We did the set menu, which I tend to avoid, but this meal was phenomenal from start to finish. Of course, some dishes stood out more than others. A few were truly incredible, while the rest were still excellent. The setting is beautiful, the service was amazing, and it made for a very enjoyable evening.
I know this type of dining can feel a bit over the top for some people, and I usually do not gravitate toward these "foo foo" places myself, but this was an outstanding meal. I absolutely loved it.
Pro tip: Check out the chef's other restaurant, Ahíto, in the Getsemaní neighborhood. It's fantastic for either lunch or dinner.
Celele came recommended through a friend for our first visit to Cartegena de Indios. Our meal was a story, told wonderfully by the staff at Celele. Our server, Catalina, walked us through the venue and helped us select a meal that covered the best that land and sea has to offer. To do this menu justice you really need closer to 3 hours to completely enjoy the experience.
The Caribbean Flower Salad blew our minds with its beauty and flavor. The fact that the flowers were grown in the neighborhood made it all the more special.
The Hen Confit was simple but intense with flavor and presented beautifully with Asparagus spears and yellow flowers.
Everyone in our party loved our meal, the service and overall experience. In particular, I loved how ambitious and creative the menu was and that knowing the next time I come I am likely to see a completely different menu. For that, I cannot wait....
We did the tasting menu—unique experience. Presentation and technical execution impressive; appreciate the focus on local ingredients and heritage—Indigenous, African, Spanish, Arab influences. They accommodated us with vegetarian versions of some dishes for my companion.
Opening bites were interesting, but more something I appreciated technically than flavors that made me want more.
For a world-renowned restaurant, a little underwhelming. Flowers feature heavily—beautiful visually, but little flavor and mostly a soft texture once eaten. The flower salad had interesting elements, including fermented cashews with tahini, but the tahini dominated everything else.
Same with the coconut sorbet and cream—delicious, but under a huge pile of white petals that distracted from the dessert. The Veuve Clicquot pairing also overwhelmed the delicate flavors.
Many dishes arrive beautifully layered, then you’re instructed to mix everything together. All the flavors combine, but so do the textures, often becoming a bit of a mush. The plantain dish—roasted plantain, eggplant, peppers and Arab-influenced flavors, mixed and eaten with bread—ended up overly sweet and soft. Hen and broth dish also didn’t do much for me.
Two cocktails were good; some pairings worked, others didn’t seem to complement the dishes.
Appreciate what Celele is doing and glad we experienced it, but had other meals in Cartagena I enjoyed more.
Celele is perhaps my favorite restaurant in Cartagena, and after several visits, it continues to prove why it has earned such an important place in the city’s culinary scene.
Led by chef Jaime Rodríguez, Celele grew out of years of research into the ingredients, traditions and cooking techniques of Colombia’s Caribbean region. That work has helped the restaurant earn repeated recognition from Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, while also helping put Cartagena on the map as a serious international dining destination.
The setting in Getsemaní is part of what makes the experience so special. The neighborhood is colorful, vibrant and full of life, and Celele feels deeply connected to that energy rather than removed from it.
On this visit, we started with the lobster cocktail and the Cangrejo Caribeño y Arepa Samaria. The crab has been a favorite of mine for years, and I was thrilled to see that it remains on the menu. It is still amazing—rich, beautifully balanced and one of the dishes I recommend most strongly to anyone visiting for the first time.
We also had the curry of shrimp and calamari, which was very good, but the new rabbit dish completely stole the show. It was deeply flavorful, beautifully prepared and easily the standout of the evening. Considering how much I love the crab, that is saying quite a lot.
The cocktail program also deserves real recognition. The coctelería here is not an afterthought; it is a major part of the experience. I had the Chilonga, which was excellent and further confirmed that the cocktail game at Celele is very real.
Celele offers the complete experience: creative Caribbean cuisine, serious cocktails, warm service and a setting in one of Cartagena’s most vibrant neighborhoods. After several visits, it remains one of the first restaurants I recommend in the city.
Five stars without hesitation.
Incredible dinner. This is by far my favorite meal I’ve ever had. We chose the 10 course tasting menu and it was perfect for us. We got a taste of everything with explanations of the dishes. Our server only served one other table making the experience more intimate and tailored to us. The food came at good times and with the perfect amount of space in between dishes. The tasting lasted exactly 2 hours but it felt like a lot less as the spacing was perfect. The food was so special and had a mixture of local flavors which blended together perfectly. The tasting menu without alcohol costs just under 100 USD per person but it is well worth it. I will attach photos of the food along with the menu.
