A Restaurant with THE View: Muna Rooftop Restaurant & Bar in Placencia Village
It isn’t often that I get an Instagram message from a former First Lady. Instagram message or any sort of message. It said: “I see you are in Placencia – come visit us!”
What! Of course! I was giddy. I forgot to mention that by “isn’t often”, I mean pretty much never. Ms. Barrow is a prolific activist and philanthropist AND well… incredibly chic.
I was already heading into Placencia Village for the afternoon (you can see all my pictures of this lovely place here) – and I totally LOVE to take a peek inside the boutique hotel and new restaurant. Yes please!
But let’s back up a bit.
A few years ago, Kim Simplis Barrow — the wife of former Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow (2008-2020) – worked to design and build a cool, modern new hotel in the charming village of Placencia. Right on the beach – it’s called The Ellysian.
I’d visited just before they opened in early 2017 but since then, they’ve added a new eatery called Muna Rooftop Restaurant and Bar,
I stepped off the sidewalk…and into The Ellysian Boutique Hotel.
I met Chantal, the manager of Ellysian. We took a brief tour and then stopped upstairs for a tasting.
The beach and the pool.
All focus on THE VIEW.
And up to the rooftop…
The view over the whole village.
From lagoon to the ocean…up and down the peninsula…the restaurant is enclosed in glass to take advantage of it all.
When you first walk in, this gorgeous sunken bar…I absolutely NEED to get back to experience the place as the sun is setting…
Muna Restaurant is all about Belizean food, flavors and ingredients and then elevating them just a bit. AND it’s all about the view.
My photography skills were put to the test by all this light coming thru all these windows! I took a short video so you can really get a sense of the breeze and the view…it’s just beautiful. (Here’s a great photo on the website)
These west-facing seats much be so perfect for sunset over the Placencia lagoon.
And outside to the lounge area…
This beautiful mango and papaya mocktail. This might be the ideal medium for papaya – lime and sparkling water…delicious and beautiful.
Mango is in SEASON all over the south of Belize – trees everywhere hanging heavy for the world’s most delicious fruit.
Stewed chicken on babaganoush. The silky smooth spread with the twang of recado and the juicy chicken…SOOOO good. This combination is genius.
Mango guacamole on adobe snapper. The cool and sweet and spicy…
And plantain wrapped grouper with mango mango mango curry…
The food was divine. Not just good…DELICIOUS. And so pretty.
And the view?
I’ll be back for a proper sitting! Muna and crew – thank you so much for the lovely visit and for making me feel like a VIP. I can’t wait to return.
Check out the website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Perhaps I’ll see you over there! If you can’t tell from my last week or so of blogging and social media – I’ve become a bit obsessed with Placenica!
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