Restaurante 1621

Restaurante 1621 is the signature restaurant of the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara and takes its name from the year the building was founded as a convent of the Poor Clares. The setting is part of the appeal: the old convent later became a charity hospital, a penitentiary and a medical school, and it inspired Gabriel García Márquez's novel Del amor y otros demonios, before being converted into a luxury hotel. Diners eat surrounded by colonial walls, in a hotel that joined Sofitel's Legend collection of historic properties in 2012 and that keeps a hall named after García Márquez.

The kitchen practises haute cuisine built around local flavours, using ingredients from across Colombia, from the Caribbean coast to Ubaté, according to La República. There is an à la carte menu, but most people come for the tasting menu, offered in six or ten courses, with or without wine pairings. The dishes change with the seasons, moving from Caribbean seafood through Andean produce to Colombian cheeses and desserts built on tropical fruit. Pairings are designed to highlight Colombian flavours, sometimes with unexpected touches such as a sauce made with green coffee from Quindío.

It suits couples celebrating a special occasion and travellers who want a formal, unhurried dinner in historic surroundings. The longer tasting menu, especially with wine pairing, is a full evening, so allow at least two and a half to three hours. If you are staying in the hotel, it is also an easy option on a night when you do not want to go out; the hotel's other venues, such as El Coro Lounge Bar, are on site for a drink before or after.

Reservations are recommended. Contact the hotel on +57 605 650 4700 or through its website, and mention any dietary requirements when you book, since the tasting menus are set in advance.

The restaurant is inside the hotel on Calle del Torno in San Diego, in the walled city. Las Bóvedas, the walls and the Plaza de San Diego are a short walk away, and Alquímico, one of the world's best-rated cocktail bars, is in the historic centre if you want to continue the evening.