Cafés in Medellín
Cafés: the best places in and around Medellín, verified one by one.
- 21 places
- 7 zones
- average
Top ratedCafé VersallesLa CandelariaOpened in 1961 by Argentine native Leonardo Nieto, Salón Versalles is one of Medellín's most cherished living cultural landmarks. The historic gathering hub for Nadaísta poets, writers, journalists, and tango aficionados, renowned for authentic Argentine empanadas, milanesas, and fresh mandarin juice.
Top ratedRepostería El AstorLa CandelariaFounded in 1930 by Swiss master baker Enrique Baer on the Junín pedestrian boulevard, El Astor is Medellín's most iconic heritage bakery and tea salon. Famous for its handmade marzipan frogs ('sapitos'), chocolate moritos, Swiss nougat, and timeless pastries enjoyed across generations.
Top ratedUrbania Café PobladoEl PobladoPioneering specialty coffee roaster dedicated to sustainability and peacebuilding in Colombia. Sourcing directly from smallholder farmers in conflict-impacted regions and roasted using solar energy, featuring single-origin pour-overs, artisanal brunch, and a serene green patio.- Top ratedBúngaloNorte del ValleSpecialty coffee shop in the centre of Copacabana, opposite the town hall, popular for its warm atmosphere and its breakfast and brunch menu.
- Top ratedEl Café de OtraparteEnvigadoThe Otraparte café sits in the garden of Fernando González's house, and that is precisely its appeal: you have something under the museum's trees, with the stone path and the fountain beside you.
- Top ratedPERGAMINO Café Laureles, MedellínLaurelesPergamino Laureles sits on Circular 73, in the Estadio neighbourhood, and is the branch used by people who live in the area.
- Top ratedCafetería Arte DolceEl PobladoArte Dolce is a sweet house in El Poblado doing three things at once: artisan Italian-style gelato, patisserie and chocolate, with coffee as an accompaniment rather than the point.
- Café Zendaya Studio #1SabanetaSpecialty coffee shop with several branches in Sabaneta that combines single-origin coffees, cosy spaces and educational experiences around coffee. A benchmark of the municipality's coffee scene.
- La CafetecaBelloLa Cafeteca sits in Bello's Metro Mall, on Calle 26B, and is one of the few cafés in town that treats the bean as the point rather than the accompaniment.
- PERGAMINO Café Via Primavera, MedellínEl PobladoVía Primavera was Pergamino's first shop and remains its reference site in El Poblado. The house sits on a quiet pedestrianised street, with a terrace out front and a small library inside where customers leave and take books.
- Rituales Compañía de CaféLaurelesRituales opened in Laureles in 2017 and has earned a place among Medellín's specialty coffee houses, with a nomination for the 100 best in South America.
- ArigatoNorte del ValleArigato is a bakery and a vegetarian pizzeria at the same time, on Calle 81 Sur in La Estrella, and it makes on the premises everything it sells.
- Café VelvetEl PobladoFounded by the Belgian Ilse Geyskens in 2014, Café Velvet is one of the undisputed pioneers of the third wave of specialty coffee in Medellín. Its spacious venue on Vía Primavera has a beautiful open back courtyard covered in tropical vegetation, leather sofas and work tables. They roast their own beans from Antioquia and Huila, served with French pastries and Belgian chocolates.
- Café ZeppelinLaurelesCafé Zeppelin is the reference for German cooking in Medellín, in a Laureles house a block from the Segundo Parque.
- Barrio Sur Cafe BarEnvigadoLively café-bar in Envigado known for its inclusive, international atmosphere. It holds regular events such as language exchanges, quiz nights and music nights. It serves craft beer and a varied menu.
- Café RevoluciónLaurelesCafé Revolución opened in Laureles in 2014 and became a meeting point between locals and foreigners living in the area, which is much of its character.
- Briochelly Brunch and Coffee VIA PRIMAVERAEl PobladoBriochelly sits on Vía Primavera, the pedestrian street in Provenza, and treats brunch as the main event rather than an add-on to the coffee menu.
- Como en CasaBelloSpecialty coffee shop using Bellocafé beans that also works as a restaurant, bakery and coworking space. A family project with a homely atmosphere, built around spending the afternoon together as a community.
- Confite Taller de CaféSabanetaConfite is at once a specialty coffee shop and a workshop, and that double role is what distinguishes it: beyond serving at the bar, it offers training for entrepreneurs wanting to enter the coffee world.
- El Cafe NiquiaBelloA rustic, bohemian refuge in the heart of Niquía that brings together a café, bakery, restaurant and bar in an open-air yard. An iconic hangout in the north of the Aburrá Valley, running from breakfast into the night, with events and live music. The yard is where it all happens.
- Hija Mía Coffee MANILAEl PobladoHija Mía is a specialty coffee roastery in Manila, the neighbourhood of low houses and restaurants between El Poblado and the river.
Before you go
Antioquia is coffee country, but for a long time the best beans went abroad and the city mostly drank tinto, the small, thin black coffee. That has changed: today there are specialty cafés that buy from farms in the region, roast with care and will brew the same coffee as filter, press or espresso so you can taste the difference. This list mixes those places with neighbourhood cafés, bakeries and brunch spots.
El Poblado, along Vía Primavera and in Manila, has many cafés with a kitchen and brunch, busier and in the $$ range. Laureles is calmer and good for reading or working on a laptop for a while; Pergamino and Rituales are there, for example. In Envigado, El Café de Otraparte sits in the garden of the writer Fernando González's house, and beyond Medellín, towns such as Copacabana or Sabaneta have cafés of their own worth trying.
On Saturday and Sunday mornings brunch fills up, so go early or on a weekday. If you plan to work, ask first about plugs and whether there is a time limit on tables. And if you like a coffee, almost every place sells the beans by the pound or half pound: one of the best souvenirs you can take home.
