Celele — Restaurant in Cartagena

I'm sorry to say this, but the experience at the restaurant for my friends and me was terrible. We were the first patrons to arrive (15 minutes early), and the staff made us wait outside in the heat, under the beaming sun and without shade, while they finished preparing. No one told us to enter when the restaurant was ready, all other patrons and our group let ourselves in (we entered last) and everyone chose their own table. We sat ourselves at a table and the server made us stand up, because that table was for 5 people, not 3. They offered us a table in the center of the room, my friend had to tell them to please let us sit at another table that looked better. We sat down and we put our purses and hats in the empty chair. A waitress came and asked us if someone else was joining us, we said no, AND SHE PROCEEDED TO TAKE THE CHAIR AWAY and told me she will put my hat somewhere else. The restaurant wasn't full, we didn't see any reason for them to take the chair, and the chair wasn't used by another patron.

When making the reservation, we explicitly said we were celebrating a birthday, but we were offered no acknowledgement, no decoration, nothing to highlight the celebration. The table that was sitting next to us, also had a birthday and they brought them the cake and sang, but nothing for our group.

They charged us a bunch of small waters instead of telling us we could get a big bottle from the beginning.

When it was about to be 6pm, the waitress asked us if he could get us the bill, right when we were having desert, just because they needed to start getting ready for the next reservations. Basically telling us it was time to go.

When we were paying, we expressed our unconformity, they gave excuses instead of at least bringing my friend the cake, or giving us a dessert on the house, or at least providing any sort of discount.

We left, no one gave me my hat back. You would think for such a "high end restaurant" they would be looking out to give me my hat back instead of me having to ask, especially when they took it away by taking the empty chair.

Look, I agree the food was DELICIOUS, nothing bad to say there. Also the waiters spoke perfect English. However, a good Restaurant is not only the food, it is also good customer service, I honestly would never come back to this restaurant or recommend...

Super fine dining with unique, beautiful, and whimsical plates in a small artsy dining room in Getsemani #6 on the top 50 restaurants in Latin America list. 4.5 stars

Food: 4.5 Service: 4.5 Atmosphere: 4.5 Cost to worth it rating: 3 Opentableable: no but their site Return worthiness: yes

Highlights: Waitress: very professional explaining all of the dishes in such a cool way educating us not only on the makeup of the dish but the local ingredients. She also shared the recommended way to eat each one which was helpful. Believe her name was Laura. Tableside finishing: made the experience all the more impressive and special. Arepa with crab: served separate and the shredded crab in a crab shell with many egg yolk dollops and lots of tiny ehh white pearls. You then dump the contents on top of the arepa. The arepa had a bit of a toasty smiley flavor which was unique being cooked in a lead. 4 stars Hen: small pieces with a broth poured over for lots of umami flavor. 4 stars Dessert: crunchy chocolate with some smoother textures within and a malt like ice cream. Interesting combo to play with your senses and delicious too. 4 stars Stunning cocktails: 1 with pink foam and mine with a photo and link to a poem to view. Wines by the glass: stellar options we enjoyed Huge portions: wasn't expecting the starters to be so large for fine dining -,Art: large rainforest like mural on one of the walls and images of different people's heads with unexpected things on top (aka a full fish! No dress code. So many others had many things you could and could not wear which can set an intimidating tone.

Midlights: Pork terrine: had some small crunchy beans we were warned about to expect, however the texture was similar to running into a kernel of popcorn that didn't pop which wasn't so pleasant. Rest of the flavor was nice and came hidden under greens. 3.5 stars Not a place for a picky eater or someone who prefers standard preparations as a warning. This level of creativity would be wasted on them.

Lowlights: They informed us after the kitchen and bar closed they'd be giving us our bill instead of the typical warning ahead of time in case we wanted anything else

Enjoyed this meal and the overall...

I had the privilege of coming to Celele, and it was not only the best food I have ever had in my life the accompanying service was equally unmatched! I cannot recommend nor have I ever recommended a restaurant more passionately. If you are in Cartagena, visiting Celele should be at the top of your list of activities.

We were a group of seven girls visiting from Los Angeles. Our Spanish is functional, but in performing exceptional hospitality, our server Brayan presented each dish to us (in incredible detail) in English. While we did not expect him to do so, it was greatly appreciated and really helped us understand the history and preparation behind each dish, enhancing the experience. He explained how each dish should be eaten and even went as far as to explain the purpose and cultural significance of each bean in a dish we had which we loved! He made the experience like one we had never experienced, and it was a highlight of our week in Cartagena.

We began with the Caribbean Flower Salad, Buffalo Burrata, and Lamb Kibbs. The flower petal salad was one of the most beautiful and uniquely delicious dishes I had ever had. The Burrata and Kibbs were equally amazing, and we were all blown away by the intricacy of flavors. We then had the Braised Beef and Duck Stew, which were quite frankly life-changing. We then finished with two desserts I cannot remember, but that was the cherry on top of an already wonderful experience. Additionally, I cannot remember all the cocktails we had, but they were all extremely well made, and we send our compliments to the bartender!

The service and presentation of the meals were extravagant. The dishes and table decor were breathtaking. Additionally, Brayan was the best server I have ever encountered, and I am not sure if I will ever come across another at his level of service, knowledge, humor, and kindness.

Thank you to Celele for the best dinner of our lives! I hope to one day be able to bring as many family and friends as I can to Cartagena, where our first stop will be here!

Visited...