The Best Restaurant in Laureles Medellin

Laureles is probably the second most popular neighborhood among tourists in Medellin. It has tons of restaurants, cafes, and bars, is very flat and walkable, and is also very authentic and safe. There are lots of beautiful trees throughout for shade and pretty scenes. After our hike at Cerro de las Tres Cruces yesterday (our favorite hike in Medellin), we decided to take it easy for a day and explore Laureles. Where to find the best restaurant in Laureles??

Colombia is very famous for its ‘Menu del Dias’. From around 12 – 3 PM every weekday, a lot of restaurants offer a lunch special, which usually includes some kind of meat with a starch and vegetables, along with a soup and a fresh jugo.

Resources We Recommend for Colombia 🇨🇴

Safety Wing 🪽(for travel insurance)
Busbud 🚌 (for bus tickets)
Booking.com 🏨 (for hotels)
Viator 🚤 (for tours)
Unbound Merino 👔 (for travel clothes that don’t smell)

front of the restaurant in Laureles Medellin Uno ma Uno with outdoor and indoor seating — *You can choose to sit inside or outside. We chose outside because it was a beautiful day*

Finding the best restaurant in Laureles

After reading way too many blogs online about which ‘Menu’ would be best for us to try out, we decided on ‘Uno Mas Uno’ in Laureles. We hopped in a cab and headed across the city from where we are staying near El Poblado in the East to Laureles, which sits West of the center, near the big soccer stadium.

Here is a picture of the menu. For 21,000 COP ($5.33) you get …

Chicken or Pork in Salsa, Patsa/Rice, Salad
Crema de Acelga which is a soup made of potatoes, vegetables, and spices
A fresh fruit juice of your choosing

A lot of people online rave about ‘Menu del Dias’ in MedellÍn. ‘Menu del Dias’ are listed as a sole activity in many travel blogs, and for good reason I will say.

Interior of the cafe and lunch restaurant Uno mas Uno with tables a bar and people eating their food — *Interior of Uno mas Uno*

Eating at the best restaurant in Laureles

As soon as we sat down at ‘Uno Mas Uno’ our server asked if we wanted to see the menu, or if we just wanted to order the ‘Menu’. We both ordered the menu of course. And I will say … the food was amazing. Everything was so fresh. I elected for the Guayaba juice without sugar, Kelsey said she wanted the same … but with sugar. Our server laughed and told her that he could bring her some sugar to put in the juice on the side. (fruit juice isn’t sweet enough for Kelsey on its own, we’re working on this).

🛌 Here are all your hotel options in Medellin

After the juice came the soup, which was fabulous. It was the perfect warm temp and the blend of potatoes and veg were delicious. Soon after we finished our soup and the waiter took our bowls, we were ready for the main dish. The water placed the fully loaded and colorful main course on the table and it was also as wonderful as the soup. We paid and left very satisfied with our lunch. All in all, we highly recommend ‘Uno Mas Uno’ to anyone who is reading this. This is definitely the best lunch restaurant in Laureles that we’ve been to. We will probably go back again during our stay.

👉 Check out our Top 5 Hikes in Medellin 👈

soup made with potatoes and other vegetables fresh guava juice without sugar

Main dish, salad mango carrot tomato carrot cake pork with salsa rice

The Best Coffee Shop in Laureles (maybe)

After our lunch I took Kelsey to Rituales, “the best coffee shop in Laureles” according to this blog. The coffee was good, but the service was just ok. We got the vibe that they get a lot of American tourists / remote workers there and didn’t feel quite as welcomed by the staff as we have felt at other places. The café had nice decorations and ample space, but it was filled with tons of people working on their laptops from the U.S. and Europe. It wasn’t quite our vibe. The coffee was pretty expensive too. For an americano for me and an iced latte with honey and almond milk for Kelsey we paid around 22,000 COP ($5.58), which included the tip. This was pretty pricey compared to other places. Let’s just say we won’t be going back anytime soon.

☕️Best Cafes in Medellin for Remote Work

Upstairs area of the cafe with open air and covered seating with space to work on your laptop and stylish furniture — *Upstairs seating area of Rituales*

Iced Latte with almond milk and an americano on the table at a cafe in Laureles — *Iced Latte (actually cold brew) and Americano*

I left Kelsey at the cafe for about 30 minutes to get my haircut. I found an empty barber shop about 5 minutes away, walked in, and got a fade for 25,000 COP ($6.34). Is this a good deal? I’m not really sure, but I had a great conversation with the barber who had just moved to Medellín 2 years ago from Venezuela. If you ever spend time in Colombia you’ll learn there are tons of Venezuelans everywhere in the country, because of the economic crisis back in Venezuela. It was good to practice my Spanish for a half hour and learn about the neighborhood. I bet if you shopped around you could probably get a cut for 20,000 COP.

**Also, Checkout out our detailed 2 Week and 3 Week Colombia Itineraries!**

Walking around Parques del Rio

I finished the haircut, met up with Kelsey, and walked allllll the way to ‘Parques del Rio’ on the river. It was probably a 25 minute walk, crossing some major streets.

Crossing the street in Colombia is not quite the same as in Europe or the U.S. Cars hardly ever stop at STOP signs and you always need to keep your head on a swivel, as the people here drive like madmen. As long as you are careful when you cross the major streets, the walk from the center of Laureles is fine, and we definitely felt safe the whole time.

The park was nice and very beautiful; A nice get away with loads of green space, which can be hard to find in Medellín. There’s a riverwalk on both sides with bridges connecting at various points. They also hung some interesting lights over the river (pictured below), which Kelsey said is for some Disney event they might be hosting at the park? There is plenty of space to sit on the grass and on benches/lounge chairs.

⛰️ 11 Best Things to Do in Jardin – Our Favorite Place in Colombia

Girl posing in front of a river with lights and holding her bag on a nice day outside in Laureles at the park river walk — *Kelsey in front of the river with the lights hanging above it*

Getting Back to El Poblado

After enjoying some sun and quiet, we walked across the river and away from the park and grabbed a taxi back to where we are staying. It was maybe 5:30 PM now, and we had to fight rush hour traffic in the center of the city. I recommend avoiding cabs at this hour, especially if you have to cross the city from East to West or West to East, as the traffic is really insane. It will definitely add a decent amount of cash to your meter payment.

🪨 6 Things to Do in Guatape – Complete Travel Guide

Sun shining and park bench in a tranquil park by the river walk man sitting down and lounging — *Chilling on the lounge chair by the riverwalk*

Overall, Laureles is a very tranquil, authentic Colombian neighborhood. Uno Mas Uno is definitely the best restaurant in Laureles. The neighborhood is not quite as authentic as Envigado, as there are LOADS of tourists at the coffee shops and restaurants in Laureles … but still very nice. It’s flat and walkable, safe and has a ton of cool places to eat and drink at that are very friendly to tourists, while still getting a local feel that can be lacking at times in a more popular tourist-ridden El Poblado.

Selfie couple posing in front of the riverwalk with a stingray in the background — *Peep the fresh fade*

Picture of the street with the restaurant with a colorful wall in the background — *Outside of Uno mas Uno from the other side of the street*

I would definitely consider staying here if I was working remotely for a month in Medellin. To visit for a few days though? Probably not worth it. Not enough happening from a tourist perspective, and not enough of a local experience to be worth it from that perspective either.

🇨🇴 Top 9 Things to Do in Medellin