Aladdin's-Caye Caulker

After a couple of failed attempts, we finally found one of the highest rated restaurants on Caye Cauker, Aladdin's, opened for business.

Though not right on the beach, Aladdin's offers a lovely view. 

We settled at a table and watched the last wisps of sunset dissolve into the water. 

This is another restaurant where many things are made to order, so remember Caye Caulker's motto to go slow. Savor your dinner. There is no rush. 

We started out by sharing the fattoush salad. 

The ingredients were very fresh and the balance of herbs was perfect.

For our entree, we both ordered the vegetarian platter because it included one of our favorite things, stuffed grape leaves. We were crushed when we were informed that they were out of stuffed grape leaves. We were invited to order double of one of the other items on the platter, so we both picked the tabbouleh. 

It still seems funny to admit that the best restaurant we ate at on an island in Belize was a Lebanese restaurant, but wow was this place good. It has joined the ranks as one of our favorite travel meals thus far. 

The hummus was creamy, and the pita was fresh. Normally I'm not a huge falafel fan, because I find it to be dry, but this falafel was incredibly moist.  

Now let's take a moment to appreciate the baba ganoush. It was the best baba ganoush we have ever had, and I dare say we may never find another to be its equal. It had a deep roasted flavor, combined with lots of garlic, and just a hint of lemon. It all blended together to create a little bit of eggplant heaven. Had we known it was going to be that good, we would have ordered it as our missing grape leaves double helping.

 Everything we ate at Aladdin's was delicious. If we were staying on the island longer, we definitely would have eaten there again. We saw quite a few people order food to go, so whether you get food to go, or take a seat at one of the picnic tables, if you are on Caye Caulker and you find Aladdin's open, eat there.