Heladeria Candilejas
Calle 31 #32a-06
Marinilla, Antioquia
Tel: (604) 569 0126
We visited this Restaurant in early February 2023, a new restaurant to the town and for us, friendly staff, well decorated,
I was totally disappointed in the food, I often have a Sobrebarriga (Flank Steak) so I selected this from the menu, it was a medium sized portion, undercooked, it was as hard as leather, and the plate full of rice and boiled potatoes,
I will not be going back, there are many good restaurants in town where good food is served.
El Potrero
Carrera 29 #29-30
Marinilla, Antioquia
Tel: 3207435101
We visited this Restaurant in February 2023 for lunch, as we had an appointment nearby, consequently we were only looking for ‘Menu del Día’.
We arrived shortly before midday, so not sure whether they were serving, but we were welcomed, and given a table. Menu del día was $15000 per person, and consisted of soup, a main course and small dessert, along with a drink, it was nicely presented, the Staff were amiable, and for menu del día it was excellent value for money.
It is a much bigger Restaurant than it looks from the outside, there is a childrens ball pool, so it is obviously child friendly. We will certainly be returning to try the items from the menu.
Terrasole Restaurante
Carrera 31 #30-57
Marinilla, Antioquia
Tel: 3245929311
We visited this Restauarant in February 2023 for our wedding anniversary
There is an excellent choice of food (the menu can be viewed here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gGEv8Qe9f6jIyg9u3sJ66vUoYGUVzlCg/view )
It is certainly not a cheap Restaurant, but the food was exquisite and worth every peso, somewhere we might call in for one course, as many people were doing, or like ourselves, have a three or four course meal for a special occasion.
The Staff were very knowlegeable, and attentive, without being intrusive, it was altogether a lovely experience. The only downside, which did not effect us in any way, is that the Restaurant is on the first floor (second floor depending where you are from) and can only be reached via a very steep staircase, which limits the Clientelle. However to those that can enter, I would have no problem recommending this Restaurant to anyone.
Estadero El Arriero Paisa
Calle 30 #22-234
Marinilla, Antioquia
Tel: 6044186621
This Restaurant is situated on the road from Marinilla to El Peñol, at the entrance to Marinilla, we first visited when it opened about July 2022, and it has improved immensely, at first the Staff were new, hadn’t a clue how to smile, but that changed.
Traffic can be a bit busy, as it is on a tourist route, and you need to wrap up warm, however if you want a quick bite to eat, or to buy some pastries for your journey, it is a convenient stopping point.
Not somewhere I would take visitors for a meal, but if I am looking for a snack or brunch, without having to go out of my way…
La Parrilla de Maos
Calle 29 #27-49
Marinilla, Antioquia
Tel: 604 5690018
We first visited here in 2020, and it has become a regular haunt, there are no views, situated on a side street five minutes walk from the centre, but the food which is typically Colombian is excellent and reasonably priced.
The Staff are also welcoming, and will accomodate any requests you may have within reason.
Restaurante Y Asados La Cascada 2
Eventos Y Reuniones
Autopista Medellin Bogota
( El Santuario to Marinilla)
Marinilla, Antioquia
Tel: 3108026381
We first visited here approximately March 2022, and despite it being on the side of the Motorway, there are pleasant views, with excellent Colombian cuisine, at a great price and super friendly Staff.
Despite it being on the wrong side of the motorway for us, there is a turning point about 200m past the Restaurant, to access it if travelling from Marinilla, we will often drive to it, for Brunch, or lunch, if we have been shopping in town, it’s approximately 4-5Km from Marinilla.
From Cazuela de Frijol, to Bandeja Paisa you really can’t go wrong, definitely recommended.
Restaurante Kairos
Autopista Medellin Bogota
Km20 Guarne, Antioquia
Tel: 3146918104
We often stop here if travelling to Bello, it is on the right side of the Motorway, and handy if you are passing.
The food is typically Colombian, a great price, and good quality, the Staff always have a smile, the only downside, if there has to be one, is that, if there is a strong wind, make sure you wear a warm top, otherwise you are going to shiver.
We have only had breakfast or brunch here, due to the time we pass, so we cant comment further on the menu.
La Curva Del Gordo
Sample page from menu:
The Staff are attentive, without being intrusive, which was nice. Despite being alongside the Autopista, the traffic noise was not noticeable, and the light breeze, made it a comfortable setting.
Marcela, being Marcela, spent more time looking at what other people were eating, so we definitely have to return, just to try the chicharon, which looked huge.
UPDATE: Having been twice before, we returned again today 29 July 2018, I am sorry to say that I have to update my review, and not for the better.
The problem is not the food, that’s excellent, the problem is the head waiter, he has a problem, either with foreigners, or black people, he made us feel uncomfortable, He took our order, and then ran to attend a table of eight who were newly arrived, lavishing attention on them. I noticed that everyone else was being served a free entrée, not us. The frijoles arrived, but we had asked for an alteration for Marcela, that was not received, and we had to ask the waitress to change the dish. It is small things that make a place, we will not be back.
La Cumbre
Vereda Zarzal La Luz
Albeit, it has beautiful views from the terraced dining area, you can also dine picnic style on a nice day in the gardens.
Because it is not a Restaurant you expect to find in this area, I assumed you needed to book, and this was a problem, because neither the main phone, or the cellphone was being answered, we were later told they were having problems with the line, we managed to book by contacting them via Instagram, although today anyway, I don’t think that was necessary.
The kitchen is open which I like, and you can see what is going on, and more importantly that it is clean, in this case as it is new, everything is still gleaming.
The menu came, and it is much as we expected, by local standards expensive. Starters begin at $16000 COP, main courses from $26000 to $38000, and desserts from $11000, the presentation and quality of the food was good, I would describe it as ‘Cordon Bleu’, nicely presented in the middle of the plate, with small portions, not a place to come, if you like to leave feeling as if you have a full stomach.
The only criticism I would have of the establishment, is that for some reason, only the Head Waiter seems to know how to smile, this made me feel a bit uncomfortable, with the exception of this man, they were all poker faced. The only other point, is that I like to give a tip at my discretion, not be asked if I want to pay for the tip with the bill, but that now seems to be the norm rather than the exception over here, and to be honest, they would have got the same amount (10%), had it been left to me, it was just that the decision is more or less taken out of your hands.
A point in their favour is that they do home delivery, especially of their pizza menu, 30cm pizzas (six slices) from about $18000-22000, which is pretty standard price for a good pizza, so we may well give that a try.
Would I recommend La Cumbre? on my income, it certainly wont be a regular haunt, there are other Restaurants in the area, which do comparable food, much cheaper, but the location is great, you couldn’t ask for better scenery to look out over whilst dining. I might well have given a more glowing review, if only they would learn to smile. believe it or not, it makes all the difference.
Piedra de Fuego Parrila – Bar
Carrera 49 No.48-57
Copacabana, Antioquia
Tel: 4016112
UPDATE: This Restaurant has moved to the next street, I am not sure if it has changed hands, but the selection and quality of the food has plummeted.
H&M Comidas
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| H&M Comidas (Fast Food Restaurant) |
Situated only 50m from El Parque (Town Centre), this restaurant could well be missed if you don’t look for it, enter through the archway, and it immediately opens out into a spacious restaurant area, the eating area itself being in a former open air quadrangle, which is now covered with white canvas, it has not been spoilt by concreting over the gardens, instead it is covered in white stone chippings, which solves the problem of any rain getting in.
Mi Gallo Tuerto
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| Mi Gallo Tuerto (Courtesy of foursquare.com) |
We have passed this establishment every time we have returned home, the aromas have been wonderful, so we decided to give it a whirl.
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| Identical to this one (Courtesy of foursquare.com) |
We both had fresh pineapple juice to drink, and we had no complaints, the standard was excellent, the food delicious, the Waiting Staff efficient, the bill cheap! We will definitely be returning.
Update (18/07/2017)
Since writing this review, I became a regular Customer, and would visit two or three times a week, however this year the prices have noticeably shot up, I think this is mainly due to their building and opening of a second branch at Caldas, to the west of Medellin. As a result, I now only visit two or three times a month, mainly for brunch. The food is still good, albeit the portions have shrunk.
El Potrero Rancho Disco-Bar (Restaurant)
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| El Potrero |
Today, we had a run out to one of our favourite Villages, San Antonio de Pereira, which is fast becoming the outskirts of Rionegro, about an hour and a quarter from home, unfortunately on route the heavens opened, so it was not the nicest of days, however as always when we go there at a week-end, it was packed out with visitors, calling for lunch in one of the many Restaurants, a drink in one of the many Bars, or just walking around the quaint old fashioned village.
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| Interior |
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| Disco-Bar area in foreground |
We didn’t have a dessert here, because there are specialised Dessert ‘shops’ in the village, and one of the reasons we call back again…and again!
Los Postres San Antonio
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| Los Postres San Antonio |
OK, in no sense of the word can this be described as a Restaurant, but it is definitely worth a mention, I had never come across these before, and being a committed ‘Dessert’ fan, I feel I have no option but to give these a mention. I say these, because there is another just up the road, ‘Dulces y Postres’, which does identical service, but not in such surroundings, personally I prefer this ‘new’ outlet, but Marcela says her loyalty is still to Dulces y Postres, either way, they both serve up similar offerings.
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| Walls lined with history |
In the case of Los Postres, the walls are lined with history of the area, as well as the expected Religious artifacts, they also have an interest in Currency, both Colombian notes and coins no longer in circulation, as well as foreign currency, all on display, so if you are visiting from abroad then bear this in mind, they tried to tap me for some British currency, but I explained that as I have now been here two years, I don’t carry any, however I would try to oblige after a trip to the UK, hopefully next year.
Update: Albeit this review is now four years old it still stands, and having been back to the UK in 2014, we finally remembered to take some UK currency in early 2017!!
Asados Familia Garcia
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| Front Entrance |
Marcela suggested this Restaurant, although she had not been for seven years, and am I glad she did, we took her Mother with us, I would never have found the place, without knowing it’s location. It is situated down a cul de sac, and fortunately there is a big car park alongside, which is both cheap and secure.
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| Don’t bother with a starter! |
I am not certain what the meat was, but it had the texture and taste of gammon with the fat still attached, it was lovely with the Yuca with liver, a potato and salad. There was certainly no room for anything else afterwards, and none of us could fault anything about the experience. Yes, we will be going again.
Asados La 80
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| Asados La 80 |
Marcela invited me out for lunch, a Restaurant we have never been to before, together, apparently it was years since she had last been, but it certainly wasn’t a disappointment!
Leños y Carbon
San Juan
Medellin
This is a regular haunt for Marcela and myself, situated in the Carrefour Shopping Mall at San Juan, (There is a bigger Restaurant in Medellin, and another smaller Kiosk in the Food Hall at the Plaza Oviedo Mall in El Poblado) We call here about once a month whilst shopping locally, it is a grill and Salad Bar, the Meat is cooked to order, and you can stand there and watch if you want, but it is always mouth watering, we usually buy a large plate of salad to share whilst waiting for the meat, it is as the name suggests a Salad Bar, so you select what you want.
La Bolsa Bar y Restaurante
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| Main Restaurant |
You are given a table with it’s own ‘Call button’, not that we needed it, the Staff were attentive, but it was lunchtime, if the Restaurant had been full, it might be a useful gadget to have! The menu is novel, it comes in the form of a Newspaper, which you can take as a Souvenir if you wish.
The choice of menu is extensive, and there is something for everyone, including a vegetarian section, the prices are very reasonable, you can go for medium priced items, or go for the expensive range, but the quality and presentation remains excellent whatever you choose.
There is also an excellent choice of wines, spirits, beers, cocktails, and non-alcoholic drinks.
We had not planned on having a dessert, but knowing it was Marcela’s birthday, they brought out a surprise dessert to be shared, complete with candle, music and a silly hat, it was a lovely thought, that just finished off the day.
California Burrito Co
Local 2370
Medellín
TEL: +57 (4) 3526447
We went here for lunch on November 23rd 2012, this was a new experience for us, whether it is new, or we just have not seen it previously I don’t know, but we were both glad that we had found it.
This Restaurant serves Burritos, Nachos, Quesadillas, Salads, a Kids menu, and for those with no sense of pain Extreme Nachos. You can see their menu on the Website above.
You go to the counter, and the food is prepared freshly in front of you, you choose the ingredients from a good selection at the counter, included in the price is a drink, either a soft drink or a beer. Once it is ready you pay and go off to enjoy something that tickles your taste buds.
The Restaurant is a cross between fast-food and family dining, the Staff are friendly and helpful, and if you do not understand anything, they will take the time to explain.
Yep! you guessed right, we will be going back!
El Restaurante Bar Montaditos
The Restaurant has 34 covers, of which only 10 are inside, the others are open to the elements, but there is a roof! On a warm evening it would be a lovely place to go to. However saying that, the Restaurant is typically Spanish, offering tapas, you are given a menu and a pen, and you mark on the menu which tapas you want, each being individually priced, or you can pick a set number with a beer, for a fixed price.
The Staff are smartly dressed, friendly and efficient, the quality of the food was excellent, and there was a good choice of authentic food from Spain, as can be seen from the menu on their website, having moved from there at the beginning of the year, I was suitably impressed. This was Marcela’s second venture into food from Spain, and she came away hooked. There is also a comprehensive wine list.
The only little fault I had with our visit, was that despite having moved inside, the doors are left open, and I was cold, and very glad I had my thick jacket with me. Possibly a visitor to the area would not have found it a problem, but if you are acclimatised to a warmer part of the valley, I would suggest waiting for the dry season (summer) to come around.
Will we return?…definitely, but at a different time of year! Visited October 13th.
EL RESTAURANTE BAR NUQUI- CENTRO
We went to Restaurant Nuquí in the City Centre on September 22nd to celebrate a Family birthday (Not to be confused with Restaurant Nuquí in El Poblado). The Restaurant is easily accessible about 100 metres off the main ‘Regional’ route through Medellin, with a secure paying car park directly opposite, unfortunately it is not open at night, closing at 6pm.
Nuquí is a fish restaurant, and you will be hard pushed to find anything that is not fish related, other than a few vegetarian dishes. This was unfortunate as I had recently been diagnosed as allergic to shell-fish, but I still had plenty of choice from the fish.
Unfortunately their website, does not reflect the standard of the food or service, the online menu does not show many of the dishes available, so do not be put off by this.The Service, is both friendly and efficient, the choice of various fish is excellent, and the quality and quantity of food cannot be faulted, it was fresh, hot and well presented.
The Restaurant itself is a converted building, and probably one of the older ones in the city centre, is comprises of a number of rooms, housing tables of varying sizes, accomodating a romantic twosome, to a large party. There are adequate Waiting Staff, so that you never have to wait a great length of time, but at the same time, you are not rushed. We were waiting to the Guest of honour to arrive for half an hour, and it did not cause any problems.
We have been to this Restaurant previously, and will certainly return.
Piadinas
Piadinas is a Restaurant situated in a Mall made up almost entirely of eateries of different descriptions and standards, and also incudes the Holiday Inn. There is a multi-storey car park underneath the Mall, so parking is not a problem.
On it’s website Piadinas looks reasonably big, but it is deceiving, in fact it is small and probably has a maximum of 40 covers. The one downside immediately is that the toilets are upstairs, and if you are an invalid, you will have to use the Public toilets across the Mall near the lifts.
We had reserved a table for 8pm, and it was a good job we had, otherwise we would not have been seated, it was full. There were only two Staff waiting on, although they were very pleasant, they were not very efficient. At the start we ordered drinks, Marcela’s came, but I had to ask three times for mine, and by the time it arrived, I had finished my starter. Also at the end of the meal, I ordered coffee, and it never came.
Saying that, the food was excellent, neither of us had any complaints, there is a good variety, as can be seen on their website. Looking around Fondues seem to be very popular there, I had a blue cheese fondue, which was very tasty. If you order dessert, there are two main choices, mousse, or crépes, if you pick the latter, my recommendation would be to ignore the crepe and go by the filling, which is substantial, however the crépe itself, I do not think is made inhouse, and they are bought job lot, consequently they are a bit leathery.
Price wise, it is reasonably priced for the area, but the Restaurant is let down by the lack of Staff numbers, as a result orders are forgotten which is understandable but inexcuseable. Will we be going back? if everywhere else is closed maybe!
El Ranchito
This is one of a chain of seven Medellin based Restaurants, for the more casual occasion. They are all situated on either Motorways or Main Roads, outside the City. The one we use the most is on the Motorway at Copacabana, and that is only because it is convenient for us.
We have always been impressed with their menu, it is varied, and reasonably priced, we have only ever had one bad meal there, and unfortunately that was on the date of writing this. However the Management listened to our criticism, and took them on board.
The Restaurants themselves, are mainly wooden structures, and impressive, open on three sides to allow fresh air to circulate, and give you the best of the views, on these sides, they only have curtain walls, to be used if the weather changes for the worse, however I think if it was a ‘cold’ wet day I would be inclined to visit somewhere else, or stay warm at home!
The food is finished off to order, I am sure that much is part prepared, due to the turn over of Customers, there is a good choice and includes, meat, fish, and vegetarian dishes, I have to admit that I am a dessert man myself, and their dessert trolley is worth asking for, when they bring you the standard dessert menu!!!
This is not somewhere I would go for a special meal, but it is ideal for large family gatherings, and business meals, they also cater for children’s parties.
La Albufera de Valencia
Restaurante Asia
Cafe Le Gris
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An Englishman in Colombia 