Narcobollo & the Bocagrande Seafood Scene
Bocagrande's restaurant strip along Avenida San Martín runs the gamut from white-tablecloth grill rooms to no-frills neighbourhood joints — but the local secret is Narcobollo, a beloved hole-in-the-wall on the strip that serves some of the best traditional Caribbean rice dishes in Cartagena at prices that make you order seconds.
What to order and where
Narcobollo is famous for its arroz con camarones — shrimp rice cooked in the coastal Caribbean style, rich with sofrito and served in generous portions that cost a fraction of what the hotel restaurants charge. It is the kind of place where the plastic chairs are full of locals at lunchtime, which is always the best sign.
Cartagena's ceviche has its own identity: creamier and less acidic than Peruvian versions, built on fresh shrimp, lime, tomato, onion and sometimes avocado. Order it as a starter at virtually any seafood spot along the strip — it is the most-ordered dish in Bocagrande for good reason.
Street food you cannot skip
Before you sit down anywhere, grab an arepa de huevo from one of the friterías near the beach — a fried corn cake stuffed with egg, best eaten in the first hours of the morning when the dough is still fresh and crackling.
Patacones con hogao (twice-fried green plantain topped with tomato-onion sofrito) appear on almost every local menu and make a perfect cheap lunch on their own, or a platform for a heap of fresh shrimp.
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