The Best West End Restaurant in Roatan

Roatan is the hidden jewel of the Caribbean. With some of the best diving and the best beaches in the Caribbean, it is quickly becoming a popular destination. The crystal clear water, the varied marine life, white sand beaches, and green mountains are enough to make any one fall in love with the place.

West End is a charming, funky beach town that is popular with tourists and islanders alike. It has a great beach, dive shops, gift shops, fantastic lowkey nightlife, and a variety of restaurants. Here is a quick summary of the restaurant options available in West End:

     $  –  between $5- $10  per main dish     $$ – around $15 per main dish     $$$ – around $20 -$25 per main dish      $$$$- Over $30

 Lorettas – $$ A great place for island style cooking. The menu has all the favorites: stewed chicken, whole fried fish, etc. They have a limited number of tables and are very popular so get their early. They also do lovely lunches.

 Lily Pond House $$   This charming restaurant is located on the road to Half Moon Bay Cabins. The setting is great for a romantic meal and the prices are very reasonable. One of the followers of the Responsible Seafood Guide, they serve sustainably sourced seafood. They also have chicken, pork, and a whole lot more. I love the grilled pork chop with their delicious garlic mashed potatoes.   About $8 – $12 for a main.

Argentinean Grill $$$   Already established as an institution in West End, and doing honor to the traditional Argentine grills, this is the best restaurant to go to if you are looking for a good steak. Located right on Half Moon Bay, the grill offers steak and seafood dishes. The Grilled Tenderloin is around $20 and is enough to fill you up and take home for breakfast the next day. The twiced baked potato is my favorite side. Open daily they serve outstanding charcoal broiled tenderloin, as well as beef, pork, and shrimp kebobs. Salads and vegetarian dishes are also available. Try their home made chimichurri sauce on your steak; it is awesome!

Sundowners Beach Bar and Restaurant $    Located on the beach on Half Moon Bay, this place is an institution. Everyone that has been to West End has been to Sundowners. A great mix of locals and tourists alike, this is the perfect place to go. No better place  to watch the sunset with a drink in hand. Or come during the day and work on your tan in their beach chairs and order lunch.  In addition to wraps, sandwiches, and bar food, they have the best hamburgers on the island. They serve lunch and dinner every day. On Saturdays they BBQ Burgers and Brats. They also show most major sporting events.

Beach House Restaurant $$  – $$$$    Located upstairs in the Beach House, the yellow house on the beach next to Sundowners. This charming lounge serves up decent but expensive food. I find the menu uninspiring and short on any local ingredients. Examples include salmon risotto, tuna tataki, and a charcuterie board.  They do have a good cocktail and the views of the sunset are fantastic.

            Sandy Buns $$ This lovely bakery and restaurant serves up BBQ,  Tex Mex, burgers, and sandwiches. Their food is absolutely delicious. I love the chicken enchiladas and the veggie sandwich. They also have good breakfast. Open for breakfast and lunch M-F.

Pura Vida $$ – $$$- A newish Costa Rican restaurant located inside the Gelato place. This cute beachfront restaurant serves up Central American favorites such as fried pork belly on cabbage salad, ceviches, and coconut fish stew. The sangrias are good and are 2-for-1 on Wednesdays.

             Cannibal Café $  The best Mexican food on Roatan. They have tacos, huge burritos, giant quesadillas, chimichangas, tostadas, chips and salsa, bean dip, and much more. The chips here are divine. The make their flour tortillas from scratch and then cut and deep fry them to make the chips. Worth every Calorie! If you are up for a challenge, eat 3 of their huge burritos in one sitting and they are free. They also have lionfish tacos  and a good breakfast menu.

            Drunken Sailor  $ This restaurant has fantastic pizza and a rotating menu of delicious Italian specials. They do pizza by the slice as well as whole pizzas. They have home made pastas that are very reasonably priced. The sangria is delicious. They are also open late. The pizza doesn’t do well as take away as it gets soggy quite quickly.

        Blue Marlin  $ – $$   Lunch and Dinner every day but Sunday.  Their lunch menu has all the typical items:  sandwiches, burgers, etc. But they also have great bar snacks such as tator tots, buffalo chicken taquitos, and more.  The food is good and reasonably priced. The bar gets lively at night, especially for Karaoke Thursdays and Party Friday.

          Café Escondido $    Located above West End Divers, a comfortable atmosphere and quality items for a great value! In addition to their Asian rice and noodle bowls (the Teriyaki is my favorite) they have salads, soups, sandwiches, great breakfasts, and more. In addition they also have Espresso drinks, Ice Coffees, Fruit Smoothies, Cocktails, Local Beers, cocktails, etc. Open for Breakfast and Lunch. Closed Monday.

 Thai Place – $$$  It is not cheap and the food is inconsistent. It used to be great but the quality has gone downhill and the prices have gone up by 30%. It is $20 – $25 per entrée which is a lot to pay for Thai food.

Splash Inn   $$    Italian Restaurant with grilled meats and seafoods. The food is so-so.

Anthony’s Chicken $ Pretty good grilled chicken and typical Honduran food. The jerk chicken is not jerk chicken though. It is just grilled without any jerk seasoning.

Roatan Chocolate Factory $ – $$- Amazing desserts, great hot chocolate and ice cream.  The chocolate is grown in Honduras and made on sire. They do good breakfasts and lunches for reasonable prices plus lovely passionfruit wine spritzers.

Happy Harry’s $$   The place is built right out over the water. They have a restaurant that serves Lunch and Dinner. The food and service are average for the price and the man who owns it was recently under investigation by local police for sex trafficking. Needless to say, I don’t recommend going there.

Rotisserie Chicken $  The name says it all. They have rotisserie chicken. It is relatively inexpensive. I believe a whole chicken and 2 sides is around $13. It is a favorite among West Enders. I could take it or leave it.

Cognacs Pizza – $$  Great American style pizza and chicken wings. The best pizza place in West End.

Buccaneers – $$ – $$$ Located just at the entrance to Sunset Villas, this beach restaurant has chairs you can use for free. They have a huge menu with decent food. Lots of seafood options.

Crisp – $$ A salad, juice, and poke bowl place located outside West End in the turquoise mall. They have delicious salads and the poke bowels are to great. They have AC and wifi. They also do fresh pressed juices which are a rarity on the island.

Junior’s Pizza – Located next to the green mall just outside of West End, this arsenal pizza place makes delicious pies. The seating area is very cute but limited. It is BYOB. Follow them on Facebook for opening hours as they change frequently.

         Pazzo- $-$$  head outside of West End at the round-about and take a right. The restaurant is on the right hand side. Great Italian with homemade pastas, bread, desserts. It is one of my favorite restaurants. The menu changes all the time. And reservations are recommended as they run out of tables and food most nights.  9889-1732. BYOB

          Oasis Restaurant – $$-$$$ Outside of West End about 1/3 of the way before the turning to West Bay, this restaurant is amazing. It has an ever changing menu that includes things like Chipotle ribs, blue cheese gnocchi, curries, and more. Their menu is fresh and inspired and the food is delicious. They also have a great cocktail menu and yummy desserts. Reservations are recommended as is a taxi there and back.  Ask me about making a reservation for you as they will sometimes include free dessert for everyone. 9484-6659

Street Food Some people are too afraid to try it. Mistake! Street food is not to be missed and most is only $5 per plate! I do ask you to bring your own plates and forks with you, even if they are just paper plates. Most of the street vendors use Styrofoam and plastic, much of which ends up in the ocean.

*Miss Jenny              Across from Jackson’s Market and next to Captain Van’s Scooter Rentals, Jenny serves up delicious traditional island style food for lunch. Her menu changes every day but she usually has stewed pork, oxtail, grilled beef, BBQ Chicken, and occasionally picked crab. It is served with a choice of sides including potato salad, rice and beans, coleslaw, pasta, and plantains. About $5.

*Pork Taco Man   In the evenings until late night, he opens in the parking lot of the little mall next to Cannibal Cafe. Food is average. 3 Tacos or 2 Gringas for $5. The only issue I have with them is that they refuse to use actual plates and forks and instead rely on Styrofoam and plastic. Because of this, I bring my own plates with me

*Mexican Grill Guy Located in an actual building just before Anthony’s Chicken,  they make delicious plates of typical Honduran food plus tacos and grilled chimichurri pork. He is also one of the few street food vendors that uses real plates instead of plastic and Styrofoam. Plates from $5.

*Baleada Lady – Located just before the Chocolate Factory,  she makes delicious baleadas (home made tortilla with refried beans, your choice of grilled meat, and pickled onions). Plus she has the best hot sauce and pickled onions in West End. And all for under $2.

*Keith Woods- Open for breakfast and lunch, he has a wooden thatch hut on the beach in front of Woody’s Grocery on Half Moon Bay. Great typical island BBQ: chicken, beef, or pork with beans, rice, pico de gallo, etc. He also has great fish. He buys fish off the local fishermen when available and he grills it right there. It is one of the only places with seafood that hasn’t been frozen.