Honduras Food and Drink

While Honduras isn't famed for its cuisine, there are some very tasty local dishes that are worth trying, including distinct regional varieties. There is a decent choice of restaurants and bars in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and other cities, where fast food plays an increasingly big role.

Beans, rice and tortillas are a staple of many dishes, while plantains are cooked in a surprising numbers of ways. Pork is widely eaten, as is chicken and beef. Fish and seafood are staples in coastal areas and the Bay Islands, where the Garifuna (Black Carib) add chilli and coconut milk to their spicier dishes.

The main meal of the day is lunch and is often a 'plato típico' of beef, refried beans, tortillas, sour cream, pickled cabbage, rice and fried plantain. Although Honduran food isn't generally spicy, most local restaurants keep a bottle of hot sauce on the table.

Specialities

Plato típico: A mixed platter of steak, plantain chips, pickled cabbage, beans, rice sour cream and tortillas; translates as ‘typical dish’ and variations using all or some of these ingredients are found in any eatery in the country.
Baleadas: Flour tortillas filled with refried beans, a hard, crumbly cheese, sour cream and often pickled onions. Avocados, scrambled eggs or meat can be added. These are a common staple of the country.
Enchiladas: A flat corn tortilla, fried and topped with ground beef or pork, cheese and a non-spicy tomato sauce.
Pastelito: A folded, deep-fried flour or corn tortilla filled with beef or chicken, rice and/or potatoes and spices.
Tamales: Fresh corn cakes sometimes served with cheese, chillies or raisins.
Sopa de caracol: Conch soup, made with coconut milk, conch (or crab or fish), cassava, green plantains and coriander.
Yojoa fish: Spiced, fried whole fish from Yojoa Lake; a popular delicacy served fresh at lakeside stalls and restaurants.
Anafres: Black bean stew with melted cheese, served with corn chips. Named after the clay pot in which it’s cooked; commonly eaten as a starter or light meal.
Pinchos: Kebab skewers, of meat or fish, with vegetables.
Tapado: Fish and seafood stew, a Garifuna speciality, popular in the Bay Islands.
Licuados: Milkshakes made from fruits such as mangoes, pineapples, watermelons and bananas.
Beer: Mostly blonde lagers, including Port Royal, Imperial and Barena; Salva Vida is a more malty alternative.
Rum: the most popular local spirit, with Flor de Caña one of the best labels, also Pirate’s Grog from the Bay Islands.

Tipping

Service is included in most restaurant bills. In hotels, cafes and restaurants, 10% of the bill is customary where service is not included.

Drinking age

18.