Cali Restaurant Tips by mircaskirca Top 5 Page for this destination

SaraJuana: Music, Tertulia, Art and Healthy Food

SaraJuana is a new café, restaurant and tertulia in San Antonio, only two blocks from Cafe Tostaky. Tertulia is a Spanish or Latin American social gathering with literature, art and music. Participants may share their recent creations (poetry, short stories and other writings, art works and music). At first tertulias were held in private homes but in recent centuries they met in clubs and cafés.

SaraJuana is a rather small place owned by a young local couple. They offer healthy breakfast and lunch (also set meals). At night it becomes more of a meeting place where one can enjoy coffee, chocolate, sweet things, dishes to order, beer and cocktails.

Favorite Dish: One late afternoon I dined here. As I wasn't very hungry a light meal did perfectly well. I had a tostada vegetariana with red pepper, sweet corn, mango, pineapple and cheese. In Colombia, tostada refers to a green, unripe plantain which has been cut into pieces, fried, flattened and fried again. A glass of delicious curuba (known also as banana passionfruit) juice was a nice companion to the meal.

Tostada was 8.000 COP and the juice 3.000 COP (December 2009).

Address: Carrera 9 No. 2-09

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: San Antonio

Other Contact: sarajuana09@hotmail.com

Phone: +57 2 893 6987

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 3

Theme: Local

El Pescador: Centro Gastronómico y Cultural del Pacifíco

The complete name of the restaurant El Pescador is Centro Gastronómico y Cultural del Pacifico and as its name suggests, it's not only a restaurant, but a meeting place with cultural roots, voices, flavours and rhythms of the Pacific. The restaurant has always exhibitions of paintings by artists from Pacific coast. The staff working in El Pescador is from different parts of the Pacific coast and they wear typical dresses. The fish they offer is bought exclusively and directly from the fishermen. They are working with Fundación Equilibrio for the commercialization of plastic from recycling, that serves in the construction of social housing since it looks like wood.

It is open Mon-Sat 11:00am-04:00pm, Fri 11:00am-10pm.

Favorite Dish: The restaurant specializes on seafood from the Pacific. I had a daily menu which was sancocho de pescado, a traditional soup (stew) made with fish, along with large pieces of plantain, potato, yucca and vegetables of the region. It was served with a big piece of robalo fish cooked in coconut milk, rice and patacon (fried plantain) on another plate.

Sancocho de pescado was absolutely delicious and immediately became one of my favourite Colombian dishes. Together with a glass of pineapple juice it was 9.000 COP.

A year later I returned to Cali and of course had lunch in El Pescador again. Among many seafood dishes I chose sancocho de ñato and had a glass of borojo juice with the meal. This is a fruit from the Amazon rainforest, highly energetic and nutritious, often used because of its aphrodisiac and medicinal properties. I did not like the taste at all (love all other Colombian fruits!). I had the juice with water and with no sugar but I was supposed to have it with milk and sugar. Well, another lesson to learn :)

The bill came to 14.000 COP, taking in account that I asked for bottled water to use for juice.

sancocho de pescado recipe

Address: Calle 9 No. 4-27

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: Centro

Other Contact: elpescador08@yahoo.es

Phone: +57 2 889 4055

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Seafood

Sazón Marino: Restaurante y Cevicheria

There are at list a half-dozen seafood restaurants and cevicherias in Galería Alameda area. I looked at the menu of a few of them and then decided to have a lunch in Sazón Marino. It's a simple place with outside seating, a perfect vantage point for watching the activity in the colourful market. The blue (though plastic) chairs somehow remind of the sea. At lunch time it gets busy with local people. I was here two times during my stay in Cali. In one occasion there was a man with guitar playing Colombian music.

The service was quick and friendly. I had a conversation with señora Cristina, the owner, a nice and energetic lady. She also brought me to the kitchen to see how the preparation of the food was going. I was pleasantly surprised how clean it was. Certainly a good sign.

Favorite Dish: On my first visit I had their famous cazuela de marisco. The seafood casserole was prepared with fresh ingredients from the market, such as shrimp, clams, lobster, squid, octopus and fish. I love the combination of seafood, coconut milk and fresh cilantro. The dish was accompanied with rice, patacon and salad. It came with a glass of aguapanela con limón.

On my second visit I opted for arroz con camarones (rice with shrimp), accompanied with patacon, salad and a glass of aguapanela con limón. The dish was tasty though I prefered cazuela.

I don't remember the exact price but both meals were around 12.000 - 14.000 COP.

Address: Calle 8 No. 25-06

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: Alameda; in front of Galería Alameda

Phone: +57 2 682 1052

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Seafood

La Canoa: Pleasant Ambient and Convenient Location

I came across La Canoa already my first day while strolling the streets of San Antonio with my Canadian friend Kate. Later I came back several times. The café was very conveniently located, just one block from Café Tostaky where I was staying and it had a small outdoor seating. The first thing that drew my attention was the picturesque ambient, made of natural materials (wood, stone and ceramic tiles details at the bar) and painted in vivid colours of blue and green.

It was a hot day and we already explored a great part of San Antonio. We thought it would be time for a short break and a cold drink. After we ordered our drinks we started to talk to Andres, a handsome young guy from the bar. He was a little embarrassed at the beginning. But later, when he got used to our company, he even did a short dance performance for us (we were the only guest at that moment).

Favorite Dish: Kate had a beer and I decided for champú, a thick drink made with crushed maiz, fruits (lulo and pineaple), sweetened with panela and seasoned with cinnamon and cloves. Refreshing and yummy!

You can also get various meals but I never dined here.

Comparison: about average

Directions: San Antonio, in front of Iglesia de San Antonio

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Local