Restaurante Idílico - Cocina de Producto Local — Restaurant in Medellín

Idilico is a good restaurant, if compared to an average restaurant it is great but if compared to high end world class restaurants (Michelin level) it is below average. I gave them 3 stars because I think they want to be at the highest level of cuisine, otherwise I'd give them 4 or even 5 stars.

There are a few things they can do a bit better:

Food: portions were reasonable but not big. Presentation was nice, flavor was lacking, I wish the coconut rice tasted more like the artisanal Colombian coastal coconut rice and less like canned coconut milk. Fish lacked flavor (maybe you could season it?), breading was well done. Sauce was very bland, that was probably my biggest disappointment.

Dessert: It was flavorful but it felt a bit too wild without purpose, there were too many flavors mixed that did not work well. I'd rather focus on achieving less flavors but making them right.

Cocktail: This was the star of the crown, very well crafted and nicely served, I'd 100% recommend the cocktails if it were not for the size, so 9/10 on drinks.

Atmosphere: It was a Tuesday night so I didn't expect many people but it was almost empty, tables feel a bit too exposed I wish it had more privacy, maybe booths or dividers. On this front it is hard to do better with the real estate they have and probably budget too.

Service: This is the worst part, it is not that they are bad, they just serve you with the mechanized Colombian style of attention, servers seem robotic and tired, they can recite the menu but it feels as if they are giving you a lesson. Instead they should help them become more engaged with the restaurant, be more friendly not just polite, they need to be more relaxed and really know and feel what they are doing. You'd probably need to pay them more and treat them better which is a common issue in Colombia. On this point there is one very important caveat, foreigners or people who live abroad probably would feel more like I do, but wealthy Colombians tend to be very classist and a friendly approach by a server might be perceived as a server over stepping their role. So, I express what I have seen in amazing restaurants but if customers are mostly wealthy classist Colombians then my suggestions will backfire.

Hopefully someone at Idilico sees this review and really considers it, rather than taking it as an affront, Idilico is a good restaurant with the potential...

I like the restaurant because it feels they are trying to do the right thing. However, given their price point, I would like to leave some constructive feedback…

I went with the 7-course tasting menu based on the recommendations in the reviews.

Food Very fresh ingredients!! You can definitely taste the freshness. I loved my cocktail (gin + lulo + pepper). It was the right balance of sweetness and bitterness - really elegant flavor! The seasoning/sauce was too much for me from the 3rd course to the 7th. And a few of them with very similar creamy sauce It felt like a symphony jumping from the first movement to the fourth without any building up. I was feeling overwhelmed.

Service I don’t speak much Spanish so some of these could be due to language barriers. The tasting menu was served in the private dining area in the back, so I was expecting a top notch service. The reception lady didn’t smile at all when she let me in. The second lady who sat me down has an amazing energy. The gentleman at the private room was definitely doing his job such as adding water, changing utensils and explaining the ingredients. (this one is only my guess…) I was served with sweet potato chips on the third course, and he explained I could dip into the sauce of the course. He asked if he should take away the chips after I finished the 3rd course, and I said yes. However all the courses later on had a lot of sauce, so I wasn’t sure if the intent was to keep the chips throughout the meal. One of the dish was served while I was in the bathroom. The gentleman didn’t explain about the dish. This was probably my biggest disappointment. In the middle of my course, they had a big table coming in, so they started rearranging the tables and making big noises. I understand the rearrangement, but I felt a heads-up to the customer is only fair. Overall, the service felt transactional for me, and I don’t think it matches its price points.

Atmosphere The decoration was amazing! The playlist is the piano version of some US pop songs… this I feel can be improved… I just don’t think it matches with the classy and elegant decoration… but this is only a personal preference.

Anyway… I have a very mixed feeling about my dining experience at Idilico, but the experience is always subjective, and maybe your experience would be...

A small restaurant, you might not notice it and walk by.... but you MUST STOP IN. The food and service is SUPERB!!! A must in Medellin, Colombia. Everything was delicious - the first is fish and we tried all three desserts and they were all WONDERFUL!!! That apple is actually ice cream inside with a chocolate tip. Will be back before we leave. Love Love Love......Madelain our server was great... That was my original review - but returned for dinner before leaving Medellin, Colombia and was VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!! We went a large group 10 of us - and they could not handle serving us. The menu is very limited but the waiter was not experienced (their was a language barrier but having been there last time we knew the menu). Last time I ordered a Sangria and they made it - this time no - not able to make one. Then ordered coffee con leche (with milk) the waiter said no only Americano or Expresso - well at 9:30 p.m. not good to have that - but then my friend ordered Americano with milk and she got one from waitress not our waiter. The food all came at different timessss. So some people were not eating while we got our meals. It was very disorganized. Then at my arrival I asked for separate bills - with 10 people gets difficult especially when there are drinks involved - well we only got 1 bill. So sorting out the $$$ was really fun - NOT!!!! So if you go the food is good but the service has gone downhill. Will not return next year...