Where to eat in Cartagena when the night matters

What the food is actually about

This is the Caribbean coast, so the plate leans on fish, coconut, plantain and citrus. Ceviche, whole fried snapper, arroz con coco, octopus, and a lot of very good rum.

The high end here is genuinely high. Chefs took Caribbean staples and gave them technique, without turning dinner into a museum piece.

Choosing the room, not just the menu

In Cartagena the setting carries half the night. A converted colonial house with an open courtyard, candles and a warm breeze will beat a technically better meal in a windowless room every time.

Rooftops work for the first drink and the sunset. Courtyards work for the long dinner. Do both, in that order.

• ·Sunset drink at 6pm on a rooftop or the city wall.
• ·Dinner at 8pm in the old city, two hours minimum.
• ·Drinks after 10:30pm in Getsemaní, which is when it wakes up.

Booking reality

The rooms everyone wants take reservations weeks out in December, January and Easter. Same for long weekends. Walking in at 8pm on a Saturday and expecting a courtyard table is optimistic.

This is one of the easiest things to hand off. We book tables in advance for clients, including the ones that answer a phone call from a familiar name faster than an online form.

The private option

For groups and celebrations, the better night is often not a restaurant at all. A chef at the villa, a long table in the courtyard, a menu built with the group in mind, and nobody watching a clock or splitting a bill.

It also solves the group problem: twelve people at one table in a busy restaurant is hard, twelve people at home is easy.

Small things that improve the night

Local habits worth copying.

• ·Dress up a little. Cartagena does, and it changes how the room treats you.
• ·Linen over anything synthetic. It is hotter than you think even at 9pm.
• ·Order the fish of the day rather than the imported cut.
• ·Have a car waiting. Finding a ride at 1am in the old city is a chore.