With its uniquely varied landscape and vibrant, diverse cultural influences, Colombia is a true modern melting pot. So, it’s no surprise that this welcoming country has developed a rich, varied cuisine that continues to lead the way into the future of dining.
Colombia’s indigenous tribes have long centered culinary life around the most accessible crops: corn, potato, quinoa and beans. The country’s rich biodiversity adds a dazzling array of natural ingredients in each region, varying flavors and food traditions across the country, which have become a basis for pioneering restaurant businesses of all kinds.
Cities like Cartagena with colonial pasts have absorbed more Spanish flavors like egg and pork, which can be found at Spanish-leaning fine dining establishments like Celele, named one of Latin America’s 50 best restaurants in 2020. Mountain towns that are more difficult to access, like Bogotá, are home to distinctive Colombian dishes like ajiaco, a chicken and potato soup garnished with corn, though all of Colombia’s cities also boast diverse contemporary cultural influences from all over the world. The even more remote Amazonia region draws foods like snake and turtle from its natural environment, which can be found everywhere from family establishments to the fine dining room at El Cielo - Fusion Amazonica.
The traditional Colombian farmer meal, bandeja paisa, mixes rice, beans, fried egg, avocado, arepa, plantain and a selection of meats. It, too, varies region to region: In the Andean pueblo Jardín, for example, the bandeja paisa features the area’s abundant trout instead of meat.
The classic arepa varies regionally as well. In the paisa regions, arepas are often made with flour from a sweet, yellow corn called choclo. Up the coast, where dishes are often more heavily spiced, arepas can include anise seeds and eggs. In any city or town, look out for abundant arepas at varying establishments and price points.
No matter where you are in the country, lunch is the major meal, with families gathering to celebrate the ritual of breaking bread together.
This is to say nothing of Colombia’s coffee, which is known to be some of the best in the world. Brought to Colombia in the early 1700's by Jesuit priests traveling with Spanish settlers, the plant thrived within the country’s many microclimates and was quickly adopted by families across the country as a cash crop. Now, the nutrient-dense soils found on hills and mountains, moisture of wet regions and the temperatures of high elevations inform distinct regional flavors of Colombia’s beans.
Santa Marta and Santander in the north both produce full-bodied coffee with deep flavors, thanks to the low altitude and higher temperatures. In the “coffee belt”—the prized regions of Antioquia, Caldas, and Quindío— coffee tastes balanced, nutty and chocolatey with a gentle sweetness. In the south, where the elevation is high—in Nariño, Cauca and Huila— beans feature floral flavors with higher acidity.
In cities like Bogotá, visitors can experience the country’s rich coffee culture at on-site roasters, where staff trained at local barista schools brew the world’s best beans. Airy plazas provide ideal backdrops for savoring their aromas in the company of locals who savor the country’s rich flavors each day.
Every inch of Colombia holds so many culinary delights to be shared, you won’t wait to dig in.
