The 8 Best Bars in Colombia
Colombia now holds three places in the top 40 of the world list, and the best bars in Colombia spread across Cartagena, Medellín and Bogotá. In Cartagena's historic center, Jean Trinh's Alquímico fills three floors of a colonial building, from a courtyard island bar to a rooftop, and is No. 3 on The 50 Best Bars list for 2026, which also crowned it the best bar in South America. Many of its drinks use produce from the bar's own 11-hectare farm near Filandia in Quindío. In Medellín, Mamba Negra pours from a circular bar on a 22nd-floor rooftop in El Poblado and sits at No. 22 on the same list. In Bogotá's Chapinero, La Sala de Laura, above Leonor Espinosa's restaurant Leo and named for her daughter, makes its own Territorio distillates and is No. 95 on the 2026 51-100 list. Look for viche, the ancestral sugarcane spirit of the Pacific coast, which Alquímico uses in its Corn. Alquímico takes no reservations: it is walk-in only from 7pm. These are the eight we would start with.
50 BESTCocktail BarAlquímico
Alquimico opened in 2016 inside a colonial mansion in Cartagena's historic center, designed by the French architect Gaston Lelarge and spread across three floors: the Mansion bar, the Balcony for classics and the farm-inspired Terrace. The bar calls itself an ecosystem rather than simply a cocktail bar, and its From the Bar to the Farm project links it directly to producers and to its own farm in Filandia, Quindio. An in-house lab turns Colombian fruit and spices into wines and meads.
Cl. del Colegio #34-24, Cartagena de IndiasDaily from 19:00Full profile
50 BESTRooftop BarMamba Negra
Mamba Negra is a rooftop bar and restaurant on the twenty-second floor in El Poblado, Medellin, built on what it calls the fusion of embers, fire and mystery. The bar is led by Juan David Zapata, whose signature menu, Culebrero, draws on the history of the city, and Mamba Lab runs tasting experiences using only Colombian ingredients.
Calle 2 #20-50, El Poblado, MedellínDaily 18:00-00:00Full profile
50 BESTCocktail BarBar Carmen
Located within the celebrated Carmen restaurant in Medellín's El Poblado neighborhood, Bar Carmen offers a vibrant cocktail experience inspired by Colombia's culinary traditions. The bar holds No. 39 on The 50 Best Bars 2026, up from No. 100 on the 51-100 list in 2025.
Cra. 36 #10a-27, El Poblado, MedellínFull profile
50 BESTCocktail BarLa Sala de Laura
An urban space with a sophisticated ambience above Leo Restaurante in Bogotá, drawing inspiration from Colombia's biodiversity with its own distilled spirits. It currently stands at No. 95 on The 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026, after No. 68 on the 51-100 list in 2025.
Calle 65bis #4-23, Nueva Granada, BogotaFull profile- El Baron Cafe50 BESTCocktail Bar
El Baron Cafe
El Barón is a café and cocktail bar on Plaza San Pedro Claver, at Carrera 4 #31-7 in Cartagena's historic Old City. The rustic room is small and snug, and a terrace offers a spot for drinking outdoors. The list mixes classic cocktails with the bar's own creations, and mezcal features strongly: the Rosarito, one of the top sellers, combines it with cilantro, pineapple extract and bitters. There is also a daytime menu, food, an aperitivo hour and Cuban and Colombian cigars matched with spirits. Sustainability runs through the operation, with glass bottles reused, herbs from a rooftop garden and some cocktail proceeds going to environmental causes. It opens at 4 pm Monday to Thursday and at noon from Friday to Sunday. El Barón placed No. 66 on The World's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2022.
Carrera 4, Cl. San Pedro Claver #31-7, CartagenaFull profile
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- NáufragoRooftop Bar
Náufrago
Náufrago is the ninth-floor rooftop bar of The Click Clack Hotel Medellín, run with the Breakfast Club team, and the hotel describes it as a space born from curiosity and inspired by the mysteries of Colombia's biodiversity: a selection of native and overlooked ingredients gathered on journeys through the country and put to work behind the bar. It was one of the eighteen Medellín host bars of Medellín Cocktail Week in June 2026.
Carrera 37 #10A-29, El Poblado, MedellínFull profile - Quema Que QuemaCocktail Bar
Quema Que Quema
Set inside one of the few remaining historic buildings in El Poblado, Quema Que Quema opened in 2025 as a Caribbean bar where salsa music and international cocktail classics share equal billing. The bar works through a menu of roughly one hundred classics while the kitchen sends out coastal Colombian cooking, from jerk chicken to ceviche caribeño, and on Friday and Saturday nights a full salsa orchestra takes over the upper floor. The house signature is El Arriero, built on Aguardiente Antioqueño, cacao, and Colombian coffee, a drink the team is positioning as a national cocktail for Colombia. Run by operator Juan David Zapata, the bar was among the host venues of Medellín Cocktail Week 2026, part of a wave that has turned the city into one of Latin America's most exciting emerging bar scenes.
Cl 10A #36-40, El Poblado, MedellínLunes a Miercoles: 16:00-23:00 Jueves: 12:00-00:00 Viernes y Sábado: 12:00-02:00 Domingo: CerradosFull profile - Townhouse RooftopRooftop Bar
Townhouse Rooftop
Townhouse says it was the first hotel in the city to open its rooftop to the public, and describes the roof as a cocktail bar, an all-day diner and two little plunge pools, open from eight in the morning until midnight, with a reservation required for anyone not staying in the house. The menu is written around fresh, sustainable ingredients, to the point, the hotel says, of telling you which tree your mango came from. The Spirited Awards placed it in the international top ten for Best International Hotel Bar in 2020 and 2022.
Calle Segunda de Badillo (Carrera 7) #36-88, Centro Histórico, CartagenaDaily 08:00-00:00Full profile
The best bars by city in Colombia
Explore the whole Colombia scene
These 8 are the starting point. The full BarMagazine directory covers every listed bar in Colombia, with a map, filters by bar type, and new openings as we verify them.