Mercado De La Playa: A New Gastronomic Market in Medellín

Mercado De La Playa is the newest gastronomic market in Medellín that opened in December 2019 in El Centro with over 25 restaurants and bars.

This food market opened in mid-December 2019 and it has several small format restaurants with a variety of cuisines available.

At Mercado De La Playa, 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. Note two of the above photos are courtesy of Mercado De La Playa.

At the grand opening in December 2019, photo courtesy of Mercado De La Playa

This new gastronomic market is located very close to the Teatro Pablo Tobón Uribe theater in El Centro and Pequeno Teatro is also nearby. So, Mercado De La Playa is a good place to go before or after going to an event at one of the nearby theaters.

Puerto Calavera – Tex/Mex food

Food Options

There are many food options at this food market including Arabic, burgers, Colombian, desserts, fruits, Italian, Peruvian, Portuguese, pizza, sandwiches, steaks, sushi, Tex-Mex, waffles, wings and more.

Ilaska – Peruvian and Sushi

This is a large food market with capacity for about 1,000 people including over 800 seats on two floors. Also, there is a sound system and a raised area in the center for events.

Osadia, the bar on the first floor and there is a second bar on the second floor

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.

Inside Mercado De La Playa just after opening for lunch

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 new food market is located about a 6-minute walk from the Pabellón del Agua tram station

How to Get to Mercado De La Playa

This new food market is located in El Centro on Avenida La Playa close to Teatro Pablo Tobón Uribe. One way to get there is by using the Medellín Metro. To get there take the A Line to the San Antonio metro station and then take the TA Tranvía tram line to the Pabellón del Agua station.

Mercado De La Playa is located less than a block from Teatro Pablo Tobón Uribe

This new gastronomic market is located about a 6-minute walk from the Pabellón del Agua tram-line station.

Taxis are another options to get to this food market from your location. Just tell the driver “Teatro Pablo Tobón Uribe en El Centro”, which every driver will know. This food market is located less than a block from Teatro Pablo Tobón Uribe. Or provide the driver the address below:

Website: https://mercadodelaplaya.com/

Address: Calle 51 # 40-35, El Centro, Medellín

Phone: +57 314 870 3366

Hours: Noon to 11 pm.

Mercado De La Playa

The Bottom Line – Mercado De La Playa

Mercado De La Playa opened in mid-December 2019 and this food market has quickly become popular since there are theaters, a university and many businesses nearby. Also, reportedly it’s the second largest food market in the Medellín metro area.

The biggest competition to this new food market is Mercado La Colonia that opened in October 2019 and is located only about a 6-minute walk away and is located on the Tranvía tram line.

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 yet found a similar gastronomic market in any other cities in Colombia I have been to.

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