XO Medellín

XO is the most ambitious restaurant in the Grupo Carmen stable, a tasting-menu room that opened in 2020 beside its sister restaurant Carmen in El Poblado. In 2023 it was ranked 27th on the Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list. By then, as the newspaper El Colombiano noted, the group had spent 14 years building its cooking around the biodiversity of Colombia, and XO applies that idea in tasting-menu form.

The concept is an exploration of Colombian territory through food. The restaurant builds routes across the country, from north to south and from west to east, and each route inspires its own tasting menu, so the menu changes when the route does; the 2023 version ran to 13 courses. The team describes itself as a group of cooks, researchers, creatives and hosts, and it works closely with artisans, farmers and artisanal fishers. A kitchen laboratory, the BioLab, is used to make the most of every ingredient and reduce waste. Cooks prepare dishes in front of the diners.

The founding team brings together very different backgrounds. Rob Pevitts, the American co-founder of Grupo Carmen, studied music at Berklee College of Music before training at Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco, and had worked in seven restaurants over 15 years before opening the project in Medellín. Mateo Ríos, an Antioquian cook, is a founding partner, and co-founder Sebastián Marín leads the creative work that brings Colombia's traditional sweets into the menu.

For drinks, guests can add a premium pairing that mixes international wines with local craft beers and drinks made with ancestral Colombian ingredients. The experience suits food-focused travellers, couples and special occasions, and it is worth planning around: XO serves dinner from Wednesday to Saturday, with service starting at 19:00, so it is not a place for a spontaneous meal.

Book through the reservation link on the official website. For private events, the restaurant handles quotes through a WhatsApp line, and general enquiries can be sent to [email protected]. XO is at Carrera 36 No. 10A-45 in El Poblado, next to Carmen and close to Bar Carmen, so you can arrive early for a cocktail before the menu begins.