I first visited El Chato in 2018, when it was a neighbourhood restaurant serving à la carte dishes. Today, it is the best restaurant in Latin America. I was therefore very curious to see what had changed.
Stepping into the dining room, it initially looked like nothing had changed. What I didn’t know was that I wouldn’t be eating in the same room as last time. Instead, I was taken upstairs to a brand-new area next to the kitchen. This intimate space has just five tables and is dedicated to the tasting menu, while the à la carte restaurant remains downstairs.
Every table overlooks the kitchen, allowing you to follow the inner workings of the restaurant. Sitting among wine bottles and spices, the atmosphere is relaxed and informal. Yes, it is a tasting menu, but it is definitely not stuffy. Instead, it is relaxed and fun, underscored by rock music from the 1980s.
The menu takes you on a journey through Colombia, discovering unique and incredible ingredients interpreted through the lens of Álvaro. The main ingredient of each dish is shown to the guests before it is served, both because Álvaro is proud of the produce and because he wants his guests to learn more about the incredible ingredients Colombia has to offer. This storytelling adds another layer to the experience, and even before the first dish was served, it was clear that this was not quite the same restaurant I remembered.
The menu started with a small broth filled with herbs and served with smoked trout. The cooking is generally based on craftsmanship rather than endless tweezers, but this was the exception. It was impressive in both presentation and flavour, and together with a glass of Krug Champagne, it made for a very strong start. It was also the second and third hint that El Chato had evolved into a immersive fine-dining experience.
Heart of palm is an ingredient you rarely encounter in Europe, and one I love for its delicate, exotic flavour. It was therefore a joy to eat it with equally delicate flavours of squid and macadamia nuts. A true highlight of the meal, both for its elegant flavour profile and its wonderfully simple presentation.
The menu had just one more bite-sized dish: mussels with shiso and macambo. It sounded and looked simple, but appearances were deceiving. The flavour was complex, rich and potent, with smoky and spicy notes. Five minutes before the dish arrived, Álvaro had entered the restaurant, and one of the first things he did was turn up the volume of the music.
It was a small but perfect reminder that, despite the elegant dishes, El Chato is meant to be fun. And despite all the changes, it was obvious that the heart and soul of the restaurant remain intact.
The flavours were equally impressive in the next dish, although the presentation became more elaborate. Sea snails and gooseberries were served inside the shells of the snails. Digging them out and eating them together with crackling pork was both fun and delicious. It was the first, but certainly not the last, time Álvaro would combine seemingly unrelated ingredients to create complex, layered flavours. I was initially slightly sceptical about the combination, but that scepticism was completely unwarranted.
I could more or less repeat that description for the next dish. Oysters had been cooked flamboyantly before service, creating a theatrical moment, but this isn’t a restaurant where theatre is the point. The oyster was served with mushrooms, creating a rich combination of acidity and umami. Plated like a flower, it was beautiful as well.
The next two dishes were simpler in both expression and presentation. First came blue crab with a sambal sauce, with a lovely crunch and flowers surrounding the crab adding a nice visual touch.
I must admit I never fully understood the presentation of the next dish. Stuffed chicken had been rolled and sliced thinly, then arranged around seaweed. Eaten with a bowl of rice and chicken broth, however, it was a comforting and delicious dish.
We continued with chicken, this time served with fava beans and a green, spicy sauce with a rich buttery note that balanced the dish beautifully. It was a natural build-up in richness towards the final savoury course: pressed pork with capers and tucupi. Both ingredients added considerable depth and worked wonderfully with the rich pork.
I also loved the presentation. It looked refined and elegant, with a striking contrast in colour to the previous dishes—the yellow crab and the entirely green chicken.
My meal finished with three desserts. The first was an entirely green creation of horseradish, apple and cucumber. After the richness of the pork, the much lighter dessert was extremely refreshing.
I liked the presentation of the second dessert, but it paled slightly in comparison with the final one. I have never seen an ice cream sandwich this perfect. I know moulds are used to create these, but this one looked unusually crisp. Every corner was sharp, there were no rough edges, and the three layers lined up perfectly.
The precision continued in the flavour. Lulu was paired with green pepper—two unlikely partners, but I loved the punch that the green pepper brought to the dessert. A perfect ending.
Looking back at my first visit, the biggest change is obvious. El Chato has gone from a delicious neighbourhood restaurant to one of the most ambitious restaurants in Latin America. But it hasn’t lost what made it special. Álvaro makes sure of that.
The food has become more sophisticated, the techniques more elaborate and the ingredients more unusual, but Álvaro’s personality is still everywhere—from the Colombian ingredients displayed on the table to the rock music playing in the dining room.
What impressed me most is that El Chato has evolved without losing its soul. And perhaps that is the best part: if you want the sophisticated tasting menu, head upstairs. If you prefer the relaxed à la carte experience that I remember from my first visit, simply head downstairs.
Either way, you’re still experiencing Álvaro’s El Chato.
Practical information
Location: Bogota, Columbia
Head Chef: Alvaro Clavijo
Menu: a al carte and tasting menu
Website: www.elchato.co
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