Salvadorian food in Belize

So the one bit of truly authentic food I had in Belize was ironically enough, not Belizian, but actually Salvadorian at a small street stand called Warugama. While on the island of Ambergris Caye in the town of San Pedro, we walked by a few street stands grilling up fresh Salvadorian pupusa’s after dinner one night. I knew what they were from my experience in Red Hook, but my parents had never tried them before. My mom was excited that the fillings were vegetarian so she could try some too. We were too full that night but came by the next for appetizers after our first choice for dinner didn’t have any vegetarian options for my mom.

The plan was to have pupusa’s for appetizers and then head to a more formal restaurant for some seafood. But after 2 of them, we decided to order 2 more, and then some ceviche, and then 4 more pupusa’s so it ended up just being our dinner. The first two we had were the beans & cheese and the squash & cheese. The beans & cheese one was a bit bland, but the squash & cheese was fantastic. They actually called it pumpkin, not squash, but it was green so I am not really sure what kind of squash it was. Next we go the chicken filled pupusa which was also extremely tasty. We just cycled orders between the chicken and squash from then on out.

I am pretty sure these were better than the ones I had in Red Hook, but I would have to give them another try to be sure. It also helps that the ones in Belize were served the the amazing Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce. I had to bring back two bottles because they were really that fantastic. I tried both the Hot & Fiery Hot varieties and they both had a good balance of heat and flavor. They have some that a few levels hotter and milder and also have a few varieties with fruit flavors (orange, grapefruit, mango, etc.) as well. They ship internationally if you are interested.

The ceviche was also amazingly delicious. The lady in the front making all the pupusa’s had her helper assemble a fantastic shrimp ceviche (definitely the best I had on the trip). Lots of tender shrimp, a good level of heat, nice acidity, cilantro, etc. The freshness of the shrimp is absolutely key and since they have so much of it around it around they can make some damn good ceviche.

If you happen to find yourself in Ambergris Caye, Belize, I would definitely give these folks a try. It was the cheapest and most satisfying meal I had in my entire stay in Belize (as I mentioned before, I was trapped in tourist-land most of my time there). The actual name of the place is Warugama, but there were a couple places that went by that name. We went the smallest one that was the furthest North on Pescador Drive between Buccaneer Street and Black Coral Street.