The coastal region of Bolívar is also known for its cattle ____ and its beef dishes, such as Posta Negra Cartagenera. This dish is made by marinating a beef cut with salt, pepper, and garlic, then slowly cooking it in a pot until tender for several hours. Once the meat is soft, its taken our of the pot and the sauce is reduced with panela, cloves, and cinnamon. This dish is a must-try in Cartagena, and you can enjoy it at Candé, Mila, La Mulata, La Cocina de Pepina, or La Olla Cartagenera. The posta cartagenera is often served with Plátanos en Tentación (ripe plantains cooked in Kola Román soda, cloves, and cinnamon), and you can sample this dish at La Cocina de Pepina, Candé in Cartagena, and El Rancho in San Jacinto.

Pebres are another unique dish from the region, originating in Spain but now mainly found in Mompox. They are stews made with various types of meat (beef, pork, chicken, turtle, duck), cooked with sautéed onion, tomato, garlic, achiote, vinegar, pepper, cumin, and salt. A bit of water is added, and the stew is simmered until the meat is tender. The broth is then reduced and served with a flavorful sauce. You can try different versions of pebre at Comedor Costeño in Mompox.

Cazuela de Mariscos is a seafood stew made with fresh shellfish from the Caribbean, seasoned with spices and coconut cream, and served with coconut rice and fried plantains. This dish has been prepared for years at Club de Pesca, Restaurante Doña Matty in Bazurto Market, as well as at Buena Vida and Alma in Cartagena, and Ambrosia Restaurante in Mompox. For a more traditional lunch, try fried fish with coconut rice tray, served with salad, and patacones at Restaurante JuanMau on the pier in Barú. This is a community-driven project led by Inedis Camargo.

A must-try in Cartagena is the Restaurante Árabe Internacional, a long-standing favorite offering a mixed platter with a little bit of everything: rice with chicken and almonds, beef skewers, quibbe, grape leaves rolls, cabbage rolls, beef empanadas, and the house salad.

In Mompox, don’t miss arroz guisado with chorizo momposino—a flavorful dish made with both pork and beef chorizo, rice, and chopped vegetables, including the signature ají costeño (local hot pepper), and cooked with achiote oil for color. You can try this dish at Ambrosía Restaurant. Another Mompox specialty is Boronía (or Alboronía), an ancestral Bolívar dish made by mashing cooked eggplant and ripe plantain, then adding a sautéed mix of tomato, onion, garlic, achiote oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. It’s served on its own or as an accompaniment to other regional dishes. Celele in Cartagena offers a contemporary take on Boronía, served in different textures with peanut cream, roasted bell peppers, pickled apples, and za’atar-spiced Arabic bread.

You can also enjoy soups and sancocho soups made from eother beef rib soup, fish stewed in coconut milk, or stew goat wrapped in bijao leaves, all served with coconut rice, patacones, and yuca. These dishes are available at the Tradición y Sabor restaurant in Mampuján, a community-focused establishment that promotes peace and reconciliation.

For a variety of Caribbean snacks, try black eyed peas buñuelitos fritters, egg arepas, carimañolas , quibbes, fried plantain with costeño cheese, and stuffed potatoes, all served with homemade hot sauce and suero costeño. You can find these treats at local spots like Bazurto Market, Fritomar, and Restaurante Dunia in Cartagena, or at various street vendors around the city.

In the historic center of Cartagena, you’ll find popular seafood cocktails with shrimp, oysters, octopus, snail, and other local shellfish served in kiosks like La Ostrería Sincelejo and El Sombrerón Ostrería. Queso de Capas in Mompox is a traditional artisanal cheese made using a unique, hand-crafted process. You can buy it from local vendors who walk around the town carrying trays of this delicious cheese, or directly from producers like Yeifer and Jair.

Chicharrón is a beloved dish served with yuca or bollo limpio (a type of cornbread made with pure corn, wrapped in corn husks or bijao leaves, without any additives). You can try this dish at El Parador de Turbaco, and further south in San Cayetano, where it’s served with ñame, a type of yam key agricultural product of the region. The Ñame Festival and Queen Contest celebrates this tuber.

In Arjona, you’ll find the best Bollos de Mazorca made with young, tender corn. The women of Arjona showcase their skills during the Bollo de Mazorca Festival. These are often served with cheese or suero costeño.

El Portal de Los Dulces is one of Cartagena’s must-see attractions, offering a variety of traditional sweets, including tamarind balls, coconut and pineapple cocadas, guava cocadas, panela cocadas, sesame sweets, cubanitos (elongated sweets made with milk, coconut, sugar, and wrapped in colorful paper), panela melcochas, preserves, and milk figurines, ripe plantain sweets, and green papaya caballitos. Other delights include puffed corn with panela and coconut, coconut-filled casabitos, and more.

In the streets of the walled city, you’ll often find palenqueras (descendants of enslaved Africans from San Basilio de Palenque who keep their cultural traditions alive) selling sugar-coated fruit or fruits preserved in sugar or panela, like cherries, coastal plums, icaco, corozo, mamey, or tamarind jelly. These sweets are also popular during Semana Santa, when the Sweet Festival is held. At Rosita de Benedetti Pastry Shop, you can find the traditional and highly sought-after coconut pies and mamey pies (a sweet, fragrant orange fruit). Dulces Mary Covo also offers typical sweets made to order.

In towns like San Juan Nepomuceno and El Carmen de Bolívar, you’ll find ñame (yam) sweets. In Mompox, be sure to try the lemon peels, and in El Carmen de Bolívar, look for Las Chepacorinas—large cookies made from Doña Chepa’s secret recipe, which includes wheat flour, milk, eggs, and cheese, all baked in a wood-fired oven. These cookies have been made for over 80 years in this town and can be bought at local bakeries like El Parador donde Blacho. They are so famous that they are distributed to bakeries and stores throughout the Bolívar department, including Cartagena.

Coconut water is sold fresh from street vendors in Cartagena’s Walled City, and at the beaches. There’s also a wide variety of refreshing local fruit juices made from corozo, tamarindo, níspero, zapote, and sour guava, which can be found throughout the region.

Fruit juices made from tropical fruits like corozo, pineapple, tamarindo, and sour guava, and even cola (a red soda) mixed with milk, are not only refreshing but also a treat. You can find them in most restaurants throughout Cartagena and the towns on this culinary route. In Mompox, you can try artisanal wines made from regional fruits, especially corozo. This is a long-standing tradition dating back to colonial times, and these wines are now made on a small scale for commercial use, accompanying local celebrations. Don’t miss the Raspaos—shaved ice topped with cola syrup or flavored syrups made from tamarind, lemon, or corozo fruit. You can even add condensed milk for an extra indulgence. A true refreshing delicacy.