Medellín’s Top 4 Vegan Restaurants
Medellín, Colombia is surprisingly abundant in vegan options.
The main cluster of vegan restaurants is in El Pobaldo. Lauerels has a few as well, but if you’re wanting to be more central to the majority of vegan options, El Poblado is the place to go.
I stayed in Medellín for a month, so I had a bunch of time to really dig into the vegan scene in the city and try a wide variety of restaurants. Of all the ones I tried, four rose to the top of the list:
Betty’s Bowls, El Poblado
When I decided to eat at Betty’s Bowls, I honestly didn’t anticipate it becoming one of my favorite Medellín restaurants.
Though the food is excellent, there are a few things that are a little quirky about the restaurant that you should know before you go. One, it is cash only and in the hour that I was there, two different people had to walk to the nearest ATM to be able to pay because they didn’t see the cash only sign (to be fair, it’s on the door leading inside and all of the seating is outside, so it’s easy to miss). That leads into the other point that all seating is outdoors, so I would only really recommend going on a nice day.
To eat, I chose the Amarillo (Yellow) Smoothie Bowl. It was gorgeous with granola and a huge variety of fruit. It was like eating a fruit salad that had some smoothie rather than a smoothie bowl with some fruit. The smoothie itself was made from mango, pineapple, banana, and coconut milk. It was lovely—and the variety of fruits on top (!): strawberries, passionfruit, apples, oranges, watermelon, bananas, papaya. It was loaded. I hardly ever get full from a smoothie bowl, but I was stuffed after this one. And at 25000 Colombian Pesos (which currently is about $6.37), it’s a great option for breakfast or a healthy lunch.
Real Vegetal, El Poblado
This was hands down my favorite restaurant that I tried in Medellín. They offer smaller plates, so it’s easy to eat tapas style and try many different options. I went with the Potatoes, Cauliflower Baos, and the Mushroom Toast.
My measure for how good I truly think a restaurant is is how often I feel the urge to eat a dish again. I think about that mushroom toast on a regular basis, and my mouth waters every time. It was so perfectly in balance, and the flavors danced in my mouth.
I really enjoyed the Baos and the Potatoes, but they didn’t blow me away quite as much as the mushroom toast. The potatoes are cooked hasselback style, and they were fun to eat. I love all of the ingredients, but they didn’t create a symphony of flavor the way the toast did. The baos were solid—soft bun, crispy cauliflower. Really well balanced. I loved them, but again, the mushroom toast left the strongest impression.
Interestingly, this restaurant also sells their vegan cashew cheese in retail versions. I happened across the brand at a small health food market, and as soon as I recognized the label, I immediately purchased it. I’m so glad I did. I got the black garlic cashew cheese, and it was such a great addition to the dishes I made at home (especially the pastas!).
Kaime, El Poblado
Kaime has such a lovely open, airy aesthetic with light colors and earthy woods. This aesthetic is carried through into the menu selections, with many healthy, well-balanced dishes. I opted for the roasted cauliflower (listed on the menu as the Coliflor Rostizada). The flavors of the cauliflower dish were so interesting with the charred cauliflower, tangy vegan yogurt, umami rich black garlic spread, earthy pistachios, and tart gooseberries. It was light yet complex. A really well-built dish.
I’m a sucker for a vegan donut, so I had to take advantage when I saw that they had a few options. I went with the pistachio—it was filled with a creamy pistachio custard (vegan, of course). Overall, the donut wasn’t nearly as sweet as I expected, which is a nice change from many vegan donuts which rely heavily on sugar to compensate for non-vegan ingredients. This pistachio donut was really subtle and well-balanced.
District 1, Laureles
District 1 was a pleasant surprise! It’s a Vietnamese restaurant in the main semi-circle of restaurants in Laureles. It has a section of vegan/vegetarian dishes but is primarily a non-vegan restaurant, so it’s a good choice if there are others in your group who don’t follow a plant-based diet.
Honestly, as much as I love a wide variety of Vietnamese dishes, a well-made bahn mi and pho just hold a special place in my heart. The bahn mi at District 1 had all of the right components to make it a great sandwich, but what really put it over the top was the vegan pâté. I have never had a bahn mi that made the effort to substitute the pâté. Normally, it’s just left off, so it was a pleasant surprise to have it on there. One note, bahn mis traditionally have mayo and this one did as well. When ordering, I forgot to confirm if the mayonnaise was a veganise or not, so just double check if you do end up ordering.
The pho had everything I love in it: lots of veggies, tofu, mushrooms. But what really differenciates a great pho from a mediocre one is the broth. At the first spoonful, I immediately said “that’s a good broth”. It was so aromatic with the delicious pho spices, and particularly, the star anise really shone through.
**Side Note:
I really wanted to try Taco Veg in El Poblado, but they were closed when I tried to go. I have a feeling it’s probably a really good restaurant with Mexican street style tacos, so if anyone has tried it, let me know how it is in the comments!
The Medellín vegan food scene so interesting because the majority of the restaurants lean into international flavors rather than rooting themselves in Colombian cuisine. A lot of the food that I ate was so delicious, but to get a good sense of Colombian cuisine, I turned to other Colombian cities. Stay tuned for the articles on Cali, Bogotá, and Cartagena for more Colombian suggestions!
