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There are plenty of good choices for food in Barichara, one of Colombia’s Heritage Towns (Pueblos Patrimonio). You can find everything from traditional Colombian food to pizza and fast food. There are also decent vegetarian options. We had both good and bad luck with the restaurants we tried.
Don Juan
Our first lunch in Barichara was at Restaurante Don Juan. It’s a nice place but it’s definitely taking advantage of tourists. The prices on the menu were much higher than we expected, and we felt the quality of the food didn’t match the prices.
We steered away from the heavier and higher priced items like steak and fish and ordered a tomato soup and burger. They were underwhelming at best, and we still paid more than two full meals should have cost. Furthermore, service was kind of snotty.
Ristorante al Cuoco
For dinner that same night, we ate at Restaurante al Cuoco, which is owned by an Italian man who makes his own pasta. It’s located on Cemetery Park (Parque del Cementerio) on the western edge of town. Attracted by the recommendation in Lonely Planet, we thought it would be a nice romantic dinner.
We sat outside and were greeted by the friendly owner who went over the special dishes for the night. I ordered tagliatelle with homemade Italian sausage while Marisol ordered a spaghetti with octopus and pesto. My meal was fine, but Marisol’s was extremely oily and the octopus was definitely not fresh. She only had a few bites and was vomiting two hours later.
We also ordered dessert, sharing a homemade tiramisu and gelato made with parmesan cheese. Both came out frozen.
If that’s not enough, our meals were at the table within a few minutes of ordering. If the food was truly fresh, we would have had to wait at least 10-15 minutes for the pasta, sausage, and octopus to be prepared. It’s as if he cooked everything earlier in the day (or maybe before) and heated it up in the microwave. For what we paid, it was terribly overpriced. To top it off, there was an annoying sensor that went off every time someone walked into the restaurant. Our advice is to stay away from this place.
D’Comilona
For our second lunch, we wanted a place to watch Argentina play Nigeria in the 2018 World Cup. After walking into a few restaurants, we found one with a TV. It happened to be D’Comilona, which is located just off the main plaza. They serve traditional Colombian food as well as fast food.
D’Comilona has a fixed lunch menu at a reasonable price. Marisol had the fixed lunch while I ordered a plate of chorizo. The chorizo was cooked in guarapo (fermented sugar cane juice), much like in nearby Valle de San José. Both of our meals were very good.
Shambala
For our final dinner, we went to Shambala. It’s a fun place with an outgoing owner and is located just off the plaza. They specialize in vegetarian options including stir-fries, wraps, and pastas, but also have ceviche and can add meat to almost any meal.
I had an excellent ceviche while Marisol had a vegetable stir-fry with chicken and a mojito. The ceviche was a much bigger portion for what we usually pay for a similar price. We both thought it the best meal we had in Barichara and fairly priced.
