Best Places to Eat and Drink in El Dorado Airport of Bogota
During any trip to Colombia, it is inevitable to have to spend some time inside of Bogota’s El Dorado Airport .
It is not only the most important entry and exit port of Colombia, but it also connects almost all of Colombia Tourist Attractions.
Spending time in an airport doesn’t necessarily has to feel like lost time. Nowadays, modern airports like El Dorado, offer plenty of places to relax, places for entertainment, but most importantly places to eat and drink.
In my opinion, there is no better way to spend your time in an airport than eating and drinking. Especially if there are great gourmet restaurants and the options of trying some good local food.
Since the latest works in Bogota’s airport, there are quite a lot of new restaurants, coffee shops, bars and patisseries that will make you feel you are in high-end places in the most gourmet areas of the city.
The airport currently has 4 different food courts and quite some places spread across the entire building. Unfortunately, if you just stay in the shorter path to do the check-in and go to your gate, you will miss the opportunity of finding the best places and will probably end up eating in McDonald’s or drinking a coffee in Starbucks.
Please don’t do that. The airport has some amazing hidden gems that will make your time here a lot more enjoyable. The following are my recommendations:
Note: In this post we are only going to be talking about Terminal 1, as in Terminal 2 there are really no good options to eat or drink and you should try to be there for as short as you can.
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a. Gordo:
Gordo (which means Fat), is my favourite place in the airport. It is actually a branch of a famous gourmet burger restaurant located in the north of Bogota.
Without a doubt, it serves the best burgers in the airport (and even maybe of the entire city) as well as some delicious craft beers. On top of that, its decoration is great and there is a very cosy and casual atmosphere, something that is very difficult to find anywhere else in the airport.
To make things even better, their prices are one of the lowest of the whole airport. For example, a menu of a burger + French fries + a bottle of craft beer costs around COP 30.000 (around USD 9.5 or EUR 8.5). This is just a bit more expensive than those small and ugly burgers from McDonalds!
The only drawback of this place is that it is a little bit difficult to find. It is located in a small outdoor plaza that was built in an empty space connecting the newer parts of the airport with the older part.
Even though it is located in the airport, its only entrance is from the outside. You will find it on your right hand when you are walking towards Parking S. It only takes around 5 minutes walking from the international check-in counters or arrivals´ hall.
b. Gaira Cafe:
Gaira Café is a popular restaurant and music hall located in the north of the city and owned by one of Colombia’s most famous singers: Carlos Vives.
Since the latest works in the airport, there is a very cosy Gaira Café here too. The restaurant offers very good Colombian dishes cooked in a gourmet way. The decoration is great, the music too and the views are not bad.
Prices are high, but totally worth it. You will actually forget you are in an airport when you seat here.
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The main drawback of this places is that it is located in the International departure gates. This means that only those who are taking an international flight from Bogotá are able to eat here.
It is not that easy to find either as it is located at the very end of the international departures gates. Ask around for it or click here and let google maps guide you there.
c. Andres Carne de Res:
Andrés Carne de Res is one of the best restaurants in Colombia. It is so popular that it is part of any travel book, not just for its delicious food but also for its decoration and atmosphere.
Their restaurant in the airport lacks the party atmosphere of the ones in Chía and Bogota, but it still offers some of the best Colombian food you can find, while keeping their style in decoration and service.
The prices here are high, but the food is really great. If you are not too hungry, try the Empanadas de Andres, they are my favourite empanadas of Colombia.
In comparison with Gaira Café, Andres Carne de Res has the advantage of being located in a food court that is open to everyone. It is located in the newest food court, which is not that easy to find as you need to walk until one of the corners of the airport before being able to take the elevator that takes you there.
d. Mercari:
An interesting fact about Colombia is that locals love sweets and deserts. Luckily for them, Mercari is a high-end French patisserie that sells some of the best cakes and sweet snacks you can imagine.
They have one small place in the airport located in the domestic departure gates for any flight except of those with Avianca.
It is really easy to find as you will have to walk next to it on your way to your gate after you have passed security. If you want to make sure you don’t miss it, click here and let google maps guide you there.
There are no places to seat here, but you can buy your coffee and snacks, take them to your gate and enjoy them while you are called for boarding.
I highly recommend you try the Blondie. It is the best white-chocolate brownie I have ever tried.
e. Juan Valdez Coffee Garden
There are plenty of coffee shops inside the El Dorado Airport, but the best of all is actually located “outside” of it.
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The Juan Valdez Coffee Garden is located right next to Gordo and it also needs to be entered from the outer part of the airport. Nevertheless, it is the cosiest and calmest place to drink a coffee.
And not just any coffee, I am talking about one of the best Colombian coffees out there.
Click here and let Google Maps take you there. It takes less than 5 minutes walking from the check-in counters or the arrivals hall.
El Dorado Airport – Conclusion:
Nowadays, almost all travellers end up spending some time in the Airport of Bogota. Sometimes just in their arrival or departure of Colombia, but also as the place to connect to other Colombia Tourist Attractions.
One of the best ways to spend your time in the El Dorado Airport of Bogota, is to find a good and cosy place to seat, eat and drink. Especially if these places offer you the possibility of trying something truly delicious and typical of Colombia.
Bogota’s airport has been renovated recently and since then, the amount and variety of restaurants, coffee shops, bars and patisseries have improved dramatically.
Nowadays, there are plenty of gourmet options (some cheaper than others) that will please any traveller.
Unfortunately, most of the best places in the airport, are not that well located or easy to find. However, distances here are very short and the little effort of walking for 5 minutes to get to a better place is totally worth it.
Among all the eating and drinking opportunities in El Dorado Airport, my recommendations are: Gordo (for the best burgers), Gaira Café (for traditional Colombian cuisine), Andrés Carne de Res (for the best empanadas), Mercari (for the best brownies) and Juan Valdes Coffee Garden (for the best Colombian Coffee).