3 Best Restaurants in Tela, Honduras' Caribbean Coast

Crispy brick-oven pizzas served in five sizes (try the meter-wide pie!) and savory panzarotti pastries keep this kitchen, owned by Italian expats, busy all evening. Vito churns out homemade dishes from the back, while Sissi flits busily between diners, who she says enter as clients and leave as friends. Indoor, terrace, and sidewalk seating offer a warm and inviting atmosphere, and the bar is stocked with local beers and Italian wines and liqueurs. They open at 4:30.

This cheery little restaurant is a popular evening hangout for tourists, especially since it has a bookstore and a small art gallery. Casa Azul is known for Italian dishes such as pizza and spaghetti and meatballs. The staff is justifiably proud of the "big clean salads." Honduras Caribbean Tours has its office in the front of the restaurant.

Nestled in the heart of Tela's Garífuna community, this small beachfront eatery in Triunfo de la Cruz is known for its selective lunch menu of genuinely Caribbean dishes. Artisan tablecloths in bold tropical colors top simple tables, and amazing refreshing breezes pass through the tall roof of the bamboolike caña brava. Lunches such as sopa de caracol (conch soup), calamari, and freshly caught mackerel join the rotating menu of Garífuna seafood favorites. The restaurant arranges shuttles to and from hotels in Tela and has six rustic rooms in the back for overnights.