Cartagena, Colombia

I love how they don't even bother with a name, it's simply called "Indian Restaurant"

“Hold up a sec!”, I stopped Jack on his track.

This Indian restaurant was SO not here before!

See, we would know. We love Indian food, and because we’ve walked down this street so many times before we would’ve spotted this Indian restaurant just around the corner from our hostel in Cartagena.

An Indian restaurant in Getsemani, the ghetto barrio of Cartagena’s old city?

We got a little more confused when we realised just hours earlier, we had lunch in that exact place but it was definitely not Indian food. I think we’d be able to tell the difference.

What’s Going On?

'Berce' Restaurant during the day

Later we realized that there are two different restaurants operating in the exact same place.

In the morning, the restaurant is called ‘Berce’ and it serves your local Colombian menu.

But in the evenings, a Bangladeshi man rents the place to cook and sell Indian food. He then tapes a handwritten menu listing typical Indian dishes such as ‘Vegetable Korma’ (7000 COP) and ‘Chicken Vindaloo’ (11000 COP) over the existing menu board.

He then tapes a hand-written sign over the permanent restaurant name.

Why We’re Telling You This

I’m writing about this not simply because I found the whole thing is really funny (we can be easily amused), but because we had dinner there one night, and it was one of the best Indian food we’ve ever had.

And we came from the Bay Area, California, ya? That area has a large Indian community. We know good Indian food.

And we’re now in Colombia and we’re having this excellent, albeit small in portions, Indian curries in a spanish-colonial style building? We felt like we’re having a minor location identity crisis ourselves.

Not only that, while we were having dinner (we were the only guests there)… three groups of people came in but left when told that they only have Indian food on the menu.

It made us feel sad for the owner. We have then noticed that the place is almost always empty.

I think it’s a pity.


So, if you ever find yourself in Cartagena and craving some good Indian food, or maybe you’re just sick of set lunches – don’t hesitate to check this place out. It’s across from Hostel Casa Viena, and right across from Este Es El Punto (our favorite restaurant until Jack found a maggot in his drink)

During the day, it’s a Colombian restaurant called ‘Berce’ – which serves decent food.

And at night, it’s an Indian restaurant, called ‘Indian Restaurant’ (yeah, very creative) – serving what could possibly the best Indian food in the Cartagena, Colombia

Note: Btw, this is SO NOT a sponsored post. We just feel it’s our obligation to share this with fellow Indian food lovers.

Tell us:

Are you a fellow Indian food lover? Where’s the best Indian food you’ve ever had outside of India?