Mercado Del Norte is the newest gastronomic market in the Medellín metro area, which has a collection of about 25 restaurants and bars in a warehouse located in Bello, which is in the northern part of the Aburrá Valley.

This food market opened in January 2019.  So, it’s only been open a couple months. And Mercado Del Norte has many small format restaurants with a big variety of cuisines available.

At Mercado Del Norte, food is purchased at the small format restaurants. And food is eaten at several bar-height and several lower tables, which are cleaned quickly and efficiently by the staff. Also, there are some TVs for watching sports.

Entrance to Mercado del Norte

Inside the new food market in Bello on the top floor

Mercado Del Norte is open for lunch and dinner each day. And it has a good atmosphere and a nice variety of food and drinks as well as desserts.

Also, this new gastronomic market has two floors. And they sometimes have live music.

Live music, photo courtesy of Mercado Del Norte

We wrote about several of the gastronomic market in Medellín and some Medellin Guru readers commented about yet another gastronomic market that had recently opened in Bello.

So, I also went to  check out the new gastronomic market in Bello. I found this new food market in Bello to be similar to the others found in the Medellín metro area. And my impression is this new food market in Bello is best described as a smaller version of Mercado Del Rio.

Mexican and sandwich restaurants

Food Options

There currently is a total of about 25 food and drink places at this new food market in Bello. Food options include traditional Colombian, hamburgers, Italian, Mexican, Peruvian, pizza, sandwiches, seafood, steaks, sushi, wings and much more.

Also, there are a couple of bars, a coffee shop and some desserts.

Lima – a Peruvian restaurant

Wingsports with chicken wings

Italian and hotdog restaurants

A small steak restaurant

Gastronomic Market Competition in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley

There are now nine gastronomic markets in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley, each with collections of many restaurants in one location:

1. Contenedores Food Place – reportedly opened in January 2014.
2. Mercado Del Rio – opened in October 2016 and is the largest gastronomic market in Medellín with about 50 restaurants.
3. Mercado Del Tranvía – reportedly opened in October 2017.
4. Mercado Del Parque – opened in September 2018.
5. Mercado Del Norte in Bello – opened in January 2019.
6. Mercadillo de Aranjuez – opened in February 2019.
7. Mercade de Sabaneta – opened in July 2019.
8. Mercado La Colonia – opened in October 2019.
9. Mercado De La Playa – opened in December 2019.

Mercado De La Playa in El Centro is the newest gastronomic market in the Medellín metro area that opened in December 2019. We also have a guide to the gastronomic markets in Medellín with all nine markets.

Some expats I have talked to thought the first gastronomic market in Medellín was Mercado Del Rio. But actually, the first gastronomic market was Contenedores Food Place in Envigado, which opened in 2014.

But Contenedores is a somewhat different format with several sit-down restaurants located in containers and not a big open warehouse space. In addition, Contenedores is smaller, as it has less than 10 restaurants. However, these are larger restaurants with separate sitting areas.

In addition, Medellín used to have another food market that is now closed. Manila Food Market opened in April 2017 in the Manila barrio of El Poblado in the Los Patios Hostel. But Manila Food Market was small with less than 10 restaurants. Also, it reportedly failed due to a lack of customers in this location and closed in less than a year.

Also, Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado opened in November 2018 in Envigado but reported closed in September 2019. So, it was open less than a year. And Mercado Del Rio La Strada opened in July 2018 but reportedly closed in October 2019.

The bottom floor in the new gastronomic market in Bello

How to Get to Mercado Del Norte in Bello

The easiest way to get to Mercado Del Norte is using the Medellín Metro. To get there take the Line A metro to the Bello metro station.

Mercado Del Norte is located a minimum fare taxi of 5,500 pesos from the Bello metro station. Also, you could take a metro bus to and from Mercado Del Norte.

In addition, any taxi driver in the city will be able to take you to Mercado Del Norte. Just provide the address below.

Address: Calle 56 # 55-96, Bello

Website: https://www.facebook.com/elmercadodelnorte/

Phone: +57 310 521 6079

Hours: Sunday to Thursday: Noon to 10 pm; Friday and Saturday: Noon to 11 pm.

The lower floor entrance to Mercado Del Norte on the other side of the building

The Bottom Line – Mercado Del Norte in Bello

Mercado Del Norte opened in January 2019. And it has become a popular location on the weekends. But during the week it’s typically not very busy. When I went on a weekday it wasn’t very busy.

While Mercado Del Rio is larger and has a bigger choice of restaurants, this new food market in Bello isn’t as busy and also has a nice atmosphere. But since this new food market is located north in the Aburrá Valley, not many foreigners have discovered Mercado Del Norte.

Also, it’s not really worth a trip from another part of the metro area unless you are already in the northern part of Aburrá Valley, since there are other gastronomic markets that are closer to where many foreigners live and stay.

Medellín and the Aburrá Valley now has nine gastronomic markets with a total of over 175 small format restaurants. Two are located in El Centro, one is in El Poblado, one in Envigado, one in Laureles, one in Sabaneta, one in Bello, one in Aranjuez and one in Buenos Aires. The eight Mercado markets are similar and Contenedores is a different format.

Furthermore, these gastronomic markets in the Medellín metro area are pretty popular. So, it is surprising to me that I haven’t found a similar gastronomic market in any other cities in Colombia I have been to.

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Editors note: updated on April 20, 2019 to add Mercado Del Parque in Laureles.

Editors note: updated on July 6, 2019 to add Mercado de Sabaneta in Sabaneta.

Editors note: updated on October 8, 2019 with information that Mercado Del Tranvía Envigado in Envigado is closed.

Editors note: updated on November 14, 2019 with information that Mercado Del Rio La Strada in El Poblado is closed.

Editors note: update on December 5, 2019 to add Mercado La Colonia in El Centro, which opened in October 2019.

Editors note: updated on January 3, 2019 to add Mercado De La Playa in El Centro, which opened in December 2019.