The best bars and cafés Colombia

Timetable

Cafés and cafeterias generally open around 7 a.m. and close around 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday, but there are no real rules: some only open in the afternoon. Many also open on Sundays, where Colombians often gather with their families for a typical breakfast. In trendy cafés, happy hours are common, either after work or in the early evening.

Colombians take two almost obligatory snack breaks during the day, around 10-11am and 4-5pm. This is known as " las onces ". You buy an arepa or empanada from a street stall, accompanied by a tinto (black coffee) or an agua de panela, or go to a café for a hot chocolate.

Budget & Tips

Drinks are cheap, even in touristy places. On average, for a tinto or espresso, you can expect to pay around $4-5,000 in a café, and a little more for a cappuccino. A large natural fruit juice(jugo) costs around $5-6,000. A local beer in a 330 ml bottle costs around $5,000; almost double that for an imported or craft beer. Beer is rarely served on draught, but some establishments are starting to do so, especially when they distribute craft beer.

Age restrictions

The legal drinking age is 18. Consumption of alcohol in the street and other public places (parks, village squares, etc.) is prohibited.

What's very local

Markets(plazas de mercado) usually have a food court, with lots of little stalls offering fruit juices to be enjoyed on little stools. This is an opportunity to try new flavors: guanábana, granadilla, feijoa, níspero, borojó, zapote, etc., in addition to the usual lulo, maracuyá, tomate de árbol, mango or guava, which you've no doubt already experienced at breakfast in your hotel or restaurant.

Another curiosity is that hot chocolate is traditionally accompanied by cheese and rolls, or better still, pan de yuca, buñuelos, almojábanas or even a tamal.

Kids

Minors are welcome in cafés and bars if accompanied by a parent.

Smokers

As with restaurants, smoking is prohibited inside a café or bar(espacio libre de humo). When there is an outdoor terrace where smoking is not forbidden (rare), Colombians are accustomed to asking permission from their neighbors at nearby tables. Smoking in the presence of children is frowned upon.