When planning our trip to Bogotá, we decided to make a reservation at a nice restaurant. We've had some great experiences doing this in other countries, including Central in Lima and Dulce Patria in Mexico City. After some searching we decided on Leo, Rated one of the best restaurants in Latin America. It's named for the chef, Leonor Espinosa, who was recently was named the top female chef in Latin America. The experience was an 11-course tasting menu paired with local alcohols, utilizing food from all of the different regions of Colombia. Here's a short video about the restaurant:
Our meal included all kinds of unfamiliar plants, and animals ranging from ants to caiman. Definitely a unique experience! We took a picture of each dish, so join us on our food journey across Colombia:
The unassuming exterior of Leo.
They menu had a list of ingredients and what biome they were from.
Starting with guava wine.
Seasonal white fish with paramo leaves and copoazu. This was kind of like ceviche; the leaves were from the high desert with oil from a rainforest fruit. Nice fresh way to start the meal!
Achira (a type of arrowroot) bread with super fancy butter.
Next was Paul's favorite dish, which was multi-part. On the right is yogurt cheese with limonero ants on blue potato crisps; on the left is crayfish with mandarin lemon leaf, pepper, and coconut milk. The limonero ants eat lime tree leaves, and have a really tart citrus flavor. Delicious and unique!
The crushed limonero ants were amazing, pairing well with the salty chip and tangy cheese.
The coconut milk was a pallet cleanser under the crayfish dish.
The next dish was steamed coastal fish and sea snails in a plantain leaf with coconut rice. Coastal and tropical flavors.
Caiman tail with peach-palm and an amazonian black pepper flan. The savory flan was great, and yes, the caiman tasted like chicken.
For scale, you can see that most food was just a few bites. We were still very full by the end!
Next was perhaps the most unique dish, which the waiter described as "three types of cold." It had Pirariucu (a river fish that can grow up to 10 feet long), cacay (milk from a rainforest nut), sour yucca, and ojo de pez pepper. It was topped with shaved ice. Unlike anything we've ever eaten.
Our food was paired with various Colombian alcohols. This was a fermented coca drink.
This was David's favorite dish. Kapeshuna (a type of cowpea), native red bean, santamaria de anis (an herb) and mushrooms. It was very earthy with strong flavors and a great texture. You smash the bean truffles and eat them together.
Is it a taco? Kind of! Duck on corn flatbread. A nice flavorful bite.
If there's anything you should know about Paul, it's that he loves duck! This one came with a fruit wine.
A really interesting looking dish came out next. Stuffed tallo leaves with a three-meat gravy (beef, pork, and chicken) and andean tubers. The leaf was bitter and the gravy was savory.
Never eaten rodent? We have! This was ponche (capybara) chicarron with native red bean. Paul liked it! David, not so much.
The first dessert! Oro miel (gold honey) pineapple, pote chesse, masato (fermented yuca), and coquindo (a medicinal plant). A surprisingly savory dish.
Fermented coffee alcohol infused with cascara (tea made from coffee fruit)
Second dessert - shredded heart of palm, sabajon (Colombian-style eggnog), and feijoa. This dish had a neat texture.
The final dessert was Tumaco chocolate. It was a really thin shell with cold liquid inside. Delicious!
Leo was a fantastic experience. The food was unique, and every dish had something we'd never tasted before. It's not food that Bogotános normally eat; rather it's a talented chef's skillful use of native ingredients. It should definitely be on your list if you're ever in Bogotá.
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