Central Cevicheria - Bogota, Colombia

There is an old adage that you don't order steak at a seafood restaurant (or did I get that backwards...?). Of course, there are exceptions to any rule. My friends wanted to visit a cevicheria while we were in Bogota. It is a regional dish, so how could I dampen their enthusiasm? I am fairly easy to please, so I went along for the ride. I can usually find something that sounds appealing to me. Our destination? Central Cevicheria located at Cra. 13 #14, Bogotá, Colombia. While the restaurant was technically within walking distance of our hotel, we opted to take a taxi.

The menu had an obvious focus on Ceviche, but included a variety of seafood options. Some of my traveling companions ordered shrimp dishes and others ordered lobster. Most of them tried the ceviche and were happy with their selections. For the land lubbers, there was a decent selection as well. My eyes were drawn to the Lomo Saltado, which is a Peruvian dish that I had during my trip to Peru. I liked it. It is basically a dish of potato, onion, tomato and beef in a flavorful broth. The entree was priced at 36,900 Colombian Pesos, which works out to about twelve dollars. Pretty reasonable for a steak dish. My dish was served with a side order of rice, but the potatoes and beef were filling enough. I never touched the rice. It was a nice dish, flavorful and priced right. I would order it at this restaurant again.

In addition to my meal, I ordered a couple of beers. The local brand. You can choose between Club Colombia or imported (Stella or Corona). I prefer Club Colombia. I started out with a non-alcoholic drink, mango biche, which was like a mango smoothie. It was priced at 6,900 COP, or about two dollars. I followed with a couple of cervezas. The Club Colombia was 7000 COP, or just over two dollars each. Not a bad price for beer at a restaurant. I had a great meal, a refreshing drink and a couple of beers and managed to squeak out for about twenty dollars. Not a bad night out.

If you are looking for a good spot for ceviche, I have to rely on the word of my friends. I don't eat it. But they really seemed to enjoy the food at Central Cevicheria. Personally, as a guy who doesn't eat seafood, I have been to plenty of restaurants that don't offer much to us non-seafood eaters. I can say I was pleasantly surprised. The Lomo Saltado was on point. And the price was right. In addition to a delicious, affordable meal, the service was excellent. This was not a fancy restaurant like some of the other places we visited in Bogota, but the food was great.

The photos are taken from the Central Cevicheria website and are used solely for the purposes of describing the restaurant. The photograph of the Lomo Saltado is my own. It may be reproduced with prior permission.