El Barco is a hidden gem restaurant in Itagüí near Medellín with very good seafood. This restaurant is located directly above a fish market, so it has its choice of fresh seafood.
El Barco (Spanish for “The Ship”) is typically filled with Colombians who know how good it is. However, this restaurant is only open from noon to 4 pm every day. Also, we recommend trying to eat upstairs on the third floor. And the table by the corner window on the third floor provides a nice view, if you can get it.
This seafood restaurant is located near the huge Central Mayorista market in Itagüí. When I visit Mayorista, I normally try to eat lunch at nearby El Barco. El Barco has some very good seafood dishes and is worth visiting.
Inside El Barco, on the third floor
Also, El Barco is filled with fishing and sea life art and décor. Many of the paintings in the restaurant were done by a local artist and some of the wood pieces were reportedly collected and carved by the restaurant owner.
Fried fish (pescado frito) at the restaurant photo courtesy of El Barco
The Food Menu
The menu is in both Spanish and English. The main dishes on the menu are all seafood dishes. Don’t go to this restaurant expecting to find other things like meats and chicken. The dishes on the menu include:
- Mixture of seafood (Mixtura de mariscos) – six species of fresh seafood seasoned in different sauces – 37,000 pesos or 24,000 pesos for a half-portion.
- Seafood Casserole (Cazuela de mariscos) – casserole prepared with several types of seafood that mixes the recipes of three continents and accompanied with coconut rice, salad and patacon with sour cream – 35,000 pesos or 24,000 pesos for a half-portion.
- Fried fish (Pescado frito) – Whole fresh fish deep fried and accompanied with coconut rice, patacone and salad – price depends on the size of the fish.
- Red Snapper mix (Parguito mixto) – Red Snapper fish accompanied with four types of seafood – price depends on the size of the fish.
- Fish Casserole (Cazuela de filetes) – Fish casserole cooked in coconut cream with three types of fish fillets – 33,000 pesos or 24,000 pesos for a half-portion.
- Marinated rice (Arroz marinero) – Varity of fish and seafood sautéed in soy sauce and vegetables and marinated in house sauce, fusing a Caribbean taste with an oriental touch – 37,000 pesos or 24,000 pesos for a half-portion.
- Rice with shrimp (Arroz con camerones) – Shrimp with onions, garlic, peppers and vegetables sautéed with rice and soy sauce – 37,000 pesos or 24,00 pesos for a half-portion.
- Fillet in El Barco sauce (Filete en salsa de El Barco) – Fresh fish fillet seasoned and cooked with the El Barco house sauce – 33,000 pesos.
- Fish Fillet in cheese sauce (Filete en salsa de quesos) – Fresh fish fillet accompanied with a sauce of cheeses and cream – 33,000 pesos.
- Fillet in green and red onion sauce (Filete encebollado) – Fresh fish fillet in a green and red onion sauce – 33,000 pesos.
- Garlic fillet (Filete al ajillo) – Sautéed fresh fish fillet dipped in garlic and cream béchamel sauce – 33,000 pesos.
- Fillet in oriental and teriyaki sauce (Filete en salsa oriental y teriyaki) – Sautéed fresh fish fillet with soy sauce, vegetables and teriyaki sauce – 33,000 pesos.
- Grilled Fillet (Filete a las plancha) – Grilled fresh fish fillet served with coconut rice, salad and patacon with sour cream – 31,000 pesos.
- Fillet in shrimp sauce (Filete en salsa de camarones) – Grilled fresh fish fillet marinated with a home recipe and covered with shrimp sauce – 38,000 pesos.
- Mix of fillets (Mixtura de filetes) – Three different fish fillets prepared in the three house sauces – 38,000 pesos.
- Fillet mixed (Filete mixto) – Fresh fish fillet grilled and served with four seafood preparations and coconut rice, salad and fried patacon with sour cream – 37,000 pesos.
- Shrimp in sauce (Camarones en salsa) – Shrimp prepared at your request with garlic, cheese or house sauce – 38,000 pesos.
- Jumbo shrimp in garlic sauce (Langostinos al ajillo) – Jumbo shrimp sautéed in butter, garlic, cream, wine and brandy – 47,000 pesos.
- Jumbo shrimp in cheese sauce (Langostinos en salsa de quesos) – Jumbo shrimp grilled and served with cheese sauce – 47,000 pesos.
- Lobster tails (Colas de langosta) – Lobster tails with sauces at client request, served with coconut rice, salad and patacon with sour cream – 73,000 pesos.
Seafood Casserole (Cazuela de mariscos) at El Barco
The shrimp ceviche at El Barco
In addition, the menu includes seven appetizers priced at 7,000 to 43,000 pesos. The appetizers include three types of ceviche, patacones with sour cream, patacon with seafood, fish and seafood broth and a mini-mixture of five species of seafood.
The kitchen in El Barco
The Drink Menu
El Barco has a small drink menu with seven different beers for 5,000 to 7,000 pesos. In addition, the menu has eight wines priced at 31,000 to 66,000 pesos per bottle.
Also, the menu has several non-alcoholic drinks including natural juices, lemonades, sodas and tea for 4,000 to 6,000 pesos.
How to Get to El Barco
It’s relatively easy to get to this seafood restaurant by using the Medellín Metro. El Barco is located in Itagüí outside of Central Mayorista. This restaurant is located about a 10-minute walk from the Ayura metro station on Line A.
El Barco is about a 10-minute walk from the Ayura metro station
Also, all taxi driver in the Medellín metro area will know where Central Mayorista is located and El Barco isn’t very far from Mayorista.
In addition, please note that El Barco doesn’t show up on Google Maps. Look instead for Buena Mar, which is a seafood market. And El Barco is located directly above Buena Mar.
The Buena Mar seafood market
To get to El Barco, you need to enter the Buena Mar seafood market. And there is a small spiral staircase immediately to your left to get upstairs to the El Barco restaurant, which is located on the second and third floor of the building.
Go up this small spiral staircase in Buena Mar to get to El Barco
In addition, this small spiral staircase to enter the restaurant may be a problem for people with mobility issues.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/sevicheriaelpuertomarino/
Address: Carrera 48 # 85-198, Itagüí on the second and third floor.
Phone: +54 4 285-1090
Hours: Noon to 4 pm.
Payment accepted: Only cash, does not accept credit or debit cards.
The Best Seafood Restaurants in Medellín
On the Medellin Guru website we have looked at seven of the best seafood restaurants in Medellín and the Aburrá Valley:
- Donde Bupos – a popular seafood restaurant in El Poblado with excellent seafood.
- Rocoto – a popular Peruvian restaurant with very good ceviche and other seafood.
- Mistura – a popular chain of three Peruvian restaurants that are a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese food.
- El Barco – a hidden gem restaurant in Itagüí near Medellín with very good seafood.
- Kibuki – a chain of two Japanese – Peruvian restaurants with a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian food.
- Kuelap – a popular Peruvian restaurant in El Poblado good ceviche and other seafood.
- Lo Exquisito del Mar – a popular seafood restaurant in Medellín with good seafood.
Also, we included El Barco in our list of the best seafood restaurants in Medellín.
The Bottom Line: El Barco a Hidden Gem with Good Seafood
El Barco is a hidden gem restaurant that is popular with locals, as it has high-quality seafood.
I have eaten at the restaurant several times. Each seafood dish I have ordered has been seasoned to perfection and perfectly cooked. And I especially like the seafood casserole at this restaurant.
Service is normally pretty good at this restaurant in my experience. But the service can occasionally become relatively slow if they are busy.
If you like seafood and like trying out hidden gems that are off the beaten path, I recommend this restaurant, which hasn’t yet been discovered by many foreigners.
In addition, we covered the Lo Exquisito del Mar restaurant in Suramericana, which is another hidden gem with good seafood.
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