With nights that seem impossible to end early and a contagious vacation vibe, Cartagena seems made for lazy starts and long brunches. Oddly however, the brunch scene here has until recently been fairly lacking. The fact that Cartagena already created breakfast perfection with the invention of the ubiquitous “Arepa ‘e Huevo” might have had something to do with it? For those of you who, like me, consider brunch to be the most pleasurable way to start the day/combat hangovers/delay reality, fear not! I am delighted to report we are seeing a host of restaurants and cafés brunching out (pun intended) into the realm of champagne-spiked breakfasts.
Here’s the best of the brunch:
PASTELERIA MILA
When Mimosas in Cartagena were barely a mythical whisper from those fortunate-enough to have ventured overseas, Pasteleria Mila was pioneering their cause. The home of the original Cartagena brunch, Mila still remains one of the city’s best; thanks to an enormous selection of scrumptious sweet and savoury offerings, gorgeous French-farmhouse ambience and those aforementioned Mimosas. If you can make it out without ordering “breakfast dessert” from the ridiculously tempting window displays, you’re a better man than I am.
TRY: Colombia’s unusual sweet/salty combo of hot chocolate and melted cheese.
Brunch from 8am Monday - Saturday and from 10am Sunday
www.pasteleriamila.com
CAFFÉ LUNATICO
Cute and quirky, Caffe Lunatico has quickly won the hearts of Cartagena’s brunch bunch with beautifully presented breakfast plates that taste as good as they look. Wash them down with all-day jugs of Sangria, or on Sundays, why not sign up for bottomless Mimosas? Because, as they say, brunch without champagne, is really just a sad breakfast.
TRY: Broken eggs with yuca or Cartagena’s (and potentially the World’s) best French Toast
Brunch 11am- 3pm every day.
@caffelunatico
CAFÉ STEPPING STONE
If you’d like a side of social conscience with your coffee and croissants, Café Stepping Stone is for you. The brainchild of two young Aussies, the project aims to share some of the cafe culture Australia does so well (yes, including brunch), whilst helping train, educate and support Cartagena’s disadvantaged and at-risk youth.
TRY: The menu is loaded with yummy vegetarian and vegan options.
Brunch from 8am Monday - Saturday, and from 9am Sunday
www.cafesteppingstone.com
OH LA LA
Take a beautifully restored high-ceilinged, light-filled Getsemani house with an incredible past, add soul-pleasing food and lashings of French-finesse and you have one of our favourite breakfast destinations. Think homebaked bread with real butter, homemade jams, granola and yogurts, toulouse sausage, decadently creamy omelettes, still-warm bollo served with the best suero you'll try (local delicacy).. all lovingly prepared and beautifully presented (like, really beautifully, in that, must upload to instagram immediately, kind of way).. trust us, you'll be charmed to bits too.
Breakfast 8am-1pm Monday - Saturday (Also great for lunch, or early dinner)
Found on Calle Larga, near the corner of Calle Vargas close to Cocina de Pepina
EL BISTRO
Chef and foodie favourite, El Bistro, does a weekly Sunday brunch that places traditional Caribbean cuisine front and centre for a breakfast unlike anything you will try at home. Featuring elevated local classics such as arepa de huevo with smoked trout, chorizo empanadas, and fish Sancocho; your guayabo (slang for hangover) will be a distant memory thanks to this restorative fare.
TRY: Empanadas stuffed with seafood casserole and the amazing selection of German-baked breads
Breakfast Monday - Saturday 9am -1pm; Sunday Caribeño Brunch 10am- 4pm
www.el-bistro.com
OH! LA LA
Housed in a beautifully restored Getsemani space, Oh! la la is imbued with a romantic charm that captivates all.. and that's even before the impossibly chic food and drink start arriving. Homebaked breads with real butter, homemade jams, yogurt.. it is all so beautifully presented and lovingly prepared, you can't help but sigh in satisfaction (and upload a gazillion photos to the medias). There's proper Toulouse sausage, delicious granola, a decadent creamy omelette, still-warm bollo (a local favourite) washed down with good coffee and amazing juices. A definite favourite.
Brunch 7am-1pm Monday to Saturday
Calle Larga corner of Callejon Vargas (around the corner from Cocina de Pepina)
CAFE DE LA MAÑANA
Now in new, super central digs right in front of the Casa de la Presentación Art Gallery (top tip: check out the art exhibits after breakfast), our favourite German and Colombian duo, Jan and Naty are bringing their hearty, made-with-love, good valued breakfasts to a new public and everyone's happy about it.
TRY: Typical Colombian breakfast of eggs, arepa, coffee, fruit salad and OJ all for 18,500 pesos.
Breakfast Monday - Saturday 8am onwards
Sunday 9.30am - 4pm
Calle Estanco del aguardiente
CAFE ÉPOCA
Café Epoca is for people who choose their brunch based on the calibre of the coffee. Roasted in-house from the best of Colombia’s beans, this could be the very best cup in Cartagena. It’s not just coffee-snobs who will be satisfied; the food menu reads like a brunching all stars and definitely doesn’t disappoint in the delivery.
TRY: It’s hard to beat creamy avocado smashed on toast, right?
Brunch from 9am daily
@weare.epoca
CREPES & WAFFLES
For visitors it might be hard to accept that a restaurant that seems from the surface just to be a run-of-the-mill chain, is somehow capable of commanding the unfaltering devotion of an entire population. Yet this is exactly the power of the almighty Crepes & Waffles. Basically, if you live in Colombia, you will most probably eat here at least once a week, every week, for your entire lives. And then, on Sundays, it’s brunch time, baby. Mompox mozzarella, bread baskets, all the eggs, mimosas and nutella/banana crepes. There’s definitely worse ways to become a household name.
TRY: Baked Lebanese eggs, guanabana smoothie.
Sunday Brunch from 10am
www.crepesywaffles.com.co
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