heaven at Above Grounds. They have a little balcony that seats about 20 people right above the main road going through Placencia. Prefer to sit in the shade? Not a problem, they also have a little deck on the backside and the owner is working on adding more seating underneath the building as well.

Wendy’s Creole & Spanish Cuisine

Across the street from the coffee house is Wendy’s Creole & Spanish Cuisine. It is a bright yellow building and hard to miss. They offer comfortable seating on their wrap around porch, also perfect for people watching, and a nicely decorated indoor area.

Wendys Creole Restaurant

The menu offers a variety of fish specials, chicken dinners, wraps, quesadillas and even burgers, fries and milk shakes. I tried one of their fish sandwiches (snapper) with a side of fries and it was excellent. Nick had the beef wrap and enjoyed it, the beef was a little on the tough side but the sauce was delicious and almost made up for it. At this time we haven’t had beef in almost two months and were craving it enough to be brave.

I usually don’t remember to take a photo until most of the food is gone.

Excellent Chinese Restaurant

Just up the street and across from the soccer field is the Excellent Chinese Restaurant. There is plenty of indoor seating and the fans keep it nice and cool. The building looks a little worse for wear but don’t judge the book by it’s cover.

Excellent food at the Excellent Chinese Restaurant

They have a full menu of Chinese cuisine with pictures to help you decide. I tried the Broccoli Chicken which comes with nice chucks of white chicken, broccoli, carrots and various other vegetables in a delicious sauce and a huge bowl of rice on the side. Nick had the Sweet & Sour Pork and he raved about the sauce for quite a while afterwards.

Omar’s Creole Grub

A little further up the street is Omar’s Creole Grub and Guest House. We had lunch with our neighbors and sampled several fish dishes and grilled chicken. If you enjoy a beer or two with your lunch then Omar’s is not the place for you as they only serve soft drinks and fruit juices.

Nick, Wilma and Dennis in front of Omar’s in Placencia

The food at Omar’s Creole Grub House was very good all around. It consisted of Snapper traditionally prepared, which came with a nice spicy sauce, rice and a side salad. An order of Lion Fish in a nice buttery sauce also served with rice and salad, a fish wrap which was huge and delicious, as well as a grilled chicken plate with salad and rice which was good but a little on the plain side.

Bonus Travel Tip

Are you visiting Placencia in Belzie, Central America, on vacation? Than you probably know all about the fantastic snorkeling, diving, the Jaguar preserve and the Mayan ruins nearby.

Did you know about the Monkey River Tour?

Let Ralph and his son Adrian be your guide and take you on a boat ride you will remember and recommend to your friends for a long time. They will take you by boat through the Mangroves where you will most likely see Manatees, Stingrays and other fish as well as many varieties of birds. Once you get to Monkey River there will be lunch served and you will have the opportunity to do a little shopping at the local gift shop.

Nick with tour guides Adrian and Ralph

Then it’s on to the boat again to slowly make your way up the river where you will encounter howler monkeys and if lucky other monkey species and numerous other species of wildlife. After the river tour you will be brought back to Placencia by boat.

Ralph is an excellent tour guide and very knowledgeable about the Monkey River area and its Eco systems. He told us in all of his years of giving the Monkey River Tour there has only been two times when he didn’t see any monkeys. Very impressive! Be sure to give Ralph a call at 501-601-6359 and set aside some time to take the Monkey River Tour.

Have you visited Belize? Where is your favorite place to eat in Placencia? Leave us a comment below.