Wondering what are the best restaurants in Bucaramanga?
The capital of Santander offers a unique cuisine that’s hard to find elsewhere in the country.
Typical food from Santander includes the famous soup called Mute, a rice dish named Pepitoria, and meat dishes like Cabro and Carne Oreade.
If you truly want to eat like a local, visiting local restaurants that specialize in these dishes is an absolute must.
But not everyone is fond of these dishes that contain somewhat not-so-common ingredients.
Luckily, there are plenty of great alternatives, from more general Colombian restaurants to venues that serve international food.
So, we divided this article into three different sections, namely local restaurants that serve typical Santander food, local Colombian restaurants that serve typical Colombian food in general, and restaurants with international cuisine.
You can navigate to each section by simply tapping on one of the following green links, is just keep reading.
With that being said, let’s jump to our recommendations when it comes to the best restaurants in Bucaramanga.
Best restaurants in Bucaramanga that serve Santander food
Best restaurants in Bucaramanga that serve regular Colombian food
Best restaurants in Bucaramanga that serve international food
Best restaurants in Bucaramanga that serve Santander food:
1. La Parrilla de Julian
Arguably the most famous restaurant in Bucaramanga when it comes to typical food from Santander is La Parrilla de Julian.
This local eatery is located in the heart of the city and every day around noon, the restaurant is completely filled with mostly locals as you won’t find many foreigners here.
One of the absolute highlights of the menu is the Cabro Con Pepitoria (38,000 COP).
This is a plate full of meat with that typical rice called Pepitoria.
But here is the thing, that famous rice is made with intestines.
For many foreigners, this is a scary ingredient, but for locals, this is a real treat.
The meat is also a bit unusual, as it’s served with a goat’s leg and rack, but the meat tastes absolutely divine with a great smokey flavour.
The famous Cabro Con Pepitoria (38,000 COP)
Another highlight of the menu is the Mute (18,500 COP), which is served with delicious rice and yuca.
Again, the soup contains goat intestines.
The soup is a bit similar to Mondongo, a famous soup from Medellin.
Mute (18,500 COP)
The last dish that we recommend and why so many locals visit this restaurant is the Carne Fresca (29,500 COP).
This is a much safer dish for the Western taste palette as it doesn’t contain “weird” ingredients.
The two large pieces of meat have a distinct grill flavour.
The aji that’s served with it is nicely spicy and all dishes come with Cebollitas, which are tiny pickled red onions.
If this all sounds too adventurous for you, or when you’re travelling with a group and not everyone is fond of eating intestines, yet some want to try, there are more accessible dishes available on the menu including fried fish with patacones.
But that’s not per se the reason why so many locals eat here.
No, they come for goat meat!
Other popular restaurants in Bucaramanga that serve this typical food from Santander are El Viejo Chiflas and La Puerta del Sol Restaurante.
Carne Fresca (29,500 COP)
This part will be updated soon and more restaurants in Bucaramanga will be added.
Best restaurants in Bucaramanga that serve regular Colombian food:
2. El Propio
This restaurant is located on the fourth floor of the Carocali shopping mall, right in front of the indoor beer garden.
That means that you can enjoy delicious Colombian food, like Fritangas and Colombian-style burgers while enjoying the cozy environment and lovely music that comes from tbere or simply combine a visit to both the restaurant and the beer garden.
But most importantly, at El Propio, you can enjoy delicious Colombian comfort food.
The menu is straightforward, with a variety of typical Colombian food platters, burgers, and a handful of meat options that come with incredibly topped fries.
If you visit this place as a group, we highly recommend ordering one of the food platters.
Their bestseller, the so-called Colombianísima (61,900 COP), is a guaranteed success as it comes with all sorts of Colombian snacks, like Chicharron (crispy pork belly), Chorizo, Empanadas, and Morcilla.
This plate is for two persons, but there are also larger plates available with different toppings.
Colombianísima (61,900 COP)
Those craving a burger should also consider visiting El Propio.
There are ten different Colombian-style burgers, meaning that you can expect all sorts of wild toppings.
The Fireball Burger (29.000 COP) is among the favourites, which is a deep-fried, crispy pork burger that comes with grilled onion, mozzarella, and a sweet barbecue sauce.
If this is all too complicated for you, know that there are plenty of other burger options including a so-called Primípara (20.900) that is much simpler.
Other great dishes here include Jack Ribs (38,900 COP), Pork Broasted Fries (27,900 COP) and Doña Chuleta (22,900 COP).
For a fun night out combined with delicious Colombian comfort food, we highly recommend you visit El Propio.
Fireball Burger (29.000 COP)
3. Casa Cartagena
Casa Cartagena is a bit of an upscale restaurant located right in front of Parque Las Palmas and, as the name already suggests, serves coastal Colombian food.
The restaurant is beautifully decorated and spacious with plenty of room to dine with larger groups, but it also offers more intimate tables next to the balcony.
During our first visit, we were accompanied by in-laws who are kind of regulars to this restaurant.
So, you follow the experts and order what they highly recommend.
Basically, the restaurant is somewhat famous for its Cazuelas.
At Casa Cartagena, they serve Cazuela de Mariscos (66,900 COP) which is incredibly tasty.
You can also order different versions, including one that comes with chunks of salmon.
This seafood hot pot comes with that typical coastal coconut rice and two large patacones.
While the majority of the dishes at this restaurant are seafood dishes, you do have a few typical coastal meat dishes.
Cazuela de Mariscos (66,900 COP)
Another recommended dish is the Lomo Encocado (58,900 COP), which is a beef tenderloin covered in a delicious coconut cream sauce, which also comes with that typical coastal coconut rice and two large patacones.
The beef can be ordered according to your preference.
Lomo Encocado (58,900 COP)
Now, if you’re not into coconut, there are plenty of other options, but these dishes are among the most favorite on the menu.
A great starter is the Patacones Carnavaleros, which are large patacones that come with different dips and toppings, including a sweet prawn dip, suero, mozzarella cheese, and guacamole.
Patacones Carnavaleros
Alternative dishes include grilled octopus (Pulpo a la Parrilla) and deep-fried fish (Pargo Rojo).
There are also several rice platters with seafood as well as salmon with potatoes.
A few impressions of these other tasty-looking foods are placed below, however, we haven’t tried them yet.
More mouth-watering images can be found on their Instagram page as well.
If you’re looking for exciting coastal food, especially seafood, then Casa Cartagena is an incredibly good option.
Yes, prices here are slightly higher, but the portions are large and the seafood is of excellent quality.
Besides, coastal food is a great alternative to the often heavy Colombian dishes that contain so much meat that you’ll find in most other restaurants.
This part will be updated soon and more restaurants in Bucaramanga will be added.
Best restaurants in Bucaramanga that serve international food:
This part will be updated soon and more restaurants in Bucaramanga will be added.