Belize City recommendations? (Also, Costa Maya??)

[khelvan]

Hello, we'll be stopping in Belize City as part of a western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Valor next week. The one place we aren't sure about for food is Belize City, since the recommendations I have found in threads below are for different areas of Belize. Does anyone have a recommendation for excellent food that is representative of the local culture? I must admit that I know very little about what to expect of Belize, or its cuisine, so some help here would be appreciated :)

Also, one other stop is Costa Maya, which I understand to be, basically, a port built up just for tourism. This makes me less than hopeful that I'll be able to find decent food...is there anything worth having, or should we just settle in with some margaritas and enjoy the scenery?

Thanks!

[IncrediGirl]

Belize is amazing. My husband and I were married on one of the cayes last summer, and spent three days in Belize City before heading to the Island. A word of warning: Belize City is almost worth skipping completely. We realized on our third day that three days was two days too many.

That said, one of the most amazing meals we had during our entire 15-day visit to the country was at the Smokey Mermaid (http://www.smokymermaid.com/), located right in the tourist centre of the city, very close to the Bliss Lighthouse. The service was amazing and the food even better. Squito, the resident cat, was also adorable. We both had snapper dishes--mine was cajun and his was yuca crusted. Absolutely heavenly.

There's also a stone-grill restaurant in the Radisson Hotel, directly across the street from the Smoky Mermaid. Simple food, but very good. Do make sure you try a journey cake while in Belize. The locals told us about a flour shortage in the country, but damn, do those Belizeans make some fine bread. And my husband still hasn't stopped raving about the Belizean bacon--and we're Canadian!

ETA: If you're looking for drink options, you may be limited. Belize has a monopoly on beer and there is only one brand available, Belikin, or it's sub-brand, Lighthouse. Some places are able to offer Guiness or Budweiser, but both are brewed in the country by Belikin and will cost you an arm and a leg). There seems to be only one predominent brand of rum as well, One Barrell.

[Veggo]

Belize City is largely garifuna and I'm sure there is a decent meal for the adventurous, but when I lay over there on my way to Ambergris or Turneffe I hardly want to leave my hotel, what with the open sewage and people with a lot of time on their hands staring at my watch. I would stick with 'ritas at the Radisson Port George.

[crewsweeper]

Missed this post, but for future hounds in Belize City, in addition to the Smokey Mermaid, you can walk across the swing bridge to JamBel Jerk Chicken. Also, the conch fritters at the Wet lizard in the Tourist Village are very good, but that's a bit touristy and a place to miss during spring break time. On Cay Cualker, you can look for Carlos out toward the split, past the soccer fields. Runs his own "grill" with what ever he catches that morning.

Costa Maya is just rebuilding from the destruction caused by Dean. On the malecon in Majahual, there are some places popping up with good"street" food. Pez Quadros is suppose to have a good variety of food that beats most "all-inclusive resort" type places. But the new pier is loading up on the Fat Tuesday/Senior Frog/ Hard Rock Cafe type eateries that populate many Mexican and Caribbean ports.