Cartagena by Juan Manuel Barrientos

My husband and I celebrated Valentine’s Day and they didn’t disappoint. The tasting menu was exquisite. The service was great, each dish was explained, cocktails were really good (I recommend Sunny Isles and Brujeria) and the ambience was classy and romantic.

We loved everything about this restaurant. Being a native of Cartagena Colombia, we decided to try and see how they showcased this type of cuisine. We went for dinner and were very pleasantly surprised. The menu is incredibly creative, and the chef's interpretation is full of great and diverse flavors. It is a twist on traditional dishes, so be prepared to be surprised. We enjoyed it very much. The restaurant is inside the SLS Hotel in South Beach, so it also has a great vibe. There is a lobby bar and an outdoor bar where you can hang out before or after dinner. Will definitely be back!

I had high hopes for this place , we follow chef Juan Manuel and I love his interpretation of Colombian food at el cielo , here in Cartagena not so much … I was hoping for fun twists on the soulful food of Cartagena Toston and carimañola were good but I had better at home . The carimanola dough had too much flour to my taste . Ceviches , ordered the lulo ceviche and chicharrón The bluefin tuna flavor was completely masked by the astringency of the lulo sauce , no leche de Tigre at all on this one . It has a very pretty presentation but the fish was lost here . Chicharrón ceviche was very bland . Wagyu beef sushi , from the 3 was the better one . Bonus for presentation on a smoking dome The coconut rice was mushy , good flavor but would have benefited from a “pegado” Criolla puré , didn’t taste like criolla but a mixture of potatoes. Lamb chops were really good . We ordered a pineapple coconut desert , super sweet ,loved the coconut flavor but lacked acidity of the pineapple , I found just a little cube here and there . Cocktails were very good . Service , they have young people that seem new to the trade . More experienced people helping them . I though service was fine . Ambience, The floor seemed dirty but is a beautiful room with a huge chandelier covered by shells . It was obvious the Chef was not there . The food had no soul .didn’t really remind me of Cartagena , a vibrant city on the coast , If this chef wants this place to prosper , he needs to be there , see people’s reaction to his food . It is UNBELIEVABLE that they have more than 4,000 reviews in open table . How can they have that amount of reviews in less than than 365 days ?

Unfortunately, my expectations for this restaurant were high, but the outcome fell significantly short. From the 12-course menu, I would recommend the Corn Buñuelo, Fish Sticks, Chicharrón Ceviche, Mucholate, and the Coco y Piña. However, the disappointment came with the Lobster Tail, which lacked flavor and had an unpleasant muddy, river-like taste. Another letdown was the Posta Negra. Considering the prices and the high expectations, this experience was underwhelming, and I would not return.

The food was great, we ordered the tasting menu and some of the signature cocktails. The concept is Colombian haute cuisine, there were really traditional dishes with high quality ingredients and creative preparations. We got Rafael as a server and he was really nice and attentive. My favorites were the buñuelos, coconut rice and the coco y piña dessert. The environment is really nice as well as the music. It’s always a pleasure to go to Juan Manuel Barrientos restaurants, you can tell he cares about his preparations and the customers experience, always recommend it.

Amazing food. Great atmosphere, with Latin music at the right volume (so you can talk). Came for a business dinner. We were attended by Mladen and Jose, and service was impeccable. Everything on the menu was outstanding. My favorites were the Lulo Ceviche, the Yuca Gnocchi and the Mango Artichoke salad. We were even lucky enough to meet chef Juanma who stopped by to greet the guests. Can’t wait to come back and try the rest of the menu!

We went at Carthagena tonight and not only the food was amazing, but the service was absolutely perfect. We had the tasting menu, its huge and everything was divine. Luis, our server was so sweet, professional and caring at the same time. I highly recommend this place !

I was pending to write this review since a couple of months ago when my husband and I went to the restaurant. We know the chef from “El Cielo” and he did not disappoint us. The food at Cartage was superb, the Colombian fusion cuisine was just exquisite, we had several small plates to share and all of them were delicious!. The decoration and ambiance is fantastic and the service is really great. Hope he is successful in this new adventure, we are definitely going back and highly recommend it!