Korean Food and Restaurant in Bogota, Colombia

Horean food has been popular in the United States and internationally for a logn time, however I was surporsed to find Korean food in Bogota. IEver since I have started visiting Colombia over 10 years ago, I never noticed an influence of Asian culture. Long ago, you would never see Asians walking around. I mean, there were few Chinese restaurants, but not much and it was not popular at the time. Now it is a lot different!

I am glad there is a larger Asian influence now. As an American, I grew up with the food, culture, and people on a regular basis. I missed it when I moved here, so it is great that I have found at least a good Korean restaurant to visit when I get cravings for Korean food. For this reason, I recommend the Biwon Korean Restaurant in Bogota. It is located near Parque 93 (cr 16 with calle 93).

Just the other day I went there with a large group of foreigners. It has become popular with the expat crowd probably because they miss Korean frood from their original lands too! The restaurant is very tradicional compared to the Korean restaurants I have been to in America. It is a large house that is divided up into several rooms and one main dining area. There is a large back yard perfect for sitting outside to eat of smoke a cigarrette. You know Koreans and Colombians like to smoke!

The food is also very good and there is a large menu. The last time I went we ordered Bulgogi beef and pork. It comes with a free apatizer, lettuce, and spices. Here is a picture of our meal!
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Traditional Bogota Food Tour (Virtual and Free!)

Instead of paying for a food tour in Bogota, I am going to guide you through a virtual food tour for free! 

Take this tour when you arrive in Bogota and find the best local food secrets. Let me know what you think!

Below are some of my favorite traditional Colombian food that most foreigners tend to like. I will recommend the dish and places where you can find them. 

2.       Ajiaco - Potatoe & Chicken Soup

      This soup is a meal in itself. With origins as the local soup of Bogota, this soup includes a cream of various

      potaoes, shredded chicken, and a side of rice, avaocado, and corn. Top it off with sour cream and capers! It is very rich, creamy, and filling. For this dish, I recommend a restaurat called Sopas De Mama y Postres de Abuela. It is a local restaurant that has become popular for its traditional dishes. 

1.       Morcilla – Blood Sausage

A sausage made with blood, rice, and sometimes vegetables. They mix everything together and make a sausage out of it. It is delicious! Typically eaten a long other cuts of beef, potatoes, aji (hot sauce) and guacamole to complete a meal. This is an excellent meal for meat lovers. With this, it is typical to drink a cold beer or refajo (a mix of beer and a soda named Colombiana). For the best quality of meats, go to Andres Carne de Res. It has a great traditional and modern atmosphere for the elite of Bogota. If you eat late, dinner is likely to turn into an all-night dance party – without leaving your table.

3.      Bandeja Paisa & Empanadas

      Start off with a crispy and delicios appatizer of empanadas - a corn pastry filled with a mix of potatoe and beef or chicken. Eat with aji for extra spice. The main dish, Bandeja Paisa, is probably the most well-known dish. It was featured on the Anthony Bordain travel and gastronomy show when he visited Medellin, Colombia. It includes steak, rice, beans, friend egg, chorizo, and avacado. These dishes are typically very large because lunch is the main meal of the day Afetr this, there is no need to eat dinner as you will be full for the rest of the day. For most foreigners it is hard to finish the entire dish at first. Eventually, you will learn to eat like a Colombia - small breakfast, large lunch, and no dinner. A great way to save some money! Try this meal at a local restaurant that looks like a traditional Colombian farm home: Restaurante Las Acacias

Best Hidden Restaurants In Bogota

By no means have I been able to try all the restaurants in Bogota, but from the ones I have tried, this is my list of the top 3 restaurants so far. In this list, I am making an effort to go beyond the typical chain restaurants that are popular in Bogota. For example, if you ask a local, they are most likely to recommend Crepes & Waffles, Wok, or Harry Sassons. To me, theses are average, so I am recommending something different that most people aren´t aware of.

Flor de Loto: An Indian restaurant with great food and ambiance. Here you can find most traditional Indian dishes. It is decorated with Indian art and even has a traditional alter. The service is very good and friendly which suites the calm and quiet environment. I believe the chef is American and ingredients are imported. Cash only, but excellent choice for a romantic date.

Agave Azul: The award-winning Mexican restaurant is exclusive because of the dishes and size of the restaurant. It can be considered a boutique restaurant as it is highly stylish and very small, fitting about 5 tables at the most. There is a set menu each night that ncludes tapa style portions, but with at least 5 courses made for sharing. Small servings are fitting for the cocktail options, so it is rather satisfying because of the amazing fresh and unique flavors. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for something different.

La Taperia: A Spanish tapas restaurant with a great variety of dishes. Tapas servings are bigger than average and one of the few places you can find a variety of imported European beers. They have live music like Flamenco and DJs at least one a week. The environment is like a lounge/bar, but with a great art selection and murals.

ACPM: An Intro Into the Bogota Restaurant Scene

When I lived in Atlanta, I didn't realize that I was spoiled with the variety and quality of restaurants. After a couple of excursions into the Bogota restaurant scene, I was sorely disappointed in the food available in the city. Though I have heard good things (mostly from Colombians, instead of foreigners), good restaurants are few and far between. For this reason, I am writing about my hits and misses in the Bogota food scene.

Some background info on me is that I enjoy spicy food with a wide variety of tastes. For example, Mexican and Indian food are my favorite and probably the hardest to find in Bogota. I haven't been able to find a decent taco or Mexican restaurant so far. I have tried La Taqueria, Casa Mexicana, El Carnal (probably the worst), and El Museo De Tequila. They all suck, half of them don't even have hardshell tacos, and the cheese dip is like Cheeze-Wiz. I mean, how hard is it to mess up a taco? Apparently, I have seen the worsts forms of the concept “taco”.

The problem is that Colombians have very little knowledge of food outside of Colombia. For them, variety means chicken or beef. This is were the concept of ACPM comes in: Arroz, Carne, Papa, and Maiz. The staples of Colombian cuisine. ACPM means that about 90% of Colombian meals are made up of the same four ingredients. I didn't begin to realize the full impact of ACPM until I stated going out for lunch with my coworkers. All of a sudden I was eating one form of ACMP or another every day for lunch and I was like “hold up”. I can't eat the same thing every day!

The reason why is because even though we would go to different restaurant, we would always order the daily lunch special (Almuero Corriente or Almuero Executivo) because it was the cheapest. It cost about $3 U.S., but it is anything but special because you basically have only two options: chicken or beef. Though it includes a drink (lemonaide or juice), dessert, and soup; it still consists of the basic four ingredients of ACPM. Anyways, at one point I pointed out that there was no variety in our lunch selections and my coworkers responded, “What do you mean, you can choose chicken or beef?!?!”.