Laura Field

Think you know Colombian food? Think again. The humble corn arepa, dozens of potato varieties, Pacific and Caribbean coastlines, and biodiversity that spans multiple biomes and altitudes are all core contributors to Colombia’s ever-inspiring food scene. Too long overlooked and undermined, Colombia is now showing the world its power as a culturally and gastronomically rich and diverse country. There’s no doubt that eating well is on the cards for anyone traveling here.  To help navigate the country's hottest food spots, we’ve rounded up the very best restaurants in Colombia, with options ranging from the Caribbean coastline right up to the 2,640m altitude of its capital, Bogotá. 

So you’ve probably heard about and salivated over foods from the likes of Mexico, Peru and Argentina. But now’s the time for Colombia – and particularly its second city, Medellín – to step into the limelight.  Known as the City of Eternal Spring, Medellín was named the third best city in the world for 2022 – and the best for food and drink specifically. A hive of creativity and entrepreneurship in one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, the city provides creative chefs with the ideal playground for discovering ingredients and experimenting with dishes. Below we meet three of Medellín’s most influential chefs, all dedicated to promoting their city, their country and the social cohesion fostered by the city’s buzzing food scene.  The Michelin-star chef reinventing a national cuisine Photograph: ElCielo Perhaps Colombia’s most celebrated chef, Medellín native Juan Manuel Barrientos (‘Juanma’) is the brains and imagination behind ElCielo. Medellín is home to the original ElCielo restaurant but there are also outposts in Bogotá, Washington DC and Miami. The DC restaurant made Juanma the first-ever Colombian chef to be awarded a Michelin star in 2021, while this year the Miami version also received its own Michelin star.  After studying gastronomy in both Spain and Argentina, Juanma wanted to come back to Medellín and reinvent Colombian cuisine – but nowhere in the city was open to it. So the only option was to open his own restaurant: more like a culinary laboratory,