There is something special in the air in Medellin. Emerging from the deep Aburrá valley in the Antioquia region, the city casts a striking silhouette with its characteristic terracotta-coloured roofs and skyscrapers that jut out amidst dramatic outlines of the Andes mountains on all sides. The approach from the airport involves a constant ascent and descent of mountain roads, as Medellín’s dazzling vistas and distinctive atmosphere make themselves known.
In and amongst the city centre, cocooned in the valley, the tree-lined streets of El Poblado are awash with sophisticated and uber-trendy shops, bars and restaurants. In this area, one of the city’s most upscale areas and an expat hotspot, you’ll find The Click Clack Hotel Medellín. Concealed behind lush vegetation, this black, angular and architecturally striking building exudes cool and even a certain sexiness. Designed by famed architects Plan:b Arquitectos, this is a hub for the crème de la crème of Medellín’s cosmopolitan crowd, who can be seen either in the hotel’s central open-air courtyard, adorned with abundant vegetation and plants hanging from the ceiling in metal baskets, or in either of its two rooftop terraces. One features a petite rooftop pool and a laudable all-day seafood restaurant while the other boasts one of the chicest open-air rooftop bars I’ve stepped foot in. The design of the rooms is precise, clean-cut and practical, largely themed in black and white with strong and decisive features. Everything from the imposing oversized camera lens light that hangs over the bed to the brown leather features – a notepad, a washbag, a pen holder – that can be found fastened to the walls is noteworthy. This is a space where every detail matters. The black tiles of the ensuite area, the dim lighting and the pared-back decoration give off a certain masculine energy that compliments the hotel’s sharp metal edges and monochrome colour palette.
Of the things to note about this hotel, the breakfast must undoubtedly get a mention. Sat in the hotel courtyard, guests can order a hot and cold drink, indulge in the hotel buffet replete with tropical fruits and nibbly bits, and order a hot meal in the breakfast menu that comes included in the hotel fee. The food is fresh and well prepared, and the fruit selection is resplendent. Another standout feature of The Click Clack Hotel is the friendly and incredibly attentive staff. Unconventional methods of service encourage conversation and informality. For instance, no one stands at the front desk; rather, several staff members perch at the counter, on the same side as the customer, holding an iPad and casually waiting to assist.
Outside the hotel’s wall-less foyer, many treats wait to be sampled. Each day is a new day to eat a buñuelo. These deep fried dough balls stuffed with Colombian cheese, similar to mozzarella and equally as stringy when hot, are my new weak spot. Traditinoally served in households across the country at Christmas time, these crunchy, salty, golden treats can be found on most street corners. Our favourite is a two minute walk from the hotel, aptly named Buñuelos y algo más (the algo más in my case being a pan de queso, soft, doughy cheesy bread rolls that are almost as irresistible). Obviously, every holiday is an excuse to try abundant quantities of local food. I start with a traditional fare at Mondongo’s, a casual family-favourite spot serving typical Antioquioan cuisine. My friend, a Colombian whose extensive knowledge of Medellín serves to guide me through my trip, insists that I try some of the most traditional dishes on the menu. Our table gradually fills with beans, chicharrón (fried pork belly), a fried egg with rice, a whole avocado and banana, patacones (plantain fritters paired with a typical avocado, lime and cilantro dipping sauce), powdered ground meat (fulfilling a similar purpose to Brazil’s farofa in a plate of feijoada) and arepas both fried and steamed. It is a veritable Colombian feast, finished by my first and by no means my final mazamorra, a sweet cold corn “soup” made from water-soaked, soft corn which is added to cold milk. Most importantly, at the table lumps of panela (whole sugar cane chunks) are added to the cold milky mixture, whereupon they soften and infuse the liquid with a delectable sweetness. Overall the dessert offers a balance of sweetness and textures – mild, soft corn and chewy chunks of sweet panela – that make the dessert in equal parts comforting and moreish; by no means a complex dish, it feels perfectly imperfect and totally homemade. Around the city, vendors go by bike or foot offering their homemade “mazamorra” at full volume, whereby locals emerge with bowls or flasks to get their fix while on the move.
That evening, we headed to Andrés Carne de Res, a vibrant Colombian institution whose restaurants are characterised by over-the-top kitsch décor, live music and waiting staff dressed in dramatic costumes, providing a customer experience that treads the line between chaotic and entertaining. The food is simple and comes in vast portions perfect for sharing. The star of the show is the lomo a trapo, a piece of beef cooked over flame and tenderised in a dramatic fashion at the table by the waiter, who slams the beef into the chopping board various times before carving it at the table.
The next day, we headed to Terrazzo for lunch. A Mediterranean restaurant in the heart of El Poblado, there are surely few more aesthetically pleasing spots than this in the city. With an impeccably designed interior and no front wall, the restaurant is breezy and leafy, the outside merging within. The knockout dishes were truffled stracciatella, a crispy oven baked pizza-style flatbread topped with burrata and prosciutto, and soft, tender, paprika-oil drenched octopus and potatoes that melted in the mouth. For dessert, we tried a gold-sprayed warm arequipe, the Colombian dulce de leche with chocolate and biscuit soil, and an excellent pastry-less Limoncello tart that oozed with moisture and punchy citrus flavours, topped with scorched Italian meringue.
Dinner at Carmen is a must-do in Medellín, given the fame of its owners Grupo Carmen throughout the continent; their XO bar directly next door to Carmen was recently ranked number 27 on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. We opt for the wine pairing seven-course tasting menu of interpretive Colombian cuisine, which is a culinary journey consisting of twists and turns, highs and lows. No one can deny that the chefs put heart and soul into the creative menu. Among the most notable dishes is the ceviche served with a snow-dusting of powdered frozen leche de tigre that melted into the ceviche, keeping the fish at tip-top fresh- and coldness. The blue crab and prawn empanadas are crunchy and flavoursome, and the prawn and mussel “chorizo” – falafel like in texture – served with an Andean corn fritter is unique if not slightly odd. Overall, the food is full of life and vibrancy and certainly pushes boundaries, if not in slightly unbalanced and overly-complex ways at times. The innovation is praiseworthy, and Carmen remains an important figure in Medellín’s evolving food scene for its modern take on hitherto traditional Colombian dishes.
A final recommendation is La Diriva, the rooftop restaurant at The Click Clack Hotel. We chanced upon this restaurant after some public transport chaos meant that we lost our original lunch booking. Not expecting much from a hotel restaurant, we were in for a treat. Departing from the Colombian flavours that had been a running theme on our trip so far, La Diriva offers internationally-inspired seafood dishes in a gorgeous, breezy, casual space mostly covered by a canopy roof and totally embellished with the hotel’s signature fauna. We tuck into flavoursome corn tacos filled with glazed, crispy pork belly, pickled tomato salsa and pico de gallo, along with excellent arroz de coco, crispy and perfectly salty little papas criollas and other complementary small plates. The Sicilian-inspired ceviche is exquisitely fresh and well-balanced in terms of texture, sweetness and acidity: sweet white fish sits in clarified tiger’s milk, topped with sesame oil, crunchy corn, red onion, pico de gallo and coriander. Of course we couldn’t leave without sampling the desserts, and the epic warm macadamia and white chocolate skillet cookie topped with almond gelato, lemon curd and fresh blueberries is the perfect way to finish.
Don’t stay at Masaya Medellín hostel, as I did for a night upon my return to the city. If the words cockroaches, no air con and rude staff aren’t enough to scare you off, then it might be the place for you. There is however a good rooftop pool, and they serve up pretty decent espresso martinis, which doesn’t count for nothing. After his encounter with the cockroaches in our bedroom my roommate himself scuttled to Jo&Joe hostel, where for £15 you can enjoy a cleaner, more comfortable space free of vermin.