El Patio Restaurant Offering a Taste of Belize with an Island Twist

Restaurant Review at El Patio Restaurant

El Patio Restaurant Offering a Taste of Belize with an Island Twist

It is recognized as a long-standing restaurant on the island with an excellent dining ambience, where many parties have been celebrated and excellent food has been served throughout all these years. El Patio Restaurant used to provide a dining experience outside of town for many years, but has since moved to a location right in the middle of town where it now boasts a totally new environment for fine dining and now an after hour’s lounge to enjoy some excellent cocktails.

Nestled under a large palapa, El Patio Restaurant and Lounge offers a cozy patio-like environment with cast iron chairs and tables surrounding a large water fountain in the center of the restaurant. With a true “patio-like” environment, the restaurant is a popular dining place for both locals and visitors – even the floor is covered with soft white sand, which fits right in with our beautiful island.

Its menu offers an extensive choice of dishes that range from sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups, chicken, meats, to plenty of seafood dishes. You can definitely find a dish that you will like. When in season, you can delve into superb conch and lobster platters like Caribbean Lobster, Sautéed Conch Steaks in Garlic & Butter, BBQ Lobster and Fried Conch.

House specialties include the famous Tropical Chicken (to satisfy those with a sweet tooth) and “El Patio” Special Kebab (a combination of succulent shrimp, fish, and conch). Our experience also included the Spicy Coconut Fish Fillet and the Bacon Wrapped Rib-Eye. Needless to say, the food at El Patio Restaurant is very tasty. We topped dinner with three rich desserts - Caramel Flan, Frozen Key Lime Pie and Cheese Cake. There were no words to describe them; you have to go try them out.

During dinner we were also treated with some excellent cocktails and blended drinks which included a creamy and rich Howler Monkey Dirty Banana, Rum Punch, Strawberry Daiquiri and their one of a kind creation - the Islander (a concoction mix of several rums and citrus juices and concentrates). After dinner El Patio now invites its guests to its new lounge located above the restaurant. The lounge is an excellent place to enjoy some after dinner drinks or you can drop by to just have some drinks and/or appetizers. Read more on our Explore Ambergris section.

El Patio Restaurant is located on the corner of Barrier Reef Drive and Black Coral Street and is open from 10:30a.m. to 10:00p.m. (Sun. from 5:30p.m. to 10p.m.) and closed on Tuesdays. For deliveries or reservations call 226-3898. And don’t forget to tell them that Ambergris Today sent you!

El Patio Lounge

It’s the newest hotspot in town which has grown in popularity after just two weeks of opening its doors to the public. We found that the Patio Lounge is a great place to hang out as it offers another unique setting for people looking to relax, take in some fresh air and mingle with friends after a long day of work.

With access from El Patio Restaurant, the lounge is a totally different environment where you can pop a squat on some retro lounge cubes, chill on bar stools overlooking the busy streets, kick back on large couches, lay back on comfy lounge chairs or hang out by the bar.

What stands out at the second floor lounge deck of El Patio is the exotic wood work from which all its surrounding and furnishings are made of. The entire place was well crafted by local carpenters who created a homey environment of clear varnished exotic Belizean wood. Accent lighting creates a mellow mood, while the entire place is wired so that you can listen to great music from every corner of the lounge. Two large flat screen TVs hang overhead for everyone’s viewing pleasure.

Red Stripe Beer flows freely at El Patio Lounge as it is the specialty of the house, but you can still purchase your favorite Belikin or Lighthouse favorites. The cocktails are tasty, sweet and delicious and they have plenty or original creations which you can ask the bartenders about. There is also a small menu of great appetizers that you can enjoy. If you like things spicy and hot, definitely try out the Spicy Chicken Wings – they are finger licking good. Other appetizers include shrimp cocktail, ceviche and popcorn chicken.

We know that you have heard people talking about it, so if you have not been to El Patio Lounge, set a date to visit the place. They are open from 5p.m. to midnight Wednesday to Monday – closed on Tuesday. El Patio Lounge is located on the second floor of El Patio Restaurant on the corner of Barrier Reef Drive and Black Coral Street.