Condé Nast TravelerJan 12, 2026
The Colombian Chefs Revitalizing the Country's Food Scene
From Bogotà to Cartegena and Medellín, a new generation of Colombians is drawing on tradition—and creating some of the world's best restaurants in the process.
23 things in this story
- Chapinero AltoNeighborhoodlocus of Bogotá's food scene
- Rogelio SalmonaPlacearchitect of mid-20th-century red-brick mansions
- Mini-MalRestaurantrestaurant using Indigenous rites and biodiverse flora/fauna
- Salvo PatriaRestaurantseasonal, waste-conscious restaurant
- AmazonPlaceFrom the Colombian Amazon to Malawi's Kusango National Park, grants from the US government have been ended leaving…
- LeoRestaurantChapinero restaurant with tasting menus
- FunleoPlacefoundation working with producers across Colombia
- TerritorioRestaurantrange of distillates using native ingredients
- La Sala de LauraRestaurantbistro above mother's restaurant
- La CandelariaNeighborhoodBogotá's colonial old town
- Casa Mamá LuzRestaurantrestaurant of Luz Dary Cogollo, star of Street Food
- Comuna 13Neighborhoodhillside slum in Medellín, now a tourist destination
- Berracas de la 13Restaurantrestaurant and women's collective in Comuna 13
- Mamba NegraRestaurantrestaurant known for ancestral Colombian ingredients
- Elcielo HotelHotelhotel opened by Juan Manuel Barrientos
- SambombiRestaurantbistro pioneering hyperlocalism
- La Perseverancia marketMarketmarket where Mamá Luz started with a food stall
- Príncipe ConejoPlaceurban farm near La Sierra
- La SierraNeighborhoodarea with breeze block houses
- Rituales café and roasterRestaurantworks with 35 coffee-producing families
- Urban Coffee ToursPlaceoffers tours to coffee producers in La Sierra
- PacificPlace
- V60 drippersPlace