The short version: the islands are not a restaurant scene
If you're picturing a waterfront lined with places to choose between, that isn't Tierra Bomba. There is no strip. There are villages, houses, a few hotels and beach clubs, and long stretches of nothing. That's the honest starting point, and it changes how you plan a day out here: you pick where you're eating before you get on a boat, not after you land.
We cook here, so treat this as us telling you what we do and what we don't, rather than a survey.
What we cook, and who cooks it
We take our eats seriously, and we're proud to be the only real culinary destination in the islands of Cartagena. Our kitchen was built by Chef Silvestre Saiz Cortazar, born and trained in Ibiza and raised in the kitchens of Bogotá. Pedro Mosqueda runs it now as Executive Chef, having cut his teeth in some serious places before us.
The food is mostly local. We're conscientious about what we buy and what you put in your body, and we only serve meat that's sustainably raised and ethically treated, including how far the animal travelled. Nobody is deep frying you a plate of something grey and calling it island lunch.
Drinks: the wine list came first
We were the first beach club in Cartagena to have a wine list, so let's start there. Yes, we sell rosé by the magnum, and yes, people order it before noon. Cocktails are made with fresh juices, and most of the gins, rums and other spirits behind the bar are chosen with the same fussiness as the food.
What we won't do is all-you-can-drink. There's no all-inclusive bar here. This isn't Cancun, and we'd rather pour you two good drinks than eight bad ones.
Dietary requirements are actually fine
A lot of us have been vegetarian or vegan at some point, so the non-meat offering isn't an afterthought sandwich. Lactose or gluten intolerant, same answer: tell us when you book and we'll sort it. Say it in advance rather than at the table, because we're on an island and we can't send someone to a shop.
One related rule, since people ask: you can't bring your own food. We're not going to lose it over a banana in your bag, but we don't allow guests to bring their own lunch and we don't cook food brought in from somewhere else without a very good reason.
Hours, prices, and how to actually get a table
The beach club is open to day visitors from 11am to 6pm. The restaurant runs later, through to 11pm for dinner, and everyone is welcome, not only people staying the night.
If you're staying with us and don't want to think about it, full board with all food and soft drinks is $90 per person per night. If you're coming for the day, the day pass with boat transfers is $40, you choose whether you want a sun lounger ($5 to $30), and then you simply pay for what you eat and drink.
Reserve. Always. This matters most if you want to come on our boat, because it has limited capacity, and if you're not booked and there's no space it's a long wait for the next one. Boats leave the Muelle de la Bodeguita at 10am, 11:30am and 5pm, and head back from us at 4pm and 5:30pm. Book online, and message us on WhatsApp rather than calling: there's no phone signal on the island.
Bocachica, the village
Bocachica is the village on our island and it's worth your afternoon, though not for lunch. There's no running water and there are no paved roads, and it has more soul than you'll be ready for. Do not expect chic restaurants and bars, because there aren't any. This is island life, not a food destination, and going in expecting the second one is unfair to the place. Go for the village itself, eat with us before or after.
The one-line answer
Eat where you've booked. Out here that's the whole trick. Reserve a table or a day pass, get the 11:30 boat, and let the afternoon do what it does.