What It’s Like to Eat and Drink on a Luxe, Tiny Private Island

After a connecting flight through Belize City and a long, toasty line at customs, it’d be understandable to feel bedraggled, weary, hungry, and parched as you’re whisked to your awaiting helicopter, which flies over the world’s second-largest barrier reef on its way to Cayo Espanto. Yet those feelings transform into pure amazement (and just the right touch of healthy fear) as you fly to the tiny private island resort, perched in the center of the gin-clear water off the coast of Belize.

Since 1997, the serene four-acre island has offered just seven luxurious villas and has grown a reputation for its food and beverage, an exceptional feat when you consider the property is only accessible by helicopter and motorboat. And now, local (and Belize-born) chef Richard Gillett is taking the reins as executive chef, after more than four decades of cooking in some of the country's best kitchens. His new menu showcases seafood and fish caught every morning in the surrounding sea, with daily-rotating dishes like bright conch ceviches, Belikin-battered fish tacos, lime-soaked salads, and succulent grilled Caribbean lobster.

What makes the menu even more remarkable is that all the food comes to you – there is no on-site restaurant or bar. You order everything you want, at any hour, via walkie-talkie or through your designated staff, who check on you throughout the day. Depending on guests’ preferences, attendants can set up meals on a villa’s private dock or beach, or somewhere secluded on the island.  

It’s entirely possible, on just four acres of land, that you don’t see another guest during the extent of your stay. The villas are rustic yet luxuriously designed, with wooden decks extending out onto the water, providing private platforms for lounging and gazing at wildlife. Most villas come with infinity plunge pools for peaceful, oceanside soaking, and each villa opens up its brightly painted shuttered walls during the day for a feeling of blissful immersion in the natural surroundings. Tropical birds flock to the beachside, unperturbed by guests. 

Mornings start with coffee, fresh in-season fruit, and a menu of deeply comforting classics like fluffy banana pancakes (easily the best I’ve ever had) and huevos rancheros with a dash of fresh pepper, made-in-house hot sauce. Lunch and dinner menus change daily, and a tailored experience is part of the package. If you say you love guacamole, it might appear unprompted at your table.

Here, there is no tedium in daily dining. There are no buffet lines or waiting for a bartender to catch your eye, or rotating through the same stale menu options. Every meal is a series of dishes, not overly fussy or daunting, a compilation of local ingredients executed beautifully. Wine pairings are keen and well-orchestrated, a well-curated selection for any connoisseur. 

Not only are the offerings in constant flux, but the location of a meal is as well. One night you might dine on the sand, overlooking the water. Another, you’re led down a path in the island’s interior to a small clearing marked by tiki torches for an intimate meal. The next night is dinner and a movie, an experience that marks Cayo Espanto as a place from a different time and dimension. On a recent visit, I chose Jurassic Park from the resorts selection of DVDs, which somehow matched the setting quite perfectly. The multi-course dinner of rich lime bisque and expertly grilled shellfish over creamy polenta unfolded while I watched bloodthirsty dinosaurs lunge after Laura Dern. 

In its capacity to surprise, Cayo Espanto offers custom experiences, days with itineraries meant for utter relaxation and to show off the ecological treasures of Belize. 

On the most adventurous day of my visit, two spear fishermen took me out to sea on a motorboat; “You’re going to catch lunch!” they said. While I wasn’t so successful, my lack of prowess didn’t leave me hungry; as I bobbed alongside black stingrays and teeming (friendly) sharks, my experienced companions took the liberty of hauling in a gorgeous net of seafood. On the boat ride to a private beach location, they prepped the conch for ceviche, nonchalantly slicing on a cutting board atop a cooler. 

Once settled on the beach, I dove into the bowls of fresh raw conch, bright and acidic with peppers and onions, served alongside perfect tortilla chips and a cold Billiken lager, the beer of Belize. The boat captain cooked the rest of the fish over a grill atop burning coconut husks. “The best mosquito repellent is coconut husks,” he noted. The lobster and snapper he served to us, with just a hint of seasoning, was easily the freshest I’d ever tasted. “Secret recipe."