7 Best Restaurants in Medellin from Year Disrupted
One of our favorite pros about living in Medellin as a digital nomad is the stellar international food scene. While we love a good chicharron from a local Menu Del Dia, we can’t eat Colombian food 24/7. The good news is that Medellin has an amazing, creative food scene with plenty of restaurants that you’ll want to return to.
If you’re looking for a tasty restaurant for a quick or long bite, there is no shortage of options. Today, we’re going through some of our favorites. These restaurants range from affordable, quick bites to more upscale culinary experiences.
El Cielo
Lauded as the best restaurant in Medellin, our “experience” at El Cielo was hands-down the best meal that Abhi and I have ever enjoyed together. El Cielo is as close to a Michelin star restaurant as you can find in Colombia.
The menu changes every season with a pre-set menu that’s designed to be a full sensory experience. Reservations for dinner are booked far in advance so we opted for a lunch reservation. It’s the same menu and as it takes about 3.5 hours to go through the experience, dining at El Cielo was the perfect afternoon activity. If you enjoy the culinary arts, this place should be top of your list.
Bao Bei Cocina
I am still thinking about the mouth-watering Bao buns we tasted at this fantastic Korean eatery. We heard that Bao Bei was one of the best restaurants in Medellin, but every time we tried to go, the wait was insane. Bao Bei is a tiny restaurant with only six or seven tables. One afternoon, we put on our names on the list at 6 pm, 30 minutes before they opened at 6:30.
We ordered a few different styles of the steamed Bao buns in addition to some chicken skewers and bibimbap as the main. While the food was all delicious and filling, the buns were the star of the show. I really wanted to go back and order all of the buns we didn’t try the first time, but unfortunately, we ran out of time.
Criminal Tacos
This is a walk-up Mexican joint in the heart of El Poblado. Criminal tacos is easily one of the best restaurants in Medellin if you need a quick bite. With a creative variety of tacos, burritos, and salads as well as Mexican fan favorites such as Elote, Criminal Tacos is a great option for lunch or dinner. Grab a taco and a beer and sit on the sidewalk as you people watch.
Bastardo
I believe this is the one and only restaurant in Medellin that we visited twice during our time in Medellin. Bastardo is a perfect dinner spot to grab a bite before a night out. They have an extensive menu with delicious, Western-inspired dishes, including probably one of the best burgers we’ve ever tasted.
Suggestion: go to Bastardo with a group of friends and order a giant bottle of Aguardiente, Colombia’s special liquor, for just about $20 USD.
Moshi
This restaurant, Moshi Medellin will forever hold a spot on our best restaurants in Medellin because it was the very first meal we experienced in the city. We splurged and went here on our first night to celebrate our new life in Medellin. This place is an upscale restaurant that pays homage to Japanese cuisine with a Caribbean twist. The service is impeccable and the cocktail menu is fantastic. We shared the ceviche, a Char Siu Bao, an El Royal Bao, and a Spicy Tuna O-Temaki.
The flavors at this amazing restaurant were fantastic. The portions are quite small and the menu was not cheap so we did have to eat some late-night pizza. The dinner, however, was well worth it!
Roll Up Sushi
If you’re like us, then you love a good poke bowl. In California, it seems like there’s a build your own poke bowl on every street corner. We were excited when we walked into Roll Up Sushi for lunch. This place offers poke bowls, sushi burritos, and a variety of delicious juices and smoothies. This place isn’t earth-shattering but it offers a tasty and healthy poke bowl for affordable prices.
Burdo
Located in the heart of La Provenza, Burdo tastes as good as it looks. We started with Mescal Mules off of the “secret” cocktail menu. I say secret because they weren’t on the menu but the waiter made them for us anyway and they were divine. For food, Abhi and I shared the ceviche and the bacon guacamole. I haven’t tasted great ceviche outside of Peru but the ceviche at Burdo certainly was the best I’ve had outside of Peru. The guacamole was out of this world. While we didn’t order the main courses, our friends did and were all very pleased with theirs. Burdo is a beautiful restaurant and a perfect place to go with friends or on a date. It offers a hip ambiance and great music as you enjoy your food.
In Conclusion
We’re sure Medellin has even more amazing restaurants we didn’t even get to try. However, if we went back to the city, we would certainly go to all of these places again and again.
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