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Looking for the best restaurants in West End Roatan? You’re in the right place.
West End is the place to be in Roatan, and the neighbourhood is full of delicious places to eat.
From mouthwatering Honduran baleadas, to island-style rotisserie chicken, fresh seafood and chocolate treats, there is something for all tastes and budgets.
Prices in Roatan are much higher than in the rest of Honduras. Largely thanks to the mega cruise ships that dock here daily and offload thousands of passengers with heavy pockets.
Whilst we weren’t quite penny-pinching, we did want to gravitate towards the more affordable options.
Luckily this wasn’t hard, as there are tons of great places to eat here that won’t break the bank, but still give you a taste of the best local cuisine.
So let’s get into the best West End restaurants!
Don’t have time to read this whole post? Here’s the lowdown 👇🏼
If I only had one day to eat at the best restaurants in West End Roatan, here’s what I’d choose:
- Nice coffee and cafe-style breakfast from Cafe Escondido
- Juicy roast chicken from Creole’s Rotisserie Chicken with rice and beans for lunch
- Carmelitas and hot chocolate from Roatan Chocolate Factory for an afternoon snack
- Sunset happy hour cocktails from Sundowners
- Baleadas from Calelu’s for dinner (try the carne molido)
Best restaurants in West End Roatan
💰 CURRENCIES IN ROATAN
One thing to note is that most places in Roatan list the prices on their menu in US Dollars (USD). This was the only place we saw this done in all of Honduras, and they didn’t do this at the restaurants in neighbouring Utila.
This is due to the large cruise crowds that swarm the island each day and don’t want to change to local currency (HNL Honduran Lempira).
In this post, I’ve listed average prices in whatever currency the restaurant uses.
You can pay your bill in either currency, just be very careful if the restaurant has to convert it for you.
Often paying for a USD bill in Lempiras can be more expensive. Whether it’s an intentional miscalculation or just confusing, I don’t know. This was frustrating for us given Lempira is the local currency and you get penalised for paying in it, but it is how it is.
Do your own calculations before you settle the bill, but be aware most places will use a fixed rate (e.g. 1 USD = 26 HNL).
1. Calelu’s
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: breakfast, lunch or dinner
- ⏰ Opening hours: 7:00 am – 10:00 pm daily
- 💰 Approximate cost: from $2 USD for baleadas
- 🌮 Speciality dish: baleadas
An easy first place in this list of West End Roatan restaurants, Calelu’s was hands down our favourite place to eat. I still dream about their baleadas to this day.
If Roatan is the first (or only) stop on your Honduras itinerary, this will be your first taste of baleadas. A typical Honduran dish made with a large flour tortilla, filled with mashed fried red beans, cream, and crumbled cheese then folded in half.
If you want to try baleadas in Roatan, Calelu’s is the best place.
You can keep it simple and try the basic option, known as sencilla (simple) which is the ingredients mentioned above. Or you can add a variety of toppings.
We loved baleadas for breakfast, adding extras like scrambled eggs, avocado, ham and plantain. For lunch or dinner, their carne molido (ground beef) was sensational, but they have all kinds of meat, seafood and veggie options.
We had baleadas from here every single day, and they were the perfect fuel for all our Roatan activities. They are huge and super affordable, with most options around $2 USD. We usually shared three between us and we would be very full.
2. Creole’s Rotisserie Chicken
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: lunch or early dinner
- ⏰ Opening hours: Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 am – 6:30 pm (closed Sunday & Monday) *the hours are incorrect on Google
- 💰 Approximate cost: $14 USD for ½ chicken and 2 sides
- 🌮 Speciality dish: rotisserie chicken
If you’re looking for traditional Caribbean-style rotisserie chicken, this is the best place on the island!
Located down the southern end of West End, right across the road from Playa West End (our favourite hidden beach in Roatan), the outdoor patio is a lovely spot to sit down for a meal.
They have a varied menu, but honestly, what you’re here for is their chicken. Lightly spiced, juicy and with tons of flavour, it is delicious.
You can choose your size – full, half or quarter chicken, and sides (‘fixins’ I love the Creole/Caribbean slang). They have different styles of rice, beans, salads and veggies to choose from.
The servings here are enormous. We ordered a ½ chicken with 2 sides and it was enough for both of us. If rice and beans are an option, I’ll always choose that, and we paired it with potato salad. Carb-heavy, yummy and it filled the two of us for just $14.
We couldn’t fit in, but we hear the desserts here are amazing. They had a whole counter full of different cakes and pies.
3. The Roatan Chocolate Factory
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: breakfast, lunch or morning/afternoon sweet treat
- ⏰ Opening hours: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm daily
- 💰 Approximate cost: $4 – $6 USD for sweet treats
- 🌮 Speciality dish: chocolate goodies
Chocolate is an important export for the entire Central American region, and Honduras was the epitome of chocolate for us throughout our 6-month trip. When we recall our time in the country, we both fondly remember how many chocolate brownies we ate in those 3 weeks.
This brownie addiction kicked off in Roatan, at The Roatan Chocolate Factory.
An activity and restaurant all in one, they offer free tours of their factory upstairs, with a cafe downstairs. You can also book a chocolate making class here too!
They do offer proper meals like breakfast dishes, sandwiches and even Indian curries.
But in my opinion, the best thing to come here for is a morning or afternoon sweet treat between meals.
You can try some free samples of all their different flavours of chocolates, and then order a coffee or chocolatey drink (hot or cold), and a sweet.
They have a dizzying array of goodies on their counter, and for an indecisive sweet tooth like me, it was a tough choice. Luckily we made multiple visits so I could try a few different things.
My recommendation? The carmelita. Oh my goodness it was delicious! The cookies and brownies are also fantastic.
Considering the location, the prices are pretty reasonable. You can definitely get a coffee or hot chocolate and a baked treat for under $10 USD.
4. Loretta’s Island Cooking
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: breakfast, lunch or dinner
- ⏰ Opening hours: 8:00 am – 8:00 pm daily
- 💰 Approximate cost: from $13 USD for chicken, from $16 USD for seafood
- 🌮 Speciality dish: seafood meals
Loretta’s is the ultimate local dining experience. Started by a lovely local lady Loretta, after the demand for her cooking was too much for her to handle from home!
Tucked away in a residential area at the northern end of Half Moon Bay, sitting out on her porch feels like dinner at a friend’s house.
The menu is simple, with a focus on fresh, hearty home-cooked food.
You can choose the protein that you want (fish, shrimp, conch, calamari, lobster or chicken) and then choose from a variety of cooking styles and flavours like coconut, breaded, garlic cream etc.
Every main comes with your choice of two sides, with options like rice, beans, plantains, vegetables or potatoes.
Our meal was really nice here, but it is more on the pricey side given the portions are quite small. We were still quite hungry after sharing one dish between us (which we usually do) but didn’t want to fork out $30 + for dinner.
5. Cafe Escondido
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: breakfast or lunch
- ⏰ Opening hours: Thursday – Tuesday 7:45 am – 2:30 pm (closed Wednesday)
- 💰 Approximate cost: breakfast dishes between 120 – 150 HNL ($4 – $6 USD)
- 🌮 Speciality dish: sweet and savoury breakfast options
If you’re looking for a nice breakfast or lighter lunch, with good coffee and a great view, Cafe Escondido is the spot.
It’s located on the upper floor of West End Divers, and the location is a little inconspicuous. If you’ve found the dive shop, look for the narrow staircase leading up.
Once you step into the cafe, it feels like a tranquil oasis from the busy streets below. You can sit up on the benches for an open-air view out to the ocean. It’s a lovely spot to relax for a while reading or working (their free wifi is strong).
It’s one of the only West End restaurants that lists their prices in Honduran Lempira, not USD. Once you convert the prices to compare, they are very affordable.
They have a range of breakfast options, and everything is good. From traditional Western breakfasts with bacon and eggs to breakfast bagels, burritos and sandwiches, pancakes, French toast and nice juices and smoothies.
🌞 Get more information about West End – how to get there, where to stay, things to do and handy travel tips in our West End Roatan travel guide
6. Anthony’s Chicken
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: lunch or dinner
- ⏰ Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 12 pm – 10 pm, Sunday 1 pm – 9 pm (closed Monday)
- 💰 Approximate cost: $11 USD for chicken and sides
- 🌮 Speciality dish: jerk chicken
Anthony’s is the rival chicken shop in West End. While we probably liked Creole’s a little bit more, Anthony’s is worth a visit and offers something a little different.
The chicken here is jerk chicken style, not rotisserie, so it’s more flavoured and spicy. We got our first taste of this in Belize and loved it! You can choose your level of spice, from no spice to spicy.
They offer a plate that includes chicken, rice and beans, pico de gallo and your choice of plantain or garlic potatoes. The potatoes are delicious, and we highly recommend them!
They offer the same combo plate with different proteins too, like beef, pork chop or pork sausage.
This is a better option for dinner as they are open well into the evening, where Creole’s closes quite early. Their staff were super friendly, and one of the only restaurants in West End where we could speak Spanish.
7. Tacos Raul
- 📍 Location: next to Coconut Tree Minimarket (no specific Google Maps listing)
- 🍴 Eat here for: dinner or late-night feed
- ⏰ Opening hours: Monday – Saturday 6:00 pm – 6:00 am (closed Sunday, I think!)
- 💰 Approximate cost: 150 HNL for 3 tacos (~ $6 USD)
- 🌮 Speciality dish: tacos, quesadillas and gringas
Okay, let me just preface this by saying if you’re hoping for Mexico City quality tacos, readjust your expectations. These tacos are Honduran style and don’t even come close to Mexican standards.
But, we are in Honduras, and for a cheap meal on the street in West End, Tacos Raul is a pretty good option.
Open most nights from 6 pm, this is a buzzing spot for a pre and post-party feed.
Raul whips up tacos, quesadillas and gringas, usually in a serving of 2 or 3. There aren’t too many choices when it comes to protein or toppings, you kind of just get what you’re given, but for the price, it’s pretty good.
He’s right on the main street across from Half Moon Bay, with a big grill right on the sidewalk. It’s a nice street food vibe, without taking the chance of food that’s been sitting there all day.
8. Yahongreh?
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: breakfast or lunch
- ⏰ Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 7:00 am – 2:00 pm (closed Monday)
- 💰 Approximate cost: baleadas from 30 – 55 HNL (~ $1.20 – $2.20 USD)
- 🌮 Speciality dish: breakfast baleadas
Yahongreh? is Calelu’s rival for cheap and yummy baleadas.
As I’m sure you can already tell, we were on team Calelu’s, mainly because we were staying up the southern end of West End at Seabreeze Inn.
Yahongreh? is located on the northern end of Half Moon Bay, so if you’re staying down that way, this might be your go-to.
In addition to a variety of freshly made breakfast baleadas, they also have bagels, fruit salad, yoghurt and granola, pancakes, French toast and omelettes. Great if you want a lighter, more Western breakfast option that won’t break the bank (most the equivalent of $3 – $5 USD).
The name might be confusing at first, but sound it out phonetically. ‘You hungry?’ in island/Creole slang!
9. Sandy Buns Bakery
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: breakfast or lunch
- ⏰ Opening hours: Monday – Saturday 8:00 am – 3:00 pm (closed Sunday)
- 💰 Approximate cost: breakfast sandwiches and burritos from $5 – $10 USD
- 🌮 Speciality dish: cinnamon buns and Texan-style smoked meats
Owned by Texan expats, and serving Texan-style dishes with enormous ‘everything is bigger in Texas’ serving sizes, Sandy Buns is an island go-to for a big, greasy hangover meal.
The prices are already quite affordable, but once you take into account that one meal is big enough to share between two, this is a very budget-friendly place to eat.
I’m not big on smoked meats and these kinds of heavy dishes, but Brayden loved their brisket, biscuits and gravy, and sweet potato fries. I was more than happy with their cinnamon buns. They were light, fluffy and delicious.
10. Sundowners
- 📍 Location: on Google Maps here
- 🍴 Eat here for: sunset cocktails
- ⏰ Opening hours: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm daily
- 💰 Approximate cost: 150 HNL ($6 USD) for a cocktail during happy hour
- 🌮 Speciality dish: monkey lala cocktail
I’m including Sundowners on this list of the best restaurants in West End Roatan because it is a classic go-to for a sunset bev (hence the name!), and they have a great happy hour special. However, their food is nothing to write home about.
Located on the sand in Half Moon Bay, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better spot to enjoy a sunset cocktail. The Beach House next door shares the location, but their prices are 10 times the cost.
Every day from 5 pm – 7 pm they have a happy hour, and their cocktails are really affordable. We paid 150 Lempira per cocktail ($6 USD), which is the cheapest we found on the island.
We went for the spicy margaritas, but they are famous for their monkey lala cocktail, which is a typical Roatan drink. Strong and packed with alcohol, it’s a mix of rum, vodka, Kahlua and Bailey’s blended with rich coconut cream.
They do offer food here for lunch and dinner. It’s American-style bar food, and whilst it’s not bad, I’d probably save a meal for one of the other great restaurants on this list.
The vibe gets a bit old Canadian/American expat later in the night, so head there early and move on once the sun goes down.
West End Roatan restaurants: Final thoughts
You don’t have to spend a ton to enjoy the food scene in West End Roatan.
We love eating out when we travel and try to avoid cooking if we can help it when the prices are affordable enough.
Despite some initial panic when we arrived in Roatan and saw all the menus priced in USD with quite high prices, we managed to find some gems that were affordable, but just as delicious.
I would love to know which places you try, and what your favourites are! Who wins the Roatan chicken competition for you, Creole’s or Anthony’s? What about the baleada rivalry? Calelu’s or Yahongreh?
MORE ROATAN POSTS
- 18 Things to Do in Roatan (+ Unethical Things NOT to Do)
- West End Roatan Travel Guide: Paradise in Honduras
- Roatan vs Utila: Which Honduran Island is Right for You?
The Comments
Allyn Cook-Swarts
Thank you so much for writing all about Roatan in the way I like to travel! I love local, and not the touristy spots. You have definitely made a difference when reading all about Roatan. We will be there on April 10th to the 22nd. We go to Isla Mujeres normally and I know that place like the back of my hand, but this will be our first time in Roatan. Again, thank you!
Sally Rodrick
Allyn Cook-SwartsThankyou for your kind words Allyn, and I’m so glad you found my articles about Roatan! It’s a really similar place to Isla Mujeres – some wonderful, unique and authentic local gems, but also some pretty horrible touristy and unethical practices and attractions. I know you’ll find the good there and really enjoy it! Weather should be fab then too. All the best, Sally x
Lynne Grill
Great site 👍
Sally Rodrick
Lynne GrillSo glad it’s helpful! 🙂