Quick Bites: Cool Beans Cafe is WAY More than Coffee

Numerous folks have told me to try Cool Beans Cafe located over the water in the Boca Del Rio neighborhood just north of San Pedro town.

But then I started to see photos of their food.  And I KNEW I had to bump it to the top of my list.  I mean LOOK at this avocado toast.  Am I on Ambergris Caye, Belize, or in Newport Beach, California?!

But let me back up a bit and start from the beginning.  Cool Beans Cafe is located just north of San Pedro High School – over the water on a very pretty dock.

I parked next to the school and went in.  (Pic above is the view from my parking spot)

Plenty of seating both in and out of the sun.  You can also sit up top.  They open before dawn so you can enjoy your coffee and the sun rising over the reef!  How cool is that?

You can see their hours (and their daily specials) on their Facebook page.  Open 7 days a week right now, 530am to 530pm.

I sat right in this area.  All my concerns that I would be in the sun or that it would be too windy were baseless.  It’s breezy but not too breezy and the view is just fine.

There is comfy seating inside if you are just grabbing a coffee or frappe for the road.

The view is gorgeous but it’s nothing compared to the food.  I AM SERIOUS!  The food is fantastic.

The cafe has been in this spot for about 2 years but just 4 months ago, this family – many of who have lived and worked on this island for decades – took over.  Karen, the chef at the INCREDIBLE Victoria House Resort (she has been there for over 16 years), is the head of this kitchen.  And though she is not always here (she has a full-time job at an impeccable resort!), her brother-in-law runs the kitchen in her absence.)  And her brother and her sister and her brother-in-law and her niece.  Everyone is so friendly and accommodating.

Check out my stay at Victoria House in December 2022.  Dreamy.

I didn’t realize I already knew lovely Luis in the red shirt (back from my Crossfit days) and his brother-in-law in grey.  Chef Karen is in red.

Now, to the menu and THE FOOD!

Few things spark joy in me like the words:  Breakfast all day.  Why do we need to pretend that a meal needs a vegetable or meat to be complete?  Pancakes and waffles and eggs benedict are some of my favorite things in the world.

And I was told that Chef Karen makes all the bread from scratch:  white bread, wheat, English muffins.  AND she makes the bacon and the sausage from scratch.  When does Chef Karen sleep I was tempted to ask…

My freshly squeezed OJ.

But DANG all that work really shows in the food.  I couldn’t order just one thing.  (And Cool Mc Sandwich and Waffles and Nuggets?  I’m COMING FOR YOU NEXT!)

The avocado toast on homemade wheat toast with the deconstructed (my word, not theirs) egg and the homemade sweet and salty BACON JAM was over the top great.

But the Seafood Benny was one of the best eggs benedicts I’ve ever tasted.  Buttery white toast, thiiiick homemade bacon, the perfect poached egg and the shrimp.  Not just fried but they were delicious garlic butter shrimp with a crisp shell.   Dipped in the ever so slightly tart and insanely creamy hollandaise and the gooey yolk.  Ridiculous.

And for what you get, VERY reasonably priced.

For all you poached egg purists.  Perfect.

The lunch menu too.

As if this was not enough, they brought me a HUGE taste of the special.  They were also doing Stone Crab claws in a buttery ajo sauce!

Look at this.  A tostone cup filled with fresh ceviche, a dollop of guacamole and the most delicious buttery garlic shrimp.  (Nothing Chef Karen’s kitchen produces seems to be flavorless.  This is not a plain boiled shrimp…it was delicious.)  The warm crispy tostone, is the perfect way to sop up all of what’s going on in this cup.

I ate as much as I could – I gushed to the staff – the family – until it became a bit embarrassing and sent Jeff a text before I left the dock:  JEFF!  You and I are going out to brunch as SOON as you get home from the camp.

Cool Beans Cafe is so great.  Eat incredibly well…enjoy the view and the breeze…and fall in love with this amazing local family.  That’s my recommendation.

For all the details on Cool Beans, check their Facebook page.

And as always…please let me know what you think!  What you loved, what I need to try….all of it.  Have a great day 🙂