I will say this right off the bat: of 4 cities I visited in Colombia, Cartagena was by far the least vegan friendly.
The reason is two-fold. One, it’s a smaller city, so naturally, there will be less options. Two, there are no specifically vegan or vegetarian restaurants at this time. There are restaurants that offer vegan options, but there aren’t many, and the number of options in the ones that do offer them are minimal.
Cartagena is quite touristy, so I was a little surprised by the difficulty I had. I only stayed for 4 days, but that was plenty of time to try out the available vegan options.
As always, this list is comprehensive for what I tried, but restaurants are always changing. If you’ve tried a great vegan spot in Cartagena, let me know in the comments!
The Loves
Marea
I loved loved loved this restaurant. It was a whole experience. The restaurant is water-front and faces the marina. I went during sunset and the view was gorgeous. The setting sun. The boats. The view of the Torre del Reloj. It’s a great spot for a relaxing date night.
The restaurant is mostly seafood cuisine, but they do offer one vegan entrée: the mushroom risotto. It’s one of the more expensive dishes that I had in Colombia, but it’s also one of the only fine-dining restaurants that I had the opportunity to try.
The risotto was made with candied shiitake and portobello mushrooms, truffle oil, fried eggplant, and crispy sweet onions. The flavor was impeccable. With every bite, I had to close my eyes to savor the complexity of flavors. I loved how the mushrooms were cooked. The crisp onions on top gave a great textural component. The flavor of the risotto itself had so much umami that I had to double check with the server that they don’t use parmesan cheese. He confirmed that they don’t. The risotto was so good, that it warrants the higher price tag.
Beyond the food, the service was exeptional. My server was attentive, helpful, and friendly. He even went out of his way to ask if I wanted him to take any pictures for me. He really went above and beyond.
Though there’s not a lot of choice, you should check Marea out. They have a great cocktail list as well, so it would be the perfect spot for a sunset drink by the water.
Gelateria Tramonti
If you haven’t noticed through my blogs posts, there are certain food items that I love and that I’ll always seek out if it’s available. Gelato is one of those foods.
This gelato shop was so busy when I went, and for good reason. Their gelatos are gorgeous to look at, and they taste just as good. I loved how many vegan flavors they had available. In the display, everything in the front row was vegan and everything in the back wasn’t.
They also offer flavors that are ‘light’, so they have a lower calorie count (though the calories weren’t actually displayed).
I got the cup with 3 flavors because there was so much I wanted to try: the Lulo (which is an acidic Colombian fruit), Basil Pineapple, and Passionfruit. It took me quite a while to decided on those three flavors because I would have been equally as happy with any of the ones available.
I also loved that the shop features some fruits that are specific to Colombia. If you’re wanting to try Colombian flavors, this is a fun opportunity.
You should be aware that the shop is cash only, so just be sure to bring some money. The cup with 3 flavors cost 16000 COP.
The Likes
El Bololó
Located right off of Trinity Square, this restaurant is a perfect place to stop if you’re exploring the Getsemaní neighborhood.
It is quite a small space and the doors and windows are kept open, so if you’re hoping for a break from the Cartagena heat, the best you’ll get is a fan.
The restaurant offers a limited selection of Caribbean Bowls. They have both vegetarian/vegan options and meat-based options. For the veggie option, you choose between a base of coconut rice with beans or coconut rice with squash. It’s topped with garbanzo beans, falafel, diced plantains, cucumbers, grated carrots, onion ceviche, and grilled vegetables. They also offer hot sauce on the side for those who enjoy it.
I loved the flavors of the bowl. There were so many different ingredients that it made the flavors complex and interesting for every bite. The bowl comes with 3 huge falafel patties. The falafel is different than the Mediterranean style I’m used to. The flavor profile was much more Caribbean (which is to be expected), and the texture was much softer. It’s almost had a dense, savory pancake vibe to it. I actually really enjoyed it even though it wasn’t what I expected.
For the price, you get a good portion size. Good flavors, good price, and a good portion. I’m a happy camper.
Café del Mar
This is not the type of restaurant I normally recommend, but it’s worth mentioning.
Café del Mar is on top of the Walled City’s wall, so the sunset views over the ocean are virtually unmatched in the city.
This is not a restaurant I went to for food because it’s not particularly vegetarian/vegan friendly. However, I did go for the sunset views and some cocktails drinks. I had a great time, but I was sure to eat before going.
Because of its prime location, this is a very popular tourist location. It gets very full very quickly. Either try to arrive near when they open at 4:30 pm (there is usually already a line formed) or make a reservation. Reservations get tables with better views, so if you know you’re going, it’s worth making that reservation.
Gokela
Gokela offers fresh, healthy options, and you can either chose from the menu or you can build your own. It’s not a vegan shop, but they have a bunch of vegan ingredients, and since it’s build your own, you have control over what ingredients are used.
I went for breakfast because I had a walking tour that day and needed some good sustenance. I built a wrap with a spinach wrap, falafel, lettuce, pico de gallo, jalapeños, corn, cucumbers, almonds, and hummus. All of the ingredients looked very fresh and well presented. You have the option to have your wrap served hot or cold.
The restaurant has a quick-service feel, so it’s not somewhere I would go for a relaxing meal. But, if you’re looking for something quick, easy, and customizable, this is a great option.
The Disappointments
Pezetarian
Sushi is one of my go-to foods, so I was really excited to try this restaurant. Pezetarian has a lot of things going for it: the location is right in the middle of the walled city. Its décor is really beautiful. The service was attentive and friendly.
What fell short for me was the food. I will say, they have more vegan/vegetarian options than most restaurants in Cartagena. There is a dedicated section of the menu for their vegan/vegetarian options. With 4 appetizers, 2 salads, 2 sushi rolls, and 5 entrees, there’s a decent amount of choice.
I opted for the Green Roll, which has mango, cucumber, avocado, green apple, and bell pepper. The rice that surrounds the rolls is green from the bell pepper. It’s topped with crispy beet strands and served with a side of a peanut, coconut milk, and ginger sauce. I like this roll in theory, and it’s a nice departure from typical vegan sushi offerings.
However, for all of the interesting ingredients, the roll fell flat. There was no flavor that stood out as the ‘hero’ flavor. The rice was too hard. The whole thing just was lackluster. I think something more acidic or some additional salt would help to lift the flavors. The dipping sauce wasn’t strongly flavored enough to give that needed lift. I ended up needing quite a bit of soy sauce and sriracha to make it somewhat interesting to eat.
Who knows, the other vegan options may be better choices, but from what I tried, I wouldn’t highly recommend this restaurant.
Quero Arepa
Ok, one thing I love about this restaurant: it’s open 24 hours! Whether you’re out for a fun night out or up for an early morning, it’s nice to have a restaurant that’s open.
Quero Arepa has a section of their menu dedication to vegetarian options. There are 4 arepas and 5 entrees. There is cheese on most of the options, but it’s listed as optional. You can request no cheese if you’re vegan.
To be absolutely honest, I misread the menu and ordered the Marzorca Desgranada (without the cheese) thinking it was an arepa. It’s listed in the same column on the menu, and it just didn’t register in my brain that it wasn’t. That was my misunderstanding.
Now, that being said, vegetables in the Marzorca Desgranda were incredibly oily and didn’t have much flavor added besides oil and salt. The vegetables are topped with little potato straw crisps, which are actually very common in Colombia, especially on hot dogs. But in this instance, it was just something greasy on top of something that is already oily.
The dish desperately needed something acidic or fresh or spicy to cut through some of that oil.
I wouldn’t hold my breath for really high-quality food from this restaurant. But, I would go back for a late-night snack on a night out.
Montmartre
Yikes. I was so excited to try this restaurant. It’s very small and intimate French style restaurant with limited seating. So either be sure to make a reservation or arrive close to opening. Luckily, I was there quite early, but I saw several tables be turned away because there wasn’t space.
The menu has a small section of vegan/vegetarian items. Two of them are vegetarian and three are vegan. In the Google reviews, I had seen several people mention loving the vegan ceviche, so that was easily my choice.
The ceviche has mango, vegetable crudité, coconut, orange, avocado, cilantro, pomegranate, crispy corn, and plantain chips. The variety of fruits and vegetables sound like an incredible combination.
However, the dish was so sour I had an extremely difficult time eating it. Like, it was so out of balance that my trigeminal nerve in my jaw (which can be triggered by sour ingredients) was tensing the entire time. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely expect a ceviche to have a decent amount of citrus acidity, but this was way more than normal and over the top for me.
I’m not sure if it was improperly made when I was there, if some of the ingredients were just more sour than normal, or if that is truly the flavor profile the restaurant wants from the dish. I ended up having pick around the plate to only eat the milder ingredients, and I avoided the broth all together.
With there being so many positive reviews of the vegan ceviche, I have to assume that mine was a fluke. But it did taint my experience, and I would have a hard time recommending this restaurant.
Final Thoughts
I really had mixed feels about Cartagena as a whole. It’s absolutely beautiful, and all of the architecture is incredible. However, I found the walled city to have a bunch of tourist traps, and the vegan food just wasn’t up to the standard that I had in other Colombian cities. I’m glad that I went, but I’m also glad I was only there for a few days. From a purely vegan culinary standpoint, there’s not much draw to return.
