EL BALUARTE SAN FRANCISCO JAVIER — Attraction in Cartagena

Best place in Cartagena to celebrate the New Year in style while indulging in abundance.

To start with the venue location is perfect nestled on top of the walled city, above the crowds yet still private. Perfect setting with greenery and vivid decoration. Tables spaciously arranged all around the stage with live entertainment all night.

Hostesses were really the masters of their domain ensuring that any requests are met, to the extent that they removed at one point an amplifier to enable few tables to have a better view over the stage.

Menu was extensive and rich (lobster, meat, lamb, seafood cocktails, salads) as well as open wine and a la carte cocktails.

Fireworks was such a lengthy desert after commercial upbeats turning all the crowd into a festive vibe.

Recommended to book a month ahead to select the table that matches your preference from the floor...

The ambiance of sitting outside listening to live music inside the city wall was fascinating for me. We ordered the Picada Mixta which was all meat and the Seafood Picada which had octopus, shrimp, calamari in some sauce and muscles (which by the way were not completely open) the taste was NOT good at all and very expensive. The seafood platter was $130,000 Colombian pesos which is equivalent to $43USD for just one platter. I wouldn't of minded to have paid $314,000 pesos if the food tasted way better, but both platters sucked. I guess just to hang out and have a beer would be good, but do not order the food. I gave it one star because it of the taste of the food...

We went to this restaurant after reading about it in a tourist guide on Cartagena. The waiter was super nice but it took a long time to get our order in. The location is super romantic and quite ideal for date with friends and or family. In our opinion, the food was a bit overpriced and just ok. The menu items were given to us BUT the waiter had a list of items that were not available (long list). Overall, we would recommend going there to have an appetizer and some drinks (overpriced) - but it is not a "must-do" in Cartagena. It is a "may-do" and call it a day! It is what it is - a tourist trap located in a...