On Thursday, March 7th 2019 the Medellin Foodies group met up for dinner at the new Mediterranean restaurant Creta, which is located in the upcoming Manila neighborhood, in Poblado, Medellin Colombia.
The restaurant has just opened a few weeks ago, so their bar is not operating yet. Everything else was working fine. Is Creta one of the top restaurants in Medellin? Read what our Medellin foodies have to say about it in their reviews.
Silvia
I ordered the vegetarian Moussaka, which is similar to a lasagna but without the pasta. I liked the flavor and the presentation. The service was good. We were a big group of 20 people, but they managed it pretty well.
The restaurant is new and specializes in Mediterranean food. Seems to be sort of a mixture of Greek and Arab cuisine.
The main dishes are between $25k and $50k, so for local standards I would consider the restaurant high end. The interior design is very nice and the restaurant is specious, ideal for a bigger group. There are very few Greek restaurants in the city but there are a few options for good Arabic food. Creta is a nice restaurant but I didn’t find the food outstanding to justify the prices.
Andrew (Vegan)
I had been looking forward to going to Creta since I saw it being built a couple months ago. I’m vegan, so I wanted to try as many things as I could.
I ordered five plates.
To start, I ordered the Falafel ($17,000).
It was tasty and fresh. It didn’t beat Pita Place’s falafel though.
My second appetizer was the hummus ($19,000).
I’ve tried hummus at various spots around Medellin, and the hummus here at Creta is on my top list. The pita bread that came with it was absolutely delicious.
I also ordered the lentil soup ($19,000).
This soup was great. It wasn’t too salty, nor too watery. It had a good amount of whole lentils and diced carrots and potatoes.
I had to try the Tabbouleh ($21,000).
This is a pretty simple salad made of finely chopped parsley, wheat crumbs, tomatoes, mint, onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. It was light and refreshing, I enjoyed it.
The fifth plate was the saffron rice.
The black things in the picture are raisins. It lacked salt for my palet, but overall, I was pleased with the dish. If you’re vegan, make sure to tell them not to put cheese on the rice. I had to give my first order away to a fellow foodie, and order a second one without the cheese.
Of the five dishes my favorites were the lentil soup and the hummus.
These vegan food options were great, but the service was top-notch. If you’ve dined out in Medellin, you’re well aware that customer service can be sub par at times.
Creta certainly has their staff trained well. Our group was large, but our three servers handled it very well. Although the kitchen wasn’t completely in sync with the wait staff (meaning that all dishes didn’t come out at the same time), we were constantly brought baskets of the delicious pita bread, hummus, and water. Our main waitress, Andrea Palacio, was attentive and handled our bill at the end very well (everyone had separate bills.)
To top it all off, the head chef, an Egyptian immigrant (sorry I forgot your name), came out and asked us what we thought. We all told him our experience. He took the constructive criticism on a couple of the meat plates very well and gave us a free desert.
In a city where restaurants come and go quickly, I can’t imagine Creta failing any time soon. Adding up the decor, ambiance, good food, and exceptional service, I think it will be around for a while.
I’ll definitely be going back.
Caroline, a chef visiting from Quebec
The decoration and ambiance was beautiful, but what arrived on my plate was less impressive.
I ordered the shish taouk, and unfortunately the chicken was extremely dry, the potatoes weren’t convincing, the vegetables were good but the portions could have been bigger
Brian
I enjoyed the hot pitas, the complimentary dessert was delicious, but as they were just opening, the smiley waitress was not super informed about the menu, and had to go to the kitchen to look for the answers to our questions about the dishes.
The menu said they served lamb ribs, which was actually a lamb rack without separating the spine bones; the additional bones make it tough to get to all the meat, and to cook it evenly throughout. The ribs on the rack were perfectly cleaned, so it was a bit strange to see the spine still connected (I have never seen that before). I liked the potatoes, but would have liked more flavour (even just olive oil) on the grilled vegetables.
I also would have like to see some more ethnic names and explanations for the dishes on the menu (for example, they had a 22.000 COP dish of cucumber and yogurt, no more explanation; maybe it was like a tatziki, maybe like a raita, maybe something totally different). I imagine the menu will get sorted out with time as they get settled in.
I definitely enjoyed the ambiance, and the complimentary dessert was a delicious combination of semolina, pistachios, honey, and other nuts.
Nancy
I ordered the vegetarian moussaka filled with zucchini eggplant, black olives and covered with arugula. The consistency was firm not at all overcooked. I enjoyed the level of spice which was moderate.
Other than the lights going out a couple of times for just a brief moment, the atmosphere was warm and inviting.
Wendy and Darren
I (Wendy) ordered the Fattoush salad and Darren had the chicken shawarma. Both were fresh and tasty, the salad was a little difficult to eat, but the light dressing was really good. The shawarma was really good, especially the pita and cucumber sauce. I would have both again.
Pat
This is a beautiful place, the service was very gracious. I had moussaka with lamb which was very salty and I felt the price was a little high. I really enjoyed the complimentary appetizer they served us, the hummus and pita bread.
Debbie
The space is beautiful and this restaurant has potential, but it needs time to mature. Our order was incorrect and then when we got the Moussaka with Lamb, it was too salty to eat. However, the Pita bread was fabulous and the hummus the best I had in Medellin. Service was also excellent.
Alex
I very much enjoyed the ambiance. The decorations and music are lovely. The staff was attentive, and we felt welcomed by them (and also by the pita naan hummus!) My vegetarian moussaka was well cooked and I enjoyed it. It came out quickly and the price was fair. Well done, will be back!
Ryan
I enjoyed the pita and hummus appetizer. The chicken shawarma was a good-sized portion, but would have liked a bit more green vegetables somehow – perhaps on the side. Tasty, enjoyed it!
Don
I ordered the beef Shawarma. The beef was cooked well, nice and tender. I generally prefer Shwarma to have a bit more spice but the meat was cooked well. The bread was tasty and the service was excellent.
Valery & Lois
I had the vegetarian moussaka and I really enjoyed it. It was not an authentic moussaka, they did not use bechamel sauce for instance. The service was excellent, especially considering we were such a big group. The restaurant is brand new.
The complimentary desert was excellent and a lovely touch. At the end the chefs came out to talk to us, that was really nice.
Javier
Everything was very nice. I had the lentil soup with bread and a salad. The soup was very nice and the bread was perfect. The salad was perfect too, very fresh. The vegetarian moussaka.
