It is not for nothing that Barranquilla is said to be the best city to eat in the Colombian Caribbean. And the variety of cuisines fused with elements of our immigrants make each dish a delicacy worth trying during your visit. Here are some places and dishes that you can't miss.
Shrimp cocktail in Mareta
There is no better place to eat a good cocktail or shrimp ceviche than by the river. Mareta, a small restaurant dedicated exclusively to seafood preparations, is located on the Gran Malecón del Río, today one of the main tourist attractions of the city. You can find it in the Manglares sector, it has varieties with squid, avocado, some with spicy sauce and the traditional pink sauce (our favorite) that is accompanied with soda cracker and a cold corozo juice.
Address: Av. del Rio, sector Manglares
Prices: $$
'Chuzo desgranado' in Goyo's restaurant
In Barranquilla, parties with friends are said goodbye with the popular 'chuzo desgranado'. It is a dish that is usually eaten at the end of a party and during Carnivals it is the favorite food to avoid hangovers. This preparation includes meat or chicken in chunks, chopped lettuce, 'costeño' cheese (which is saltier than usual), chips and lots of tartar and pineapple sauce. There are also other variations with chorizo, sausage, corn, paprika, among other ingredients, but there is nothing better than the traditional one.
In Barranquilla you can find one on every corner, however, we recommend Goyo's, a very local restaurant.
Address: Cra. 51 #82-125
Prices: $$
egg 'arepa' in Narcobollo
This restaurant with a particular name is well known for its typical Colombian Caribbean food. It was founded in Cartagena by a family that was dedicated to the production of 'bollos' (a traditional dish made with corn flour) and that bears this name thanks to the fact that one day during a raid, a group of policemen broke into the house looking for drugs and found hundreds of sacks of flour. After that the restaurant took this name and to this day is known mainly for its famous fried food (and of course its doughs rolls).
The egg arepa is one of their most popular preparations, it is made with corn flour and egg, fried in abundant oil, a technique inherited from our African ancestors.
Address: Cra 43 #84-188
Prices: $$
La Terraza Árabe, Special Mixed Dish
It is curious but it is said that Barranquilla has the best Arabian food in Colombia. Thanks to the heritage of our Syrian and Lebanese immigrants, who arrived in the city by the dock of Puerto Colombia, today there is a wide variety of restaurants influenced by this cuisine that have become part of our daily gastronomic life.
La Terraza Arabe is just one example, but there are many restaurants that can offer you a good portion of tahine, tabouleh, fried or raw quibbe, stuffed eggplants, fig leaves and many other delicacies from the oriental world.
Address: Cra. 59 #70 – 13
Price: $$$
Frozomalt from Heladería Americana
For dessert, we could not fail to recommend the traditional Heladería Americana, a place with more than 80 years of history known for its famous 'Frozomalt' - a combination of the words Freeze and Melt -. This is a handmade ice cream with malted texture and a soft chocolate flavor, accompanied by a fruit jelly and a sweet cookie. In its first location in downtown, it was known as 'Lunchería Americana', also famous for being the meeting place of important personalities such as Gabriel García Márquez and his friends from the Barranquilla Group.
Address: Cra. 43 #72-52 and Cl. 76 #62
Prices: $-$$
