Mini Mal
Colombian restaurant · Bogotá ·
Creative Colombian cuisine with bold flavors, local ingredients
Creative Colombian cuisine with bold flavors, local ingredients
"Housed in a mid-20th-century red-brick mansion in Chapinero Alto, this restaurant is dedicated to social change by using Indigenous rites and Colombia’s extraordinary flora and fauna, drawing on a country with a thousand varieties of fruit and more than 300 ecosystems. It grew out of Eduardo Martínez’s research into alternative uses of plants and animals and explicitly acknowledges the rights and knowledge of Afro-Colombian communities on the Pacific coast and Indigenous peoples, who long lacked land rights despite being guardians of biodiversity and Indigenous produce. The restaurant serves ingredients that initially perplexed Bogotanos, from mollusks harvested in Pacific mangroves to umami-packed tucupí, a fermented cassava product made by women in the Amazon, which has now become a new luxury in place of pasta. Mini-Mal functions as a platform to empower small suppliers economically, give them customers beyond coca cultivation, and help them take pride in their identities." - Stephanie Rafanelli
"On a curvy street in the Chapinero neighborhood, this welcoming restaurant is one of the pioneers of the new Colombian food movement, with dishes inspired by the diverse regions of the country, from the Amazonas to the Pacific coast. Chefs Eduardo Martínez and Antonuela Ariza are passionate about rediscovering and promoting national ingredients, and showcasing them in creative dishes like plantain balls filled with crab meat simmered in house-made red curry or braised beef with Amazonian tucupí (a traditional sauce of cassava and chile), lemon ants, fried cassava, and starchy flatbread." - Liliana López Sorzano
"Braised beef with fiery Amazonian tucupí sauce delivers an adventurous bite for my afternoon meal." - Michaela Trimble
"A representative of the new-wave Colombian dining scene, celebrated for bold acidity, heat, and inventive uses of local ingredients that push traditional flavors into modern territory." - Lesley Suter
"Cited as a neighborhood spot to find tamales and envueltos, offering convenient access to these traditional wrapped dishes." - Juliana Duque