Buena Vida Cartagena Restaurant, or better known as Buena Vida Marisquería y Rooftop (marisquería means seafood restaurant in Spanish) is one of my top recommendations for restaurants to try in Cartagena.
In fact, if you pressed me for one best seafood restaurant in Cartagena to try, I’d say Buena Vida would be my top recommendation!
I remember when this place opened, it quickly became one of our favorite restaurants. It has a cool vibe, colorful decor, some creative dishes, good drinks, and a neat rooftop.
Most importantly, though, the food is really, really good!
We’ve eaten here probably close to a dozen times, and it was one of the places at the top of our list of places we had to make sure we visited during our first return trip to Cartagena in mid -2024 after relocating to the states a few years ago.
Actually, we went 3 times during our 6 week stay in Cartagena on this trip!
Needless to stay, we were as impressed as ever with Buena Vida, and I highly recommend it.
Read on to learn more about our latest visits in this review of Buena Vida, Cartagena’s most creative and all around best seafood restaurant, in my opinion.
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Buena Vida Cartagena Restaurant Overview
Buena Vida is located inside Cartagena’s Walled City, next to the Universidad de Cartagena and across from La Brioche, another favorite of ours for breakfast, brunch, and burgers.
I remember when this place opened up, the colorful sign and decor caught my attention and we came to check it out not long afterwards.
It quickly became a favorite!
As you can see in the Buena Vida Cartagena photos here, the place has a cool vibe, and all the food is so wonderfully presented, plus really tasty.
In fact, I feel like we haven’t eaten here enough times since it hadn’t been open all that long before things shut down during the pandemic.
We did some traveling, then relocated to the states not too long afterwards.
It was near the top of our list to go once things did open back up. We visited several more times. It was one of our last meals with our good friends Brian and Kelly before they left for the states, and it was our last meal in Cartagena in February 2022 before we left for the states for good too.
Naturally, it was near the top for places we had to make sure we got to when we made our return visit with our infant daugther in the summer of 2024.
Actually, we ended up eating here multiple time during that visit!
It really is that good!
The review below is based mostly on that first visit in 2024, but I’ll sprinkle in tidbits from our other visits too.
We’ve eaten both in the main inside part of the restaurant and on the rooftop. If you are coming for lunch or a larger dinner, I’d recommend the inside. Buena Vida Marisquería’s menu inside is more extensive, and during the day, you’ll want the A/C.
If it’s not too crowded, they will sometimes let you eat inside then go up to the rooftop for drinks after, which is what we did on that first visit.
If you’re coming mainly for drinks, definitely pick the rooftop!
It’s got a cool atmosphere, and drinks here are really good.
The food menu on the rooftop is more appetizer or to share style plates with a few entrees.
However, you can definitely still do a nice dinner here, and we’ve eaten dinner up here a number of times both as a romantic date and with friends.
They also have a neat 3 course “dinner under the stars” deal that would make for a nice romantic dinner too.
They also do a brunch here, which we’ve never done. Given how good everything else is, I’m sure it’s great.
You can compare the menu inside and on the rooftop as well as make reservations (recommended) on their website.
Our Visits to Buena Vida Marisquería y Rooftop in Mid-2024
Let me be honest, our last visit here, just before we relocated permanently to South Carolina and the US was in January 2022.
I was not disappointed, but I thought they had raised their prices a bit too much.
However, I was really blown away and impressed during our recent visit!
First off, like most things in Cartagena, they’ve raised their prices a bit more, but for as good as it was, I felt like it was appropriately priced. I found it to be a better overall value than La Cevichería, which is pretty comparative in quality and fame and another favorite of ours.
Most importantly though, the food was really great, as good if not better than I remembered.
I also was really, really impressed with the service too.
It was always good, but I thought they went above and beyond on this visit, and we were especially impressed at how baby friendly they were.
They offered us a high chair, which Aaliyah didn’t stay in for very long, but was a nice to know they have as not every restaurant in Cartagena has them.
They also brought her some courtesy plantain chips and when we told them she isn’t eating crunchy things like that yet, they brought her a small cup of fruit.
I had also mentioned we were celebrating our anniversary when I made the reservation and they gave us a complementary oblea wafer cake and drinks and played that Ed Shereen song (you know the one) and had the wait staff wish us happy anniversary.
These were really nice touches!
So, feel good about taking kids here. I did notice they have a kids menu too if you have a child older than Aaliyah.
Also, be sure to let them know if you’re celebrating a special event!
We also got an oblea and a drink on that earlier visit for Susana’s birthday back in 2020.
What We Ordered
Let’s see, on our first visit this trip, to start I had a mezcal mimosa that had mezcal, proseco, and tamarindo juice. It was good, but I would have liked to have tasted the mezcal a bit more.
I also had a michelada de corozo, and that was very good. They have several house micheladas that all sound good and are well presented.
I actually got another of these on a return visit a few weeks later with my friend Brian and his wife Kelly. Actually, I ate here with them just before they flew back to the states. Just lots of good memories in this place!
Their house michelada with two costeñitas hot sauce, and a fried shrimp skewer is really good too. I had it once a few years back, and I saw a guy order it on this visit and I have to say I was tempted.
They also have a michelada de tamarindo, and a simpler chelada with just lime juice and salted rim, what most places in Colombia mistakenly call a michelada, that Brian got when we went and enjoyed if you’re looking for something a little less extravagant.
Susana had a corozo soda, which is sort of like a house made fizzy juice. She really liked it, and I had a sip and thought it was good too.
By the way, corozo is a tart fruit sort of like a cross between a dark cherry, blackberry, and cranberry. It’s a local favorite, and is worth trying in some form while in Cartagena.
As an appetizer we had the crab and shrimp nachos.
We had gotten these before, and I thought they were even better and a bigger portion this time than I remembered before. I only wish they had a bit more chips but there was a lot of topping and it was quite tasty, so this is a good problem to have.
For entrees, Susana got the Parrillada de Mariscos, a combo of grilled seafood.
She had a nice sized piece of fish, an octopus tentacle, several big shrimp, and some mussels. This is a great way to get a little bit of everything.
I’ll add that when I went with Brian and Kelly, he got the arroz marinero seafood rice and it also came with full pieces of octopus, shrimp, and mussels, not mixed in to the shrimp like most places serve it, which is another great way to get a bit of everything. If we go back a 4th time on this trip, I think I’ll order that.
Back to Susana’s parillada, she thought everything was great and the bites of octopus and shrimp I tried were, in fact, delicious, perfectly tender and and tasty.
My mom also had this when she, Susana, and Aaliyah went for lunch here another day, and raved about it.
I had the Cangrejo Buena Vida.
It came with a generous portion of creamy crab meat mixed with spices, great coconut rice, and a tasty avocado, onion, and tomato salad.
It was terrific, full of flavor and I appreciated the presentation with the crab shell!
Other things I remember that we’ve had in the past and liked include the seafood patacon pizza, the shrimp tacos, and seafood rice.
They had a crab sandwich at one point I tried and liked, but it doesn’t look like it’s on the menu anymore.
I also saw them bringing out entire fish to people and it was wonderfully presented and I’m sure delicious.
Actually, I should add, Kelly ordered this on the later visit.
Not only is it neatly presented, but the bites I tried were delicious, perfectly crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. The coconut lime sauce is also tasty.
It’s a ton of fish too!
They also have a catch of the day filet, that you can get grilled, or a la marinera where they smother it with shell fish and sauce.
On my return visit with Brian and Kelly, I had the Camerones caribeños shrimp in coconut ginger sauce almost like a mild curry. They were very tasty, but if I’m being honest, were my least favorite of the different dishes I’ve mentioned we tried at Buena Vida on this trip.
I also tried the margarita my mom had tried on her visit with Susana and Aaliyah. I forget the name, but it’s their special one, and they serve it in a cute clay pot style cup with a sombrero.
They also serve it with some burning spices (cloves maybe?) on a lime, which gives it a nice smoky taste and aroma.
I enjoyed it.
Oh, and we also enjoyed our Oblea dessert, but they have a really tasty sounding cookie with ice cream on the menu I got once in the past too!
Buena Vida Restaurant in Cartagena Final Verdict
Buena Vida is really terrific.
Not only is the food great, but it’s beautifully presented and there’s a nice blend of creative touch and traditional Cartagena food and ingredients here.
The service has also always been terrific on all our many visits.
While not as pricey as the finest dining in Cartagena, it is definitely in the upper midrange or lower high end tier price wise.
However, I think it’s actually a good value compared to other places in this price range because the food is so good and little touches like the decor, custom made pretty plates and glasses, and great service make it a neat experience too.
So, I think it’s worth treating yourself here and it’s one of only a handful of places I think are truly worth splurging even when on a tight budget.
I’d go so far as to say this would be my number one seafood restaurant to try in Cartagena, especially since it’s family friendly and has a decently sized menu with enough variety to please just about anyone except for the most extreme landlubbers.
Again, Buena Vida is located just across from the University of Cartagena on the Calle del Porvenir in Cartagena’s Walled City.
According to their website, they serve brunch everyday from 8:00-11:30 AM, and the lunch dinner menu from 11:30 am-11:30 pm.
Our experience has been for dinner, especially on the rooftop, on weekends, reservations are all but required. Weekdays and lunch, you can probably walk in, especially for a late lunch or early dinner. During peak hours, it’s probably preferable to make a reservation though.
You can make reservations and see all of Buena Vida Cartagena’s menus at their website here.
I hope you found this review of Buena Vida Marisquería in Cartagena helpful.
Most importantly, if you go, I hope you enjoy it as much as we have so many times. Let me know what you ordered and what you thought in the comments below!
Cheers and Happy Exploring Eating!
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In particular, you might want to check out my complete guide to planning a trip to Cartagena, my guide to the best areas to stay, my list of over 75 things to do, my picks for the best Cartagena tours, the best day trips from Cartagena, my suggested packing list, my guide to the Rosario Islands, and my guide to all the beaches of Cartagena.
