Rasta Pasta on Caye Caulker is definitely worth a try

I would never go to a restaurant just because it had a cool name. That would be stupid and you’d almost deserve to get poor food and even worse service. Nope, the reason I went to Rasta Pasta Rainforest Café when I was on Caye Caulker wasn’t the cool name, it was the cool name combined with the cool logo on the sign outside. I was mesmerized.

Fortunately for me it turned out so well that I ate a lunch there one day and a dinner there another day, and this was just a 2-day visit. Rasta Pasta might be Caye Caulker’s most famous restaurant, due in large part to that catchy name, but it remains a favorite with visitors because the food is as good as it is interesting, and the portions are vacation-huge.

The place is easy to find, just a short walk up Front Street from the Water Taxi pier, or you can reach it by walking up the beach itself. They’ve got about 10-12 outdoor tables, and a good-sized bar. It’s one of many great places along that beach to have a drink and a meal as you contemplate how little you actually accomplished so far that day.

As the name implies (or it did to me anyway), they have pasta dishes with exotic spices in unusual combinations. I don’t remember exactly which one I had, but I’m sure it was the spiciest thing on the menu because that’s just how I roll. But the other part of the menu is dominated by burritos and other Mexican-style fare. This is one of those places where your burrito appears to be bigger than your own head at first, but inside you’ll find lettuce and other tasty fillers that make it easier to consume. The prices range from around US$7 to US$12 for most things, so it’s not the cheapest meal on Caye Caulker, but it might be one of the more memorable ones.

The bar itself is quite nice, and unless things have changed very recently they have a good happy hour special in the late afternoon. I normally make fun of people when they keep going back to the same place over again, but when I’m back in Caye Caulker I am pretty sure my first meal will be at Rasta Pasta.