“One day, you will wake up and there will be no more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now!” – Anon

Top places for foodies in Cartagena

Ask any hotel concierge in Cartagena about the things to do in Cartagena and they will probably mention the mud volcano, a party chiva bus and the castle. I did none of these activities. I spent most of my time in Cartagena eating and don’t regret it at all.  

Here is my top 10 list of the best food experiences Cartagena has to offer!

1. 

   Pizza at La Diva

   La Diva. Best pizza in the world. Seriously. We entered the small restaurant thinking we would “grab a quick easy bite” and left in astonishment at discovering the best pizza ever. I have been to Italy. In fact I have been to lots of places that claim to make the best pizza but La Diva is miles ahead of the rest of the game! I would recommend the Salami Milano (and wash it down with a delicious sangria!)

2. 

   Ceviche at La Cevicheria

   La Cervicheria. Sponsored by Anthony Bourdian, this little gem is constantly packed. We came on a mid Monday afternoon and only managed to secure the last table in the restaurant. We ordered the fish ceviche (wow!) and crab claws drizzled in mango sauce. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we tried our first coconut lemonade. Enough said. 

3. La Vitrola. I had read about this place as being “the best in Cartagena” and instantly wanted to go however when walking past the restaurant one day I was kinda disappointed to see how fine dining it was. We prefer the more casual and quirky dining options and this looked super fancy. We went anyway to spoil ourselves. We were blown away by how fresh and delicious the grilled grouper was and it came with an awesome coconut risotto. We really liked the wine list and live music too so we ended up having a really great night!
4. 

   Coconut Lemonade

   La Casa de Sorocco. I had read about this place from another travel blog. The best advice I got was to make sure you share because the dishes are so big! Lucky we did because it is true. We had their famous seafood stew which was insanely delicious!! 

5. La Patagonia. We were reluctant to try this place because it is an Argentinean steakhouse and we had just come from Argentina. (although there is no such thing as too much steak) Glad we did – it was pricey however yum! Our favourite was the grilled chicken with lemon!
6. 

   Shepards Pie at Oh La La

   Oh La La. Raved about in reviews, I immediately want to write how amazing this place was on Tripadvisor. In fact, we even went there twice (usually a big no in a new city) and ordered the exact same thing! (Pretty embarrassing) We shared fish ceviche, shepherds pie and a fudge brownie. They sound extremely boring and simple but were so well made! Totally recommend!

7. La Perla. Nice simple atmosphere and great cocktails! Reuniting with an espresso martini kept us over the moon all night and the fresh fish was great!
8. 

   Grouper & Coconut risotto at La Vitrola

   Chicken shops. We decided to wander the local area and find some cheaper street food or takeaway and soon found a little chicken shop on Calle S. Andres. Tasty chicken and fries for $4? yes please!

9. Yogyou Natural Frozen Yoghurt. Oh my god. I cannot express how great this yoghurt is. The owner is very friendly. I would recommend just going there to say hi even if you don’t like frozen yoghurt. They have 4 flavours – greek, natural, passionfruit and milo. All were amazing and he finishes it off with fresh toppings and can also make smoothies. Don’t miss it!
10. Gelato. I am a gelato freak. I try gelato in every country and city I visit and am very critical. The best gelato I had was on the corner of Del Rosario and De Piedra. Try the pistachio!