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EATING

The best cheap eats in town are in the LA 14 supermarket (cnr Av 6AN & Calle 28) and Chipichape (www.chipichape.com; Calle 38N No 6N-35) shopping mall. LA 14 has half-a-dozen small eateries, including its own bakery, which does excellent meat pies (pastel de carne), pizza by the slice, buñuelos (deep-fried doughy balls of curd cheese and flour), pan de bono (bagel-shaped bun with a tart flavor), etc. The restaurants in Chipichape offer sincere attempts at Chinese and Mexican food, as well as more upscale choices such as grill restaurant Leños y Carbon.

Restaurante Vegetariano Salud Vibrante ( 660 5454; Av Sexta 13N-17; mains COP$5000; 8am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 3pm Sat) Your best bet for a cheap veggie meal in Cali. Staff makes its own soy milk and wholemeal bread. Also sells good veggie empanadas.

Baharoque ( 893 5318; baharoque@hotmail.com; Calle 2 No 4-23; mains COP$6000-18,000; lunch daily, dinner Thu-Sun) This new San Antonio restaurant serves a great set meal for COP$6000. Sample amazing salads garnished with tropical fruit, plus good steaks and chicken for you carnivores. Sundays see old-fashioned Cali dishes served, such as arroz atollado, a kind of risotto, and of course sancocho and ajiaco, both types of Colombian stew.

Crêpes y Waffles ( 667 5475; Av 6AN No 24A-70; mains COP$10,000-22,000; noon-10pm Mon-Sat, to 11pm Sun) What’s Cali without an afternoon sitting on the outdoor patio at Crêpes with a monster ice-cream sundae and some friends? It does excellent salads, and the salad bar is good value. Also serves sweet and savory crepes and, wait for it, waffles.

Barra de Mayolo ( 667 4239, 661 0166; Av 9AN No 10-10; tapas COP$12,000-15,000; lunch daily, dinner Mon-Sat) This Spanish tapas bar has some of the best food in Granada. Tapas selection includes fried calamari, Spanish ham and chorizo, as well as sample platters big enough for groups to share. Try the paella (COP$26,500 to COP$35,000), or whole suckling pig (COP$210,000), prepared specially if you give advance notice.

San Antonio Pizza ( 893 6726; Carrera 10 Oeste No 1-93; pizzas COP$14,000-36,000; 4-11pm Mon-Wed, noon-11pm Thu-Sun) At the top of the park on your left as you walk uphill, it serves pizza by the slice (COP$4400 to COP$6600) and also delivers. The menu boasts a vegetarian pizza, and other creative variations, including pesto pizza and fruit pizza with pineapple, peach and cherry.

Paladar ( 668 6803; Av 6AN No 23-27; mains COP$15,000-20,000; 9:30am-8:30pm Mon-Sat) It looks like a cafeteria, but wait till you see what it serves – homemade lasagna, casseroles of every sort, even the occasional stewed rabbit. The dessert selection is divine – cakes, pies, mousses; it makes us drool just thinking about it. The pastel Paladar (the house specialty, a multilayered chocolate and mocha cake) is orgasmic, and if you like lemon meringue pie, get in before noon – it goes quickly.

Cali Viejo ( 893 4927; restaurantecaliviejo@starmedia.com; Bosque Municipal; mains COP$16,000-58,000; noon-11pm Mon-Sat, to 5pm Sun; ) Set in the lush grounds of the Bosque Municipal, the city park adjoining the zoo, Cali Viejo shows off Cali’s Pacific roots. Seafood is the star here – try the cazuela de mariscos (seafood stew, COP$41,000) or lobster (COP$58,000) – but it also does a great sancocho (COP$20,000). Wash it down with a champú or lulada, or a shot of the homemade aguardiente. The dining room has no walls, letting a breeze blow through. If you’re coming here from the zoo, take a taxi or flag down a passing bus; the area is a bit isolated and, hence, a bit sketchy.

El Solar ( 653 4628; Calle 15N No 9N-62; mains COP$18,000-34,000; lunch & dinner) The waiters can be forgiven for being pretentious; the food really is that good. On the menu you’ll find top quality Italian food – risottos, pastas, seafood and steak. Also worth trying is the authentic Peruvian ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime) and lobster (COP$45,000).

Kaiserhaus