There are plenty of good restaurants in Placencia but places change management fast, so it's worth asking locally for the latest recommendations. Most places close early; you'll certainly have a better choice if you're at the table by 8pm. The Pickled Parrot Bar & Grill , just beyond Wallen's Market, is consistently the best restaurant in the village, serving fresh seafood and international dishes. Just beyond here BJ's Restaurant serves the best-value Belizean meal in the village. Opposite, the Purple Space Monkey Internet Café , which opens early and closes late, offers good coffee, breakfasts and burgers under a huge thatched roof. At the south end of the village (turn right past the gas station), Merlene's Restaurant (tel 523-3210) is usually the first to open, serving great breakfasts with good coffee; lunch and dinner are equally good, especially for fish, but the place is tiny so you may want to book. A few steps beyond here, built over the water, Tentacles has a superb location for enjoying the sunset, though the food - mainly steaks, pasta and seafood - can be variable.

The best-value food counter in Placencia, serving fried chicken and rice and beans, doesn't even have a name, but is easy to find: turn left at the end of the road and ask for Pearl. Fresh bread is available from John The Bakerman, signed from the sidewalk, and from a number of local women who bake Creole bread and buns. Daisy's Ice Cream Parlour , set back from the sidewalk, just south of the Seaspray Hotel , has long been deservedly popular for its ice cream, cakes and snacks , and also serves full meals.