I love food. I have always been a big fan of it as my parents would tell you and fortunately for me I have never become fat because I have always been involved in sports and I also have a somewhat high metabolism.
Needless to say when I go to a new city or especially a new country I am very excited to eat something different and traditional to that location. It was not my first time in Colombia as I had been to Cali a year prior and the main food highlights of that trip were the fresh and crispy empanadas at Pega Pega, the coconut ice cream from Puerto Coco, and the fresh fruit cups called cholados from Raspados Eliver.
The first few days in Medellin my friend and I went to a few different restaurants and ordered the paisa dish which is traditional to this region and also fish dishes which are traditional to the coastal area of Colombia. The latter seafood restaurant we went to is ran by an Afro-Colombian family and demographically speaking still to this day many of the coastal towns in Colombia are predominantly Afro-Colombian due to the slave trade that took place centuries earlier.
After a few days of eating out we decided to do some grocery shopping at the nearby Exito supermarket to reduce the expenses a bit. I also found a bakery not too far away called La Migueria that makes all kinds of great bread such as wheat, plain, cheese, and chocolate bread. They have great pastries too.
It was not until my brother came a few weeks later that my eating habits changed again from cooking very simple things at the apartment to eating out again. Partly because my brother was not interested in eating my boring food, but also because one of the nights while we were looking around for somewhere to eat, we decided to sit down at this local restaurant not too far away from the seafood restaurant which was closed but also close to the stadium.
The place is so local they do not even have a menu. The first time we went my brother asked for the menu and the older gentleman told us they don’t have a menu and that he would tell us what they have. As an appetizer they have the option between two soups. A veggie soup and the typical Colombian soup called sancocho. The main plate comes with the standard Colombian side dishes (rice, beans, plantain, fried egg, arepa, salad) and you pick one of five protein options. Either beef, chicken, chicharron, liver, or pork. I got the veggie soup and we both chose chicken for our main dish. Finally, they have a whole bunch of fresh juices and we both got mango. All of this for $32,000 COP or a little bit under $7 USD.
From that day on we went there at least once if not twice a day and I did not cook another meal for the remaining 2.5 weeks of my trip. It was more expensive to cook for myself than it was to get this delicious meal and juice. I tried out all the protein options and yes that includes liver. One day I felt a little bit risky and I decided to try liver for the very first time in my life. That was an experience that I was not going to repeat. From best to least I liked the beef option the most followed by chicken, chicharron, pork, and then obviously liver. The place is called la Esquina del Marinillo so if you are ever in Medellin by the stadium check it out.
During that first week that my friend was with me she had seen a video on TikTok of a very nice restaurant on a hill in the outskirts of Medellin that has an amazing view of the city. Unfortunately, when I checked to make a reservation there was no availability during the days that she was still with me which was a pity, but I was able to reserve a table for when my brother would come to town.
It was a bit of a journey to get to the restaurant especially with the after work traffic since the latest reservation I could get on this Friday was 6pm. We went by Uber and after about 50 minutes and several highly inclined roads that almost made me feel like I was on a rollercoaster we arrived at the restaurant.
As soon as you walk into the main eating area you are welcomed by the spectacular view of Medellin. There were not many people when we arrived so we could basically walk around a bit as if we had the place to ourselves.
Once we sat down we were brought some fresh bread with this special butter that tasted great so we asked for seconds because we might as well get the most out of this place. Remember I like to eat. For appetizers I got an onion cream soup and for the main dish I got octopus ravioli with applesauce and my brother got a nice juicy piece of meat with fries and asparagus.
Normally everything tastes very good to me because I am not picky with food and I also do not have a high standard of how great something should taste, but maybe because I was at this fancy restaurant that internally I started critiquing every little bit of it. Again the bread and special butter was good, but I must say the onion cream soup did not have much taste in my opinion. I would have liked either a punch of real onion flavor or even just a little bit more seasoning because the taste again was very neutral and I did not know what I was supposed to be tasting.
As far as the raviolis I liked the first few with its clear taste of the apple sauce on top and cranberries and octopus inside, but after a few more my mouth felt too sweet for a main course dish. It was kind of one dimensional because there was really no savoriness, acidity, or spice to balance out the sweetness of the fruits.
My brother’s solomillo meat with fries and asparagus looked very tasty and just looking at the little pebbles of salt on top made me wish I had gotten that over the soup and ravioli. Interestingly enough when I ordered the octopus ravioli the waiter said he first had to check in the back if they still had any because it is a very popular dish guests order. So either a lot of people actually like the dish or like me they are very intrigued by the sound of it.
I chose it because I once tried an octopus salad our neighbors in Germany made and I loved it. I had not had octopus since so I was eager to try it again but unfortunately for me the sweetness took over the dish.
For dessert we got a lava cake with vanilla ice cream which we both enjoyed.
In total the bill came out to $225,000.00 COP which is a little bit under $50 USD. For a high end restaurant with an amazing view of the city the price is certainly less than what it would have been in Miami.
Honestly I am more of a fan of the local and authentic restaurants, but every once in a while it is also nice to go to a bougie or posh restaurant.
Medellin has lots of great food options around the city at a very affordable price and it is just a matter of finding what you like best.
Hasta luego.