Restaurants in Roatán and what to eat on the island

What to eat in Roatán

The everyday Honduran snack is the baleada: a thick, soft flour tortilla folded over refried red beans, crumbled hard cheese and a little sour cream, with eggs, avocado or meat added for a fuller version. Stands and small shops sell them from early morning, and they make a cheap, filling breakfast or lunch.

Seafood is the island's strength. Look for whole fried fish served with rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, fried plantains and coleslaw; shrimp and fish in garlic butter; ceviche; and conch soup, a rich coconut-milk broth that is one of Honduras's best-known dishes. Queen conch is under strict fishing controls in Honduras, so it is not on every menu; never buy conch shells as souvenirs. Spiny lobster is widely served, but it has a closed fishing season each year, so ask where it came from if it is offered then.

Roatán's English-speaking islanders and its Garifuna community have their own baking traditions. Coconut bread, slightly sweet and dense, is sold by local bakers and roadside sellers and goes well with coffee. Honduran coffee, often from the mainland highlands, is good and cheap. Around the holidays, look out for seasonal dishes: nacatamales at Christmas, explained in our guide to Honduran tamales, and torrejas in cane-sugar syrup, in our torrejas recipe.

Garifuna food and Punta Gorda

The Garifuna, descendants of West African and Indigenous Caribbean people who were exiled to Roatán in 1797, settled first at Punta Gorda on the north shore of the East End. Their cooking is built on coconut, cassava, plantain and fish. Tapado is a seafood stew with coconut milk, green plantain and cassava, sometimes with crab or shrimp. Machuca, mashed plantain served with a coconut fish soup, is the dish many visitors come to Punta Gorda for, and flat cassava bread is still made by hand.

Small family restaurants and beach shacks in Punta Gorda serve these dishes, especially at weekends and during festivals; it is worth combining lunch with a visit to the village. Ask before photographing people and buy from local cooks rather than bargaining hard. Tours that include Punta Gorda are listed under Roatán excursions.

Where to eat: West End

West End has the island's biggest choice of restaurants in a small, walkable area, from cheap local food to international menus. Long-running favorites mentioned in recent visitor guides include Sandy Buns, a bakery and café known for cinnamon rolls and smoked brisket; Creole's Rotisserie Chicken for cheap, filling plates; Calelu's for baleadas and Honduran dishes; Ginger's Caribbean Grill for island-style seafood; and Sundowners, a beach bar that is more about the sunset than the food.

Several of the best small places close in mid-afternoon, on Sundays or in the low season, and some take cash only, so check the current hours before you go. For a broader look at the village, see our West End guide.

Where to eat: West Bay, Sandy Bay and the east

In West Bay, most restaurants are on the beach or inside resorts, which makes them convenient but pricier; beach bars such as Beachers and hotel restaurants like Ahari at the Arca hotel serve seafood and Honduran dishes with your feet nearly in the sand. On cruise days lunch service can be slow, so eat early or late. A water taxi to West End opens up far more choice in the evening.

Sandy Bay has a few quiet resort restaurants, while French Harbour, a fishing town, has seafood restaurants and the island's main supermarkets for self-caterers. Further east, waterfront bars in Jonesville and Camp Bay serve fresh fish in a more local setting; plan transport, as distances are long and taxis scarce at night. Cruise passengers at Isla Tropicale (formerly Mahogany Bay) or Coxen Hole have food options inside the terminals, but the best meals are usually part of a beach day.

Prices and tipping

Prices vary enormously with the setting. A baleada costs roughly $1.50–3 at a local stand but can cost several times that at a beach bar; a lunch plate at a comedor, a simple local eatery, is roughly $4–8; and a sit-down dinner in West End or West Bay usually runs about $12–25 per person before drinks and tip, more for lobster or resort dining. A local beer typically costs around $3 outside resorts. Menus in tourist areas are often in US dollars; paying in lempiras can work out slightly cheaper. Our planned prices and currency guide will cover budgets in more detail.

Tipping of 10–15% is normal in sit-down restaurants. Many places, especially on the beach, already add a service charge, and sales tax may also be added to the menu price, so read the bill before tipping. Cash tips are the most reliable way to make sure the staff receive them.

Food safety and practical tips

Do not drink tap water or brush your teeth with it if you have a sensitive stomach; restaurants serve bottled or filtered water. Choose busy street stands where food is cooked fresh in front of you, be more careful with raw seafood such as ceviche at places you do not know, and wash or peel fruit. Carry insect repellent for open-air dinners, as sand flies and mosquitoes come out at dusk. More health advice is in our Roatán safety guide.