TLDR? There are a few great places to grab kosher food in Medellin, including local restaurants and shops!
Traveling as a Jewish person can be tough, especially during Jewish holidays.
Luckily, Medellin is a city that receives many Jewish tourists each year. Still, local kosher restaurants are scarce.
The good news is that there are still a few places to go, if you know where to look. Here are a couple of kosher restaurants to check out around town.
Chabad Medellín
Chabad House is a Jewish organization in Medellín. Not only do they provide spaces for bar and bat mitzvahs, but they also host religious services. You can check their page for the schedules of the synagogue.
In addition, the center has a kosher restaurant. All the food is made in traditional Colombian style but is completely safe for Jews to eat.
What’s on the Menu
There are a number of different dishes on the menu. A couple to check out include:
For breakfast: Shakshuka with house bread or some eggs with salad.
Salads: Chicken breast salads or schnitzel salad
Main course: Spicy chicken, beef burger, Moroccan salmon filet, or baked salmon filet, Sabih, and Challah
Extras: White rice, avocado, chips, extra bread, or Israeli salad.
If you’re staying in another part of the city, you must take metro line A to El Poblado station. From there, it’s a 15-minute to get you to the restaurant.
This is one of the most prominent Jewish organizations in Colombia. Since 2004 it has become a place where Judaism is not only practiced but also taught.
The place is designed to continue Jewish customs and offers both a place to pray and worship and a kosher store. There, you can grab prepared foods if you don’t want to eat out.
The community also has regular events such as conferences, so you can stay updated on their social network for what’s going on.
What’s on the Menu
This community does not specifically have a restaurant. However, it sells kosher products.
Within its list of products is the Chicken Kasher las Cabañas, a chicken based on the requirements of the Shejita. This is a certified product.
You can also pick up a Jalot order for your Jewish celebrations such as Yom tov or Shabbat.
From there, take route A of the metro after a 20-minute walk through the city, get off at the Maderas station. After a 10-minute walk, you’ll arrive at the community.
This restaurant, for a little more than 8 years, has promoted culture and healthy food in the City of Eternal Spring.
The restaurant also offers language exchanges and coworking areas if that’s what you’re after.
In addition to the restaurant is a creative store called Dharma, with natural-based products for you to pick up. If you’re after organic groceries, this is a good place to go.
What’s on the Menu
The place has a healthy and light menu. Among its products are:
Artisanal bakery
Natural drinks
Salads
Sandwiches
Artisanal pizzas
Wine and craft beer tasting.
How to Get There
If you’re staying in Laureles, this place is likely just a few minutes from your Airbnb.
If you’re on the other side of town, you’ll need to make sure you take metro route B to Estadio station. Then, after a 10-minute walk, you’ll find Naturalia Café.
Schlepnot is another kosher place you can check out in Medellin. This place actually is delivery only, so you won’t be able to dine out here.
However, if you just want to order a meal to your room at Factory Lofts, this is a great place to keep in mind.
Schlepnot was launched when its founder realized the small variety of products that were nationally available for Jewish travelers. She decided to create her own brand to help enable Jewish travelers visiting the area.
There are currently locations in both Medellin and Cartagena.
What’s on the Menu
Schlepnot works with the Jewish community of Antioch, where its rabbis supervise to ensure all food really is kosher. A few items on the menu include:
Chicken breast in mushroom sauce.
Chicken Schnitzel
Vegetable Lasagna
Salmon bathed in fine herbs
Paisa dish Kosher style.
Desserts like Pineapple, plantain, or carrot cake.
If you love to cook and prepare your own food, Medellín has a list of stores that sell kosher products.
Here are a few top places to pick up kosher groceries around the city.
Tienda Kosher
Tienda Kosher is by far the best kosher shop in Medellin. Whether you’re looking for everyday or Passover products, the store offers a long list of healthy consumer products, including:
A long list of dry, sweet, or non-alcoholic wines.
Sausages
Hamburger bread
Coconut or almond milks.
Chicken or beef in different presentations.
In addition to food, you can also purchase kippah if you need to.
This shop only focuses on dehydrated foods and has more than 15 years of experience dehydrating fruits. D’Lara offers 100% natural Colombian fruits, and all their products are kosher certified.
A few of their more popular products include:
Dehydrated pineapple
Mango biche package with sea salt.
Dehydrated mango
Tea
You can buy all these products online. Or, you can pick them up in local groceries such as Carulla, Jumbo, or Exito.
Grains: Cereal, roasted and green coffee, almonds, and sunflower seeds
You can also find other types of beauty, hygiene and pet products. You can order products online and get them shipped to your rental in Laureles or Poblado.
With more than seven years of experience in the market, We Organic specializes in offering 100% natural products. They also package everything in biodegradable containers.
A few kosher products you can get here include:
Eggs
Blueberries
Almonds
Oat flakes
Organic wine
100% pure honey
Peanut butter
You can buy products online. If you make purchases over $ 26 USD (Subject to change), you can get free shipping.
If you don’t mind shopping at chain supermarkets, you can pick up some kosher products there too.
For one thing, there’s Exito. This is probably the closest thing to a Walmart that you’ll find in Medellin. In Exito you can find the following kosher products:
Broccoli
Romaine lettuce, purple and green.
Cauliflower
Eggs
Celery
and wine among others.
Another place to check out is Carulla. Carulla is the Colombian equivalent of Whole Foods. Within their Kosher products are available are:
Lettuce, cherry tomato and rúgula, or green salad.
Kosher eggs
Spinach
Gherkins
Cilantro and among others.
Finally, you can swing by Jumbo. Jumbo is another chain of stores in the city with a wide variety of products. In addition to the special ingredients for your Kosher meals that you can find in Carulla and El Éxito, in this supermarket, you can get:
Field Zucchini
Normal and 3-color paprika
Normal tomato and cherry tomato.
Bighead onion
Peas
Grab Some Grub at a Kosher Restaurant in Medellin
Maintaing a kosher diet on vacation can be tough.
And, there’s definitely no exception when it comes to eating kosher in Medellin. Luckily, with this guide, you should have a better idea on how to do so.
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