Meet Medellin’s Best Italian Restaurant: Abbiocco by Carmen

Short on time? Abbiocco is an Italian restaurant with some of the best fine dining in the Poblado area!

An Italian restaurant is putting a sophisticated sheen on the restaurant scene in Parque Lleras.

What restaurant is that, you ask?

Enter Abbiocco – an Italian restaurant full of flare and stunning meals.

Whether you’re a die-hard Italian food fan or you just want to try some of the finer meals around the city, Abbiocco is the place to go. Here’s everything you need to know about the restaurant.

Table of Contents

• How Abbiocco by Carmen Came About
• About the Food: What to Expect
• Stand-Out Dishes at Abbiocco
  • Beyond Dinner: Breakfast at Abbiocco
• What to Order
  • Menu
• Take a Taste of Italian Fare at Abbiocco by Carmen

How Abbiocco by Carmen Came About

Influential, epicurean couple Carmen Angel and Rob Pevetts have added a subtle Colombian twist to an Italian theme. The result is a sophisticated pasta parlor in Medellin. 

This culinary colosseum is found on the ground floor and in the deluxe lobby of the Marquee hotel. It’s the latest accomplished venture by the same team that re-invented Medellin’s restaurant scene.

Additionally, a few other fine dining venues they’ve had their hand in include Carmen, Moshi, and Don Diablo.   

Celebrating the traditional Italian slow food philosophy of eating seasonally and supporting local farmers and producers, the duo has brought a tasteful touch to the Marquee.

Thanks to the high quality of the food and the surroundings, the luxury Poblado restaurant has given a much-needed facelift to Parque Lleras.

If you’re ready to enjoy everything the place has to offer, head over to Cra. 38 #9A-13. There you’ll find this stunning spot in all its Italian glory.

About the Food: What to Expect

If you’re going to go to Abbiocco, do us a favor: please don’t ask for pizza (there are plenty of places to go if you’re looking for a slice of pepperoni).

Now, this is an altogether much more refined Italian dining experience with a menu that’s been tightly curated. Consequently, it’s allowed Abbiocco by Carmen to stick close to home when it comes to sourcing most of its ingredients.  

The menu is split into four delicious sections – l giardino, di mare, di terra, and il doce.

Additionally, it’s married to a healthy mix of signature cocktails. These will have you gesticulating like a Romano by cocktail #3, the culinary team has crafted some delightful dishes for lovers of Italian cuisine. 

All the ingredients are organically sourced from Carmen’s little black book of the most regenerative farmers, responsible fishermen, and talented artisans in Colombia.

For instance, there’s grass-fed beef from the city’s best steakhouse; organic veggies from producers in Santa Elena, fresh fish and lobster caught responsibly in the Pacific and Caribbean. And, it also features homemade pasta produced in Barrio Manila.  

Stand-Out Dishes at Abbiocco

Now, it’s tempting to eat your way through the entire menu.

However, doing so would induce Abbiocco, that sated feeling you get after a top Italian meal.

But, if you’re planning on making it out to the hotel’s underground club or rooftop bar after dinner, you might want to stick to the highlights of the well-worked menu. 

Standout dishes include the oven-roasted asparagus, topped off with 48-month Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and a splash of mandarin lime.

Another great dish is pasta la marea. This dish comes with Caribbean lobster, mussels and shellfish in a white wine sauce.

What’s more, the Porchetta is sure to blow away any carnivores out there. This dish is a crispy coil of slow-cooked pork belly with organic Colombian parsnips soaked in fermented local garlic honey.

Plus, the chefs serve it with citrus and oregano salad. Can we get an amen?

Beyond Dinner: Breakfast at Abbiocco

If you do put your pedal to the metal and work your way through the optics you might want to make sure you book into the hotel. That way, you’ll be able to get horizontal in style when Abbiocco kicks in.

It’s worth staying at the hotel to savor the restaurant’s avocado toasts and Carmen’s homemade granola with tropical Colombian fruits and organic yogurt. All accompanied, of course, by a Colombian coffee. A barista trained with a black belt in making the perfect espresso brews this to perfection.

What to Order

It’s truly hard to go wrong with anything on the Abbiocco by Carmen menu. However, if you’re wanting our top recommendations, we’ve got you covered.

Here’s what tickled our tastebuds at this restaurant:

• Starter: Calzone al Funghi – mixed mushroom from Santa Elena, roasted organic tomatoes, Pecorino Romano, oregano, and basil.
• Main: Pez Bianco – a poached fish of the day, Pecorino Romano nut crust, leek risotto with a light, ocean broth
• Dessert: Spumoni – local 70% cacao chocolate, pistachio, and Caribbean palm berry ice creams
• To Drink: Cacao Spritz – prosecco, sugar cane viche from Don Onésimo infused with coconut and coastal palm berries with Aperol infused with cacao nibs and bitters rosso

Menu : Carta-Abbiocco by Carmen

Take a Taste of Italian Fare at Abbiocco by Carmen

Abbiocco by Carmen offers foods that you won’t find anywhere else. Plus, the dining experience at the Marquee is a 10/10, which is part of what’s made it such a popular place.

For those who want to try some truly refined Italian food while in Medellin, we’d recommend making a meal at Abbiocco a priority.

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