Restaurants in Cali
Aside from the restaurants in this section, you should definitely make a trip to Mercado La Galeria ★, Calle 8 and Carrera 26, in the Alameda neighborhood. There are dozens of small food stands selling traditional regional dishes, as well as fruit vendors with an incredible variety of seasonal fruits.
- Colombian
Aurora Melómanos y Comelones
Is this a record shop that serves food or a restaurant that sells records? Either way it’s one of the coolest spots in Cali for a burger, guanabana juice, or rock album. The menu rotates daily with a list of Colombian and international comfort foods. At night the place livens up with…$ - Ice cream
Calathea
This chic little artisanal ice cream shop is possibly the best in a town of surprisingly great ice cream shops. Calathea uses only natural ingredients in their ice creams and sorbets, including a lot of native fruits like lulo and guayaba. There are also unique flavors like…$ - Mexican
Cantina La 15
Cantina La 15 isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a quirky experiment in fine dining that you’ll either love or hate. The space is big and loud, with 400 seats and live music playing throughout dinner service. Late nights it feels more like a giant club. The food is for the most part…$$ - International
Container Park
This gated lot on a primary Barrio Granada restaurant and nightlife strip is like the Colombian version of a gourmet food truck court. Instead of trucks, there are a handful of small restaurants selling an array of goods out of recycled shipping containers, with a central patio full…$ - Colombian
El Zaguan de San Antonio
Traditional vallecaucana dishes are the focus of this Cali institution. It’s a casual spot serving big, heaping portions of sancocho de gallina (hen stew) and arroz atollado (meat and rice). There’s a great rooftop with views of San Antonio’s clay tile roofs.$ - Contemporary
Hacienda del Bosque
Cali’s most atmospheric restaurant sits outside of the center, in the Santa Teresita neighborhood near the zoo. The setting is the iconic 19th-century Santa Rita hacienda, with a maze of intimate dining rooms with beamed ceilings and stone floors. The menu is contemporary Colombian,…$$ - Colombian
La Arepa Cuadrada
This funky little arepa spot near Parque San Antonio is known for dabbling in unique combinations of the favorite corn-based cake. Here they are stuffed with up to six ingredients, which range from bacon and beef tongue to plantains and pineapple. There are even international flavors…$ - Colombian
La Comitiva
Contemporary Colombian cuisine hasn’t really hit Cali the way it has Medellín or Bogotá, though La Comitiva is trying to get there. With a maze of dining spaces and patios, the restaurant is surrounded by dozens of others on a lively circle in San Fernando. The straightforward menu…$ - Sandwiches
La Sanduchería del Escudo
This gourmet sandwich shop is run by Chef María Claudia Zarama, the owner of fine-dining restaurant El Escudo del Quijote. She does everything right: bakes her own bread, uses top-quality ingredients, and likes to incorporate lots of unique flavors. Sandwiches include smoked trout or…$ - Peruvian
Pica
On a chic street in El Peñon, Pica is divided into two spaces: a narrow interior dining room and a large back patio surrounded by a vertical garden. The menu is a combination of standard Peruvian dishes, especially a long list of ceviches and tiraditos, as well as some international…$$ - Fusion
Platillos Voladores
Flying Plates” is a fusion restaurant mostly dabbling in Asian and Mediterranean fare, though they have gradually been shifting toward more Colombian products and cooking styles. There’s a short list of ceviches and carpaccio, plus curries, grilled fish with native fruit sauces, and…$
