Tilapia
Grilled freshwater fish, the commonest fish on a Colombian plate
- Where the photo is from
- La Casa del Alimento
- Tasted
- in September 2026
Colombia has two oceans and yet the commonest fish on the plate is a freshwater one.
Tilapia is farmed in ponds all over the country, from Huila to Meta, and the result is a fish you get as easily in the mountains as on the coast. In Medellín, fifteen hundred metres up and five hours' drive from the sea, that makes sense.
The flavour is mild, almost neutral, the flesh white and firm. Anyone expecting a strong sea fish will be disappointed; anyone expecting something that carries a sauce and a side gets exactly that.
At La Casa del Alimento it comes with a small pot of mussels in sauce, plantain chicharrón, a slice of plantain fried crisp, crunchy yuca and salad. The chicharrón, incidentally, is better than the fish.
Praktická poznámkaItem number seven on the set lunch menu. Save the plantain chicharrón for last, it is only crisp for a while.
