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A brief guide on where to eat in Bogotá. With a recent a culinary revolution of sorts, food in Bogotá has become a draw to the city. Lots of great gourmet restaurants opening up have turned it into a foodie destination. International cuisine as well as traditional Colombian food can be found almost anywhere.
Where to Eat in La Candelaria, Bogotá
Bogotá has decent restaurants serving traditional Colombian food and more in the vibrant historic district of La Candelaria. With a recent a culinary revolution of sorts, the food has become a draw to the city. Lots of great gourmet restaurants are opening up, turning it into a foodie destination.
“Ajiaco Street”
First of all, a must try while in La Candelaria is a Bogotá local specialty, ajiaco santafereño. It’s a creamy stew with chicken, potatoes, capers, and corn. It’s served with rice and avocado. The best place to try it is a one-block restaurant zone next to Plaza de Bolívar just to the left of the Cathedral of Bogotá. There are a handful of restaurants serving ajiaco and other Colombian specialties, and they’re all very good.
La Puerta de la Tradición
La Puerta de la Tradición is the very first place I tried ajiaco. To drink, I had mango juice with milk (jugo de mango con leche). The price was a reasonable and of course the ajiaco was delicious.
Balcones de La Candelaria
I also tried the ajiaco at Balcones de La Candelaria, which is on the same block as La Puerta de la Catedral. It was excellent, but both were a bit different. I really can’t choose between the two.
Antigua Santafe
As if to complicate things, I decided to try yet another ajiaco on another trip to Bogotá. This time, I popped into Antigua Santafe. The sign even claims to have the best ajiaco in the world. It didn’t disappoint, and was on par with the other two.
La Puerta Falsa
For breakfast, I visited a very popular café in La Candelaria called La Puerta Falsa, also on “Ajiaco Street”. I had the chocolate completo (hot chocolate, cheese, bread with butter) and arroz con leche (rice pudding with raisins and cinnamon). It was all excellent. They also serve tamales, eggs, and make many sweets that are displayed in the front window.
Restaurante Rosita
Restaurante Rosita in Chorro de Quevedo serves traditional Colombia food. I had the bandeja paisa, which is from Antioquia and the Coffee Region. It usually contains meat, chorizo, chicharrón, rice, beans, avocado, patacón (fried plantain), arepa (flatbread), and a fried egg. It was very good and reasonably priced.
La Hamburguesería
La Hamburguesería has a good selection of juicy gourmet burgers. I stopped in one night and ordered take away.
I tried the Red Hot Chili Burger, named after the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s topped with cheddar, smoked and caramelized bacon, chipotle sauce, black garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, and onion. The burger is served with a Peruvian chili pepper and chili con carne. Unfortunately, they didn’t pack the chili con carne.
Edos 65 (Permanently Closed)
Every time I visit Bogotá, I see a lot of new and very good international restaurants popping up in La Candelaria. If you’re looking for decent Italian, try Edos 65.
Map of Where to Eat in La Candelaria, Bogotá
Where to Eat in Usaqúen, Bogotá
In Usaquén, there are a multitude of restaurants to choose from, serving traditional fare along with international, fusion, upscale restaurants, and several American chains. This neighborhood is one of the best foodie destinations in the city.
Teo Restaurante
In Usaquén, we went to Teo Restaurante. This Greek restaurant serves excellent authentic Greek cuisine. It’s run by Theodoros, a very friendly man from Greece who was happy to explain some of the Greek dishes to Marisol. We shared a moussaka, saganaki, Greek salad, and fried zucchini. For dessert, we had an excellent baklava. The restaurant is located on the bottom floor of the Hotel Morrison.
Where to Eat in Teusaquillo, Bogotá
We’ve visited a handful of restaurants in Teusaquillo, which is north of Santa Fe and runs northwest towards the airport.
Fairuz
For lunch, we tried Fairuz, a Lebanese restaurant. We shared a combo plate. The food was excellent and reasonably priced.
Rico (Permanently Closed)
Also in Teusaquillo is Rico, which serves traditional Colombian food, and, as the name suggests, the food was “muy rico”. I had the ajiaco. It was a little watery for my taste but delicious. Try the fresh fruit juice combos.
Wok Star
There are a few locations for this Asian restaurant, and we tried the one at Centro Comercial Gran Estación. The first night, we tried sushi and spring rolls. We loved the menu so much that we came back the next night to try phad thai and sesame chicken.
Hornitos
Hornitos has a few locations around Bogotá. It’s a bakery that serves some delicious breakfasts. My desayuno gringo (gringo breakfast) was pancakes and eggs with bacon and fruit and it tasted almost like what I would get at a diner back home.
Crepes & Waffles
Crepes & Waffles is also all over the city. They serve up, as the name suggests, both sweet and savory crepes and waffles as well as soups and salads, desserts, and other specialties. We sat down for lunch in the La Esperanza branch near the US Embassy. I had a Mexican-inspired shrimp crepe while Marisol ate a Caribbean shrimp dish. Both were incredible.
We each had a dessert with our meals, which consisted of ice cream and a sauce. They were an amazing way to finish off lunch.
Bogotá Beer Company
BBC is a Colombian microbrewery with locations all over the city. We ate near Torre Sudamericana just outside the Teusaquillo district. They have a simple menu of your typical greasy fried bar food as well as a few sandwiches and burgers. The sandwich I had was excellent, but we weren’t too crazy about the fried shrimp Marisol ordered. We both loved our beers and will be back to try more.
Where to Eat in Santa Fe, Bogotá
In the Santa Fe district, my experience is a bit limited.
Alitas Colombianas
There are a few different locations of this wings place, around the city, but we tried the one located near the National Museum. They serve baskets of 8 or 16 wings with fries. They’re decent but I’ve definitely had better. They only have a few sauces to choose from.
Sahara
Sahara, near Journalists Park (Parque de los Periodistas), serves authentic Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisine. Try the couscous dishes or the combo mixto árabe.
