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Occasion Guide · Medellin

The date-night rooms of Medellin

MW
Marcus Webb
8 min read

Published · Last updated · Reviewed by the barsforKings editorial team

Past the first-date stage. Picking up where the proposal left off. Ten Medellin date-night bars our editors return to.

The date-night bar is a different brief from the first-date bar. The first-date bar has to pass — the date-night bar has to be a place you both enjoy enough to come back to. These ten venues in Medellin are where our editors send couples three months in, three years in, thirty years in. They are not flashy. They are the rooms our editors are sending their partners to, on Tuesday nights when nothing in particular is happening.

The Medellin bars our editors take their own partners to

The first six picks below are the editors' default — the rooms we send a friend to first when they ask. Each is followed by a recommendation we have ordered ourselves at least three times. Click any bar name to read the full review, signature drink notes, neighbourhood guide and how to book.

01
Alambique Medellin

At Alambique Medellin in El Poblado, the alambique sour is on the menu year-round for a reason and the bartenders pour with intent. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Alambique Sour

02
X Art & Cocktails

X Art & Cocktails, in El Poblado, the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: X Manhattan

03
Alambique

In El Poblado, Alambique the alambique manhattan arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Alambique Manhattan

04
Dos Vinos Wine Bar

Dos Vinos Wine Bar, in El Poblado, the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Dos Vinos Wine flight

05
Bourbon & Borneo

At Bourbon & Borneo in El Poblado, the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Bourbon Manhattan

06
The Secret Garden

In El Poblado, The Secret Garden the room is what it should be — quiet without being precious, busy without being a queue. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Secret Garden Spritz

Three more rooms worth turning into a regular

These last four are the editors' deeper-cut picks. Smaller rooms, more specific energy. If the first six feel obvious to you — meaning you have already been — start here.

07
Amor y Mezcal

At Amor y Mezcal in El Poblado, the mezcal negroni is on the menu year-round for a reason and the bartenders pour with intent. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Mezcal Negroni

08
Vinacure Wine Bar

Vinacure Wine Bar sits in El Poblado and the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Colombian wine flight

09
Mendel Cocktail Bar

In El Poblado, Mendel Cocktail Bar the mendel old fashioned arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: Mendel Old Fashioned

10
SSH Cocktail Bar

SSH Cocktail Bar, in El Poblado, the ssh manhattan arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.6 of 5.

Order: SSH Manhattan

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What to know before you go

Date-night bars are the venues you want the staff to know your face at. Two suggestions. Pick one from this list and turn it into your monthly Tuesday — the staff will remember, the corner will get held, and over time the bar starts to feel like an extension of your living room. That is the goal.

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