Header images: Masa pastries (Ian Allen) and interior (Benjamin Cadena)
There are just over six weeks to go until Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2017, which is being held this year for the first time in Bogotá, Colombia. So it seems like the perfect time to find out from the local chefs and restaurateurs where to eat and drink in the Colombian capital.
We asked Leonor Espinosa, Harry Sasson, Juan Manuel Barrientos, Nicolás López and Sergio Meza for their insider tips.
Best for breakfast:
La Puerta Falsa
Cl. 11 #6-50, Bogotá
– recommended by Leonor Espinosa, chef-owner of Leo and Misia.
Masa
Calle 70 #4-83 and Calle 81 #9-12, Bogotá
somosmasa.com
“It has some delicious, healthy options and the bread is all sourdough,” says Juan Manuel Barrientos, chef-owner of El Cielo in Bogotá, Medellin and Miami.
“It’s totally unpretentious and the bread is delicious,” says Nicolás López, one half of the team behind Villanos en Bermudas in Bogotá.
Best for coffee:
Catación Pública
Cl. 120a #3A-47, Bogotá
“They have probably the best Colombian coffee beans and they do a great job with them,” says Nicolás López.
Il Pomeriggio
Cra. 11 # 82-01, Local 158, Bogotá
ilpomeriggio.com.co
– recommended by Harry Sasson of Harry Sasson restaurant.
Café Devotion
Cra. 7 #72 - 41, Bogotá
cafedevotion.com
– recommended by Leonor Espinosa.
Best for traditional Colombian food:
Donde Yiya
Diag 53 con 16, Bogotá
– recommended by Leonor Espinosa.
Andrés Carne de Res
Calle 11ª-56, Chia
andrescarnederes.com
– recommended by Harry Sasson.
Best for dinner:
Ramen Bar Tomodachi
Dg. 70a #466, Bogotá
“Good ramen is hard to find on this side of the world, but these guys have got it,” say Nicolás López and Sergio Meza.
Local by Rausch
Cl. 90 #11-13, Bogotá
criterion.com.co/#restaurantes
“It’s a cool place with three floors where you can go with friends. It’s in a very trendy part of the city and has the level of quality you would expect from the Rausch brothers, Jorge and Mark. Great desserts and typical Colombian dishes," says Juan Manuel Barrientos.
El Chato
Cl. 65 #3b-76, Bogotá
theworlds50best.com/discovery/El-Chato.html
– recommended by Leonor Espinosa and Harry Sasson.
For drinks:
El Enano
Cl. 79b #712, Bogotá
facebook.com/BAR-ENANO
– recommended by Leo Espinosa.
La Huerta
Cl. 69a #10-15, Bogotá
huertabar.com
“La Huerta in Quinta Camacho neighbourhood has some really interesting signature cocktails like a corozo fruit juice from the Colombian Caribbean and sake. The drinks are designed or curated not by a mixologist but by the Colombian-American chef Brian Aaron," says Juan Manuel Barrientos.
For street food:
Guerrero and Compañía de Sándwiches
Carrera 9 # 69-10, Bogotá
facebook.com/guerrero.cia
– recommended by Leo Espinosa.
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