You’re spoiled for choice of cheap eating establishments in Porlamar

Los Caratos C Marcano at C Fajardo. A tiny juice joint selling delicious, freshly made merengadas and batidos. Mon–Sat 6.30am–6pm, closed Sun.

Cooperativa Nutrioriente C Santiago Mariño at C Igualdad. A very clean, very cheap self-serve restaurant with plates of meat, chicken, fish and sides for only $5. As the name suggests, some options are healthful and lowfat. Try the cheesecake. Mon–Sat 8.30am–4.30pm, closed Sun.

Restaurant Fu Hua C Mariño between calles Zamora and Maneiro. There’s little atmosphere and the staff may be the most apathetic on the island, but the freakishly long Cantonese menu, heavy on seafood, is worth a trip in itself. Besides favourites like “tortilla cantonesa”, there’s spaghetti, roast chicken and pizzas (all under $12.50), and an “express” Chinese menú ejecutivo (under $6). Daily 11am–11pm.

Pizzería La Pilarica C Marcano at C Ortega. This friendly neighbourhood café, with a garden patio and tidy green tablecloths, is great for pizza (try the hearts of palm), pasta and meat or fish dishes, all $7.50–15. The asado negro ($7.50), a blackened steak smothered in a salt-and-sugar glaze, is another treat.Daily noon–11pm.

Punto Criollo C Igualdad at C Fraternidad T0295/263-6745. See it to believe it: towering plates of mixed seafood and comida criolla whisked to every table in the constantly packed house. Meat dishes feature heavily (cordon bleu de lomito, lengua, beef stroganoff) and the choice of sides, including entire plates of sliced avocado, are endless. Not for cheap eats, but worth the expense: most meat dishes $10–15, seafood $20 and up. Daily 10am–10.30pm

Restaurant Mérida C Arismendi, south of C Maneiro. Though naming an island restaurant after Venezuela’s most renowned Andean town was an odd decision, this is a real budget option with rich atmosphere.

The day’s menu, scribbled on a board, may include filet de dorado with copious sides for only $4. Share a table with other diners in the pleasant courtyard of the owners’ home, and give a nod to the small shrine to the Virgin on your way out. Mon–Sat 11am–2pm, closed Sun.