Restaurant Information				View Unique Cousine in Bogota in a larger map
Address	Cr. 5 # 119-11	Hours of Operation
Phone #	214-2678
Credit Cards	All
Webpage	N/A

I once had my Tarot Cards read but please don’t be too harsh in your judgment; I was 19 at the time and completely naïve.  Along with a bunch of predictable nonsense, the old hag told me something I thought might actually have come to her from the wise world of beyond:  I would be plagued by a string of romantic involvements with men suffering from what she described as ‘Peter Pan Syndrome.’  I went through life falling in love with fabulous men who refused to grow up, and I thought perhaps I had misjudged the old bat.  But then I did actually grow up to realize that I was correct in my initial assessment of the bogusness of tarot as ALL men are Peter Pan and she was simply stating the obvious.

Still, Tarot has an alluring appeal.   As I had walked past Arcanos Mayores a gazillion times on my wanderings ‘round Usaquen, and they display their menu on Tarot cards along the outside wall of the restaurant, I have always wanted to pop in for a meal.  Earlier this week I grabbed 2 Peter Pans and off we went. 

Arcanos Mayores has a lot of olde world charm.  Right in the middle of the space is the kitchen, and the chef occupying the space might actually be related to the old hag who fooled me so many moons ago.  Ask for a table upstairs along the balcony so you can view all her voodoo culinary skills from the best vantage point.  Seeing all the fresh ingredients first hand and watching her cook your meal right in front of you, really draws you in to the whole experience.  Enjoy the basket of mixed fresh breads and lather on any of the 3 fab flavor-fave butters (mustard, sesame or aji) while shuffling through the Tarot cards featuring all their enchanting offerings. 

The specialty of the house is Lomo – and you can’t go wrong ordering it with any of the magical sauces the witch whips up – especially the fiery garlic and parsley sauce which was unbelievable.  Alternatively, play a little and shuffle through the Tarot cards ‘til you find one particularly appealing (great game for the kids) and then flip it over to let the card pick the meal for you.  ‘Sun’ and ‘Moon’ cards feature all the seafood dishes and Peter Pan #1 recommends the Shrimp with Coconut Sauce dusted in Shredded Toasted Coconut.  Peter Pan #2 is a fan of the tortilla appetizers which come filled with all sorts of things – we settled on the one with sundried tomatoes and parsley.  Parsley seems to be the supernatural herb of choice as it was in or on every dish. 

The place has a real lived in feeling, like they’ve been in that space since the Spanish.  Although the design of the restaurant oddly brings to mind Greek restaurants (white and blue walls, grape leaves everywhere and a painting of a Greek statue) the Tarot cards that deck the walls bring it back to the metaphysical.  The music was as chill as everything else, never too loud but just the right amount.

Submmited by the Gringa

 

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