Cartagena's food is built around Caribbean seafood — red snapper, barracuda, lobster, shrimp — prepared with tropical fruit, coconut milk, and local spices. The walled city has the best concentration of restaurants but also the highest prices. For better value, the restaurants in Bocagrande and Getsemaní offer similar quality at lower cost.
La Cevichería is the most celebrated seafood restaurant in the old city, known for Caribbean-style ceviche with coconut and tropical fruit. The fish restaurants at La Boquilla village, a short bus ride north, serve the freshest catch with little fuss. For a formal setting, the Club de Pesca inside the Fuerte de San Sebastián del Pastelillo is Cartagena's most atmospheric upscale seafood option.
Street food is excellent — arepas de choclo (sweet corn cakes), buñuelos (fried cheese fritters), and the coconut sweets at the Portal de los Dulces are all worth trying.