An inspired dining and gastronomy experience reigns at restaurant Alma, a new dining destination in Cartagena, Colombia. Radiating the life of the city, three settings become a dining centerpiece, a sophisticated scene enlivened with the energy of gathering guests and locals. Alma presents a menu fusing coastal Colombian cooking with international flavors. The visionaries behind Alma are David Tornek and partner Sean Brasel, a dynamic force in Miami Beach with the highly regarded Meat Market. Crossing ethnic boundaries, the duo creates a dining destination in Cartagena at Casa San Agustín, imparting into the menu a mingling of flavors from Colombia through South America, and onward to the South Pacific for signature cuisine.
Alma’s dishes showcase simple elegance with the essence of local ingredients. The menu includes a range of dishes from land and sea, and premium cuts of beef are dry aged on premises. Lobster empanadas filled with roasted sweet corn and cream cheese and a grilled, house-made sausage with trio of roasted pepper salad are satisfying starters. Fresh seafood is abundant with Cartagena’s coastal setting – appetizers include octopus carpaccio served with olive aioli and parmesan lemon bread stick. The Peruvian style trio of ceviche is a medley of flavors as octopus and shrimp, tilapia, are tossed with green mango. A pan-roasted tilapia filet gets a bit of savory and spice with chorizo, olives, and herby green sauce served with baby roasted vegetables. Coffee crusted buffalo is complemented with mole butter, calabasin puree, and dark roasted almonds. To round out the meal, the chef will showcase the region’s rich choice of indigenous fruits mixed into seasonal sorbets and other sweet specialties.
Pass small plates, champagne and cocktails at the open-air courtyard and poolside setting which offers a dramatic alfresco experience in the evening. Lush vegetation and palms adorn the scene, and a fire pit illuminates the rich character of hotel’s historic walls and aqueduct. A casually, elegant and intimate, interior bar features a floor to ceiling case stocked with international wines perfect for pairing and sampling with a range of tapas. Inside under high ceilings and exposed wood beams, Alma offers a relaxed elegance in a candlelit setting and multicourse dining options. A private dining room can also be reserved for special occasions and intimate gatherings with friends and colleagues.
