If There’s One Restaurant You Must Visit in Bogotá, Make It Salvo Patria

Nestled high in the Andes, Bogotá enjoys cool weather throughout the year. Locals often don jackets or raincoats, constantly seeking refuge from the brisk, frequently drizzly evenings. As the city’s culinary scene has flourished over the past decade, so too have its nighttime havens—now, a plethora of vibrant spots dot the urban landscape.

Amid this array, one place epitomizes Bogotá’s revitalized dining culture: Salvo Patria. This venue serves as both a cozy neighborhood café and an adventurous restaurant and bar, blending traditional recipes, indigenous ingredients, and cutting-edge techniques to advance Colombian cuisine into a new era.

Each evening, the transformed townhouse teems with young Bogotanos gathered at communal tables, engaging in lively conversation despite the bustling noise. From the exterior, the restaurant reflects the old charm of Bogotá’s Chapinero Alto district, featuring grand brick and stone houses inspired by various English architectural styles. Inside, the décor is sleek and modern, yet retains nostalgic elements like the original living room’s wood-burning fireplace. The open kitchen fills the space with enticing scents of grilled fish, roasted lamb, and freshly brewed coffee.

In 2011, when Juan Manuel Ortiz launched the original Salvo Patria in Chapinero Alto, Bogotá’s eastern foothills, the scene was quite different. It started as a humble café offering a modest menu of sandwiches, salads, and a selection of fish and beef dishes, alongside an extensive range of coffee preparations like Chemex, siphon, French press, V60, and espresso—a new Colombian craze. Designed as a casual hangout, it catered to those seeking a quick coffee fix or a place to work on their laptops.

Ortiz chose the name Salvo Patria as a playful nod to the game of hide-and-seek. In Colombia, the last person to find base shouts “¡Salvo patria!” (which translates to “I save the homeland!”), freeing the other players. While whimsical, this reference underscored Ortiz’s serious intent to rekindle Colombians’ connection to their land and its culinary heritage.

Despite Colombia’s rich history and abundant natural resources, many Colombians have long regarded their cuisine as simple home cooking, leaving fine dining to French, Italian, and Japanese fare. Ortiz is part of a new wave of chefs and restaurateurs who are challenging this notion by delving into Colombia’s indigenous ingredients and ancient recipes, aiming to celebrate and preserve its unique culinary culture.

One of the early patrons was local chef Alejandro Gutiérrez, who quickly bonded with Ortiz over shared frustrations about the poor quality of Colombian coffee. “It’s disheartening that a coffee-growing nation like Colombia has such subpar coffee,” Gutiérrez says. “Seventy percent of our coffee is exported, and what remains is mostly espresso.”

Eventually, the two decided to join forces on a revamped and more ambitious version of Salvo Patria. Gutiérrez, already renowned for his work at Bogotá’s popular Tábula and Donostia, would take charge of the culinary side, while Ortiz would manage the coffee and overall business operations. They sought a new location and, while searching for the perfect spot, they focused on refining the restaurant’s core philosophy—a concept Gutiérrez illustrates with a triangle in my notebook.

“It’s all about balance,” he explains, pointing to his diagram. “The restaurant, its suppliers, and its patrons are all interconnected. Each element holds equal importance, with mutual respect and continuous feedback.”

By the time they secured the current location in 2013, Chapinero Alto had transformed from a quiet suburb into one of Bogotá’s most vibrant nightlife hubs. With the help of a local customer, they acquired one of the area’s original homes, nestled among the modern orange-brick buildings that now dominate the neighborhood. They redesigned the space by removing doors and walls to create an open layout for the dining, kitchen, and work areas, and launched the new Salvo Patria that December.

“Perhaps we were the trailblazers for the Colombian neighborhood bistro,” reflects Gutiérrez, who has helped transform Salvo Patria into a cherished symbol of Colombia’s culinary revival over the past five years. “We see ourselves as crafting global cuisine, not just Colombian.” The menu, however, tells a different story, featuring Colombia’s traditional flavors in innovative and surprising dishes. One evening, you might encounter a classic pastel de choclo (a creamy, sweet corn pudding from central Colombia) paired with hogao (a versatile sauce made from tomatoes, scallions, and garlic) alongside a perfectly grilled octopus tentacle. Roasted lamb neck, tender and succulent from the wood-burning oven, is served with peto — a straightforward dish of corn boiled in milk and sugar.

Not every traditional dish is reinvented, though. The milhoja, Colombia’s take on the napoleon with layers of puff pastry and arequipe — the local version of dulce de leche — stays true to its classic recipe; the only change is in the premium quality of the locally sourced ingredients. Accompanied by a scoop of ice cream, it’s arguably Bogotá’s most iconic dessert.

Salvo Patria’s allure goes beyond its delectable dishes. The restaurant’s cozy atmosphere is enhanced by its close-knit setting and attentive staff, who delight in sharing the fascinating backstories of nearly every ingredient — a relatively new custom in Bogotá’s dining scene. The servers’ detailed descriptions of the daily specials add an extra layer of enjoyment to the dining experience.

For instance, you might discover that the roasted cauliflower hails from the nearby town of Guasca, and the trout once swam in the Fonce River of Santander, northeastern Colombia. The guayaba dessert features fruit sourced locally and purchased from the Paloquemao market; the bocadillos originated in Vélez, Santander, and the cacao was harvested in southern Colombia’s Nariño region. Pair these with a choice of wine or a cocktail mixed with gin and lulada, a blend of lulo pulp and lemonade from local produce.

At the end of your meal, as you enjoy a cup of siphon-brewed coffee made from beans grown in Nariño or Tolima’s mountains, you’ll find a small token included with your bill: a tiny plastic toy animal. Much like the restaurant’s name, this charming gift nods to childhood memories — reminiscent of the small trinkets found in party favor bags. It’s a playful reminder that everyone is part of the celebration. As Gutiérrez puts it, “It’s all about making everyone feel included.” That little lion symbolizes Salvo Patria’s welcome: You’re one of us.