While it’s true Papa Johns, McDonalds, Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut can all be found here in Colombia, something unique about the country is the quality and ubiquity of Colombia’s own chains. Rather than compromising quality for speed or price, the bulk of Colombian chains manage to be fast, affordable and, most importantly, delicious. Here’s a run down of our top 5 (in no particular order).
1. Bogotá Beer Company
Since I’m English and I love beer, I’ve written about Bogotá Beer Company before. Offering a delicious selection of international, award-winning beers, BBC is something I never expected to find when coming to Colombia. When I’m feeling nostalgic for the pub scene back home, I just find myself a seat in its enclaves, grab a pint of ‘Half and Half’ (an audacious but surprisingly excellent mix of red and black beer) and have a good chinwag with a friend. Where’s the ItBox?
2. El Corral
Narrowly edging out the excellent La Hamburgueseria by virtue of its sheer ubiquity, El Corral offers a broad range of excellent quality burgers; some you can fit in your mouth, some you can’t. It’s hard to go through a conversation about food without a local bringing up El Corral and recommending it strongly, so our advice is just to listen to them and go. I’ve heard people from the States be less enthusiastic about El Corral, but to these European tastebuds, well, I’m lovin’ it.
3. Wok
Whodathunkit? Almost 10 years ago a group of savvy Colombians decided to start a Japanese-influenced restaruant (with flavours from all over South East Asia, too) and the concept rapidly took off. Now there’s many Woks all around town and what’s on offer easily rivals any Japanese style chain I’ve tried in Europe. Wok uses fresh ingredients, employs using an equal rights policy and imports direct from the source. Ethical, and it’s one of the rare chances I get to eat curry.
4. Crepes & Waffles
I could recommend Crepes & Waffles just for the salad buffet lunch, but that would be doing it an injustice since the quality and diversity on offer is enough to leave me stumped for a good half an hour while I decide what to have. While their name might suggest they only do deserts, the main courses are great. Just do be sure to leave space for a desert, or employ that separate stomach you use especially for the sweet stuff.
5. Juan Valdez
You can’t walk too far in Bogotá without stumbling upon a Juan Valdez cafe. It might be in the mould of Starbucks (i.e. everywhere and serving coffee-to-go in a cardboard cup) but that doesn’t mean the two are that much alike. Juan Valdez coffee is of a very high quality, and its chains are all welcoming and clean. Look out for the moustachioed Juan Valdez on your travel to Bogotá (or just about any other big city) for a taste of true Colombian enterprise and deliciousness.
Paul
