Our Arrival in Beautiful Ambergris Caye
We arrived at the hotel, got checked in and headed to my usual room. Uh oh, they said my room is not in working order right now and they’ve moved me to a different suite! What? Hmm, apparently they discovered water damage in the room as they were prepping it for me from all the recent rains. They were moving us up to one of the balcony suites which was actually an upgrade. We wandered down the path headed to the room and I check out our bar and of course, I find my friend Mike there, keeping the seats warm for us! LOL. One thing I can count on every year is Mike at the bar and Michelle at the pool! I instantly spun around to the pool and no Michelle! Apparently she went over to Caye Caulker with one of the other guests in the hotel for an afternoon of shopping. Mike and Michelle are my friends I meet down there every year - my first year in Belize we were staying in the same hotel and now we plan our trip down together every year and always have an amazing time!
Silvina and I go get situated in our room and back down to the bar for our rum punches and to enjoy a few hours of sun before we have to get ready for the Halloween costume party that night.
There was a wedding set to take place next door at Banana Beach - one of the local Belizean dive instructors was marrying a girl from Las Vegas. Mike and Michelle had managed to swing an invite to the wedding along with Sherlyn, our resident bartender! We decided to go next door as well but to grab lunch/dinner before having to start getting ready for the costume party later that night. The restaurant next door is one of my favorite stops during my stay as they have the best ceviche ever! I usually get it once or twice while I am there.
We head over to the restaurant as they are setting up for the wedding and by the time we head back, we are walking through the middle of the guests and wedding party still mingling. Bundy and his wife looked adorable and seemed so happy - it almost made me forget how cynical I am about marriage for a brief second! HA HA
Pretty much what I go for is the ceviche. You will not find better ceviche on the island (I've tried quite a number of them and this is by far, the best!). They offer three sizes and the large is HUGE. They have shrimp, conch, and then mixed - octopus, shrimp, and conch. It is so fresh and I usually get the grande mixed ($25 US) and bring some back to the room for snacking later. The grande platter is so large it can feed more than two people as a meal!
I have not tried their large hamburgers but have seen my friends' order them over the past couple years and they are enormous as well!
This year, I tried breakfast in there for the first time two days because Silvina and I had got up too late for breakfast at our own hotel! LOL. We kept hearing about something called "Fry Jacks" which is a Belizean staple. We learned that they are basically simple golden brown fried dough that is eaten at breakfast time, often with jam or honey on top. We fell in love with them - so simple but so satisfying! An order of three as a side is $3.95 US I believe. I also tried their Apple Cinammon French Toast which was excellent.
I've never eaten there for dinner (other than for ceviche) but they are listed as a steakhouse and martini bar. Their bar area is very small but they tend to do quite a business certain nights of the week.
Overall, I would recommend this restaurant for lunch, especially if you like ceviche. Everyone I know who has tried it has raved that it's the best ceviche they've ever eaten! I ate it 4 times this trip and already can't wait to go back next year! LOL
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