Hopkins, Belize is a small town (15,000 people), south of Belize City, Belize in Central America. With an amazing beach on the Caribbean and a freshwater river, it’s become a popular spot for expats and tourists.

My first time in Belize was 9 years ago when my family spent a week in Placencia. Two years ago I returned and stayed in Hopkins, Belize where my parents had just finished building a beach house. At that time Hopkins was still a bit off the beaten path. Not so today. Condo timeshares are being built up the road. And while there’s no ATM yet, word has it that there will be in the near future. And since I was there two years ago, a few more restaurants have sprouted up.

Restaurants in Hopkins range from $2.50 US hamburgers at the Octopus’s Garden to $100 US lobster meals at Beaches and Dreams Resort. For the most part, you get what you pay for at Hopkins restaurants. The more expensive food tends to be better, but there are a few great cheap eats. Here are some of our favorites:

Taste of India

We heard about this restaurant from my parents, who told us that Taste of India was only open on weekends and you had to buy drinks at the bar down the beach because they didn’t’ have an alcohol permit. Turns out that now business is so great, they’re open every night and serve drinks. The first night we went every table was full. And when we tasted the food we understood why. It was the best Indian food I’d ever eaten. Now, I’m not exactly a connoisseur of Indian cuisine, but some people at a table next to us said that it was the best Indian they eaten too. (And they live in New York and are from London.) We went to Taste of India twice and tried the curry, tikka masala, paneer, and an eggplant dish. (Can’t remember the name of the eggplant.) Their veggie samaos were incredible as well. If you like Indian food and are in Hopkins, you must visit Taste of India. Dishes are about $7-8 US each.

empty plates at Taste of India

Innies

We stopped at Innies for lunch and lucky for us, she let us order off the dinner menu. We had a local Garifuna dish made with plantains, red snapper, and coconut milk. It’s called Hudutu. If you every see this dish on a menu you must try it. It was probably the best dish we had in Belize. A similar dish was served with bananas, red snapper, and a gravy and almost as good; but we liked the hudutu more.

Hudutu

Beaches and Dreams Barracuda Grill

The only place in Hopkins worth spending a lot of money on (there are a few other “nice” restaurants at resorts, but the ones we tried weren’t worth the money). Their seafood is wonderful (any of the fish of the day options will be caught that day) and we were particularly fond of their barbecue pizza. If you go out fishing Tony will cook up what you’ve caught. And for dessert the Italian Wedding Cake is a must.

King Cassava

King Cassava makes the best flour tortillas. Anything you get with a flour tortilla will be good. They also had a great looking breakfast menu with egg and cheese stuffed fry jacks (like a sopapilla). We tried to stop by for breakfast but it turns out they are closed on Mondays. King Cassava’s is also a great place to sip a beer.

Windschief Bar and Internet Cafe

While not technically a restaurant, Windschief Bar is a fun place to drink. It’s a huge hangout for locals, expats, and tourists and they have movie nights on Saturdays.

Watering Hole

Normally we don’t recommend places we didn’t visit, but we heard such wonderful things about the Watering Hole Restaurant that I decided to add it to this list. (With the caveat that we didn’t get a chance to try it.) It’s pretty much a dive, but they are said to have amazingly fresh fish at extremely low prices.

Bug Spray Note

When going to any restaurants in Hopkins, Belize, be sure to bring some bug spray. You will almost always be eating outside, and if you don’t remember to put on bug spray, let’s just say that the mosquitos and sand-fleas will also be having some dinner.