LA PUERTA FALSA: A 200+ YEAR OLD BOGOTA RESTAURANT SERVING COLONIAL-ERA COLOMBIAN DISHES
The Cost -$8 per person
The Atmosphere – Located just steps from Bogota’s Plaza de Bolivar, La Puerta Falsa, which translates to the False Door, is a small, no-frills restaurant that occupies an old colonial-era home. The restaurant has two levels of seating - the entirety of seating on the first floor consists of shared countertops while the upstairs has a few small tables and some more shared dining space. La Puerta Falsa is open from about 7 am until 6 pm and does not take reservations, leading frequently to lines during peak breakfast and lunch hours.
La Puerta Falsa has been serving its customers since 1816, making it one of the oldest, if not the oldest, restaurants in Bogota. The crowded eatery is located in the Santa Fe district of Bogota which dates to 1538 and has its own food culture referred to as comida santafereña. La Puerta Falsa is famous for two signature food items on its short menu, the ajiaco and the tamal, as well as for its hot chocolate – all of them traditional santafereñean dishes.
The Order – Ajiaco Santafereño, Tamal Puerta Falsa, Kumis, Natas and a Chocolate Completo.
The Fantastic - The Ajiaco Santafereño is a cream and potato-based soup made of three different types of potatoes. It also contains half of an ear of corn and generous shreds of chicken and is served with a plate of avocado, capers, white rice, and cream on the side for you to add to the soup as you please. Despite the soup being partly made of cream and potatoes, it tastes like a thicker, richer chicken soup broth and it is absolutely delicious. The shreds of chicken are great, and the avocado, capers, and corn just add textures, flavors, and even more heartiness to the soup which is definitely a meal on its own. This dish is a must-try and is an amazing value at about $7.
The Great – The Tamal Puerta Falsa was easily the second-best dish of the meal. The huge tamal was wrapped in banana leaves and was made from a mixture of corn and rice flour. Inside of it was a hefty amount of chicken, peas, carrots, and spices that really made this a true meal-sized dish and a delight to eat. Another winner for sure.
The Good – I had never heard of Kumis before, so naturally, I ordered it. This very old, traditional fermented milk drink originated in Central Asia and began as a drink made from the milk of a donkey or a mare. How kumis made its way to Colombia hundreds of years ago is not clear, but La Puerta Falsa’s version of what is considered a traditional Colombian drink as well is made from cow milk. The texture was yogurt-y and the drink tasted somewhat like kefir. It was unique and though I probably wouldn’t order it again now that I have tried it, I did enjoy it.
For dessert, we ordered the Natas. The waiter said that the traditional Colombian custard-based dessert was made in-house but it came in a sealed plastic tub that was stamped with a lot number and an expiration date. If it was, in fact, made in-house, it certainly lost that homemade feeling by being served in a machine-sealed tub. However, the dessert, which was made by removing the cream or foam of boiled milk and mixing that with sugar and other ingredients, was tasty.
The Okay – The Chocolate Completo, sometimes referred to as Chocolate Santafereño, was a must-order given its uniqueness. Why is it unique? Cheese. That’s right, the traditional Colombian rink that originated in the communities of the Andes mountains adds melted cheese to the hot chocolate. The cheese gives the drink a fun texture and adds some saltiness to it. It wasn’t because of the cheese, though, that I did not care for La Puerta Falsa’s chocolate completo; it was because there wasn’t a strong enough chocolate flavor and it tasted too watery for my liking. If the drink had the chocolate flavor of a traditional Mexican hot chocolate and came with the same cheese and spices, it would have been a great way to end the meal.
The Verdict – The overall experience at La Puerta Falsa was wonderful. The tiny restaurant has a lot of rustic charm, and the main courses were incredibly good. While the other items ordered were not as good, the ability to explore comida santafereña, a cuisine that is not even that easy to find within Colombia, was something very special. La Puerta Falsa should absolutely be on your list if you are planning to visit Bogota.