Canalla: A Different Experience

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Canalla

This is Canalla, a place to spend quality time with friends and family. Here you can enjoy a wide variety of creative food combinations.

Canalla restaurant is a creative Mediterranean tropical fusion cuisine that uses Colombian-grown ingredients and sustainable fishing from the pacific. It manages to have a large variety of exotic plates due to this unique combination. Canalla was created by a Spanish chef who worked in several well-known important restaurants in Spain, including Michelin Stars. Later, he became in charge of the different dishes served in Marriot hotel chains all over Europe. He finally came to Colombia and started his own restaurant, located in Provenza, on an open-concept site on the second floor.  

Canalla has various flavorsome meals to choose from; however, most notably, the quality of the ingredients is always high, which makes a difference in the taste. Canalla always uses fresh products on all of its plates. For example, the tuna tartare consists of fresh tuna avocado and a mixture of spices on a white dressing. Eating this dish is truly an experience where you have various flavors and textures. Canalla’s vision is to provide a creative fusion of ingredients to create unique plates. Due to the quality of the dishes,  in their preparation and ingredients, their prices range from 30.000-70.000 COP per plate. One can compare Canalla to Papaya Guacamaya, as they have a similar purpose. Papaya Guacamaya claims to be “A social room where our chefs rescue recipes from Colombian cuisine and local products to present them in a menu with a more creative style.” Similarly, they use almost all Colombian products and prepare and exotically present them. However, Canalla has a ⅘ rating according to Trip Advisor, and Papaya Guacamaya has ¾. Canalla is a clear example of the importance of high-quality ingredients and preparation. The chef’s extensive experience and the diversity of the products are what makes Canalla’s dishes mouth-watering.

The restaurant has two faces when it comes to ambiance. First, the restaurant is a calm, relaxed spot to spend time with your friends and family. It’s a nice place to spend time in the afternoon, talking and enjoying the food and the vibes of the open concept with all the trees surrounding it. During the late evening and night Canalla becomes a true example of Medellin´s night-life. For instance, they constantly bring live music during the night. Canalla will never be like fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s because,  in these places, you usually order your food, receive it, then eat it and leave. Canalla´s ambiance allows you to enjoy the food, the vibe and spend time with your family and friends. As mentioned before, Canalla is a place to spend time and enjoy the whole experience.

The menu has a wide variety of options when it comes to what you want to eat. It has an extensive list of entries, main dishes, desserts, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The menu has a readable font, as well as a clear description for each plate. Also, their menu changes constantly, which provides new dishes for their customers every particular time. Apart from the menu, Canalla also has a service where you book, and the chef cooks just for you. A menu similar to Canalla’s is Della Nonna’s. They both are similar in their easy-to-read manner with a good font and size. Each of the dishes is adequately described and includes the ingredients that are used in each dish. Different from Canalla, Della Nonna maintains a constant menu which can sometimes tire their customers. I think Canalla’s menu is just right, it is aesthetic, easy to read, and contains excellent food descriptions. The customer can visualize each dish and properly decide on what he or she prefers. 

Service is one of the most important aspects when reviewing a restaurant. When you arrive at Canalla, one of the waiters guides you upstairs and offers options of where to sit. One of the biggest criticisms regarding Canalla is that the wait time for food usually is long. However, one should take into account that most of their plates require long preparation. Either way, the waiters immediately receive it and go to your table, as soon as the food comes out. One restaurant that has a similar service is Crepes & Waffles. The waiting time is usually long, but this is because there are not as many waiters. Differently, Canalla has more than enough personnel to handle every table without making customers wait after their food is ready. Canalla’s waiting time is long due to the elaboration of their dishes, while Crepes doesn’t have enough waiters to attend all of their tables efficiently. Similarly, in both places, you can find extremely special waiters who truly enhance the experience. The waiters are knowledgeable of the menu and know each plate, which allows them to advise customers. Most importantly, the waiters are observant, attentive, cordial, and hospitable.

Canalla is very strong in all of the aspects reviewed. The variety and quality of its food, the impeccable service, and the incredible ambiance are what every restaurant should aim for. The points addressed are all reasons to visit this place.