One of the biggest things I miss about living in America has to be good BBQ, and I got used to eating it whenever I wanted.
It’s the little things that are taken for granted so I get really excited when I hear about BBQ in Medellín, especially ribs which are my favorite food.
Picking the best ribs in Medellín was a lot of fun, but really challenging. All of the choices are judged by flavor, quantity, tenderness, price and location. Feel free to add any suggestions in the comments below.
1. Humo
Carrera 35 #8A-45, Poblado
Humo is located in El Poblado on Via Provenza. I had high expectations with this restaurant because of all of the great reviews I had heard about it and thankfully I was not disappointed. I can easily say these are not only the best ribs in Medellín, but the best I’ve ever tasted in my life.
The meat fell of the bone and it was extremely juicy and flavorful. I could probably eat these ribs every day and not get tired of them.
I ordered the serving of 300 grams of the pork ribs with a Kansas City BBQ sauce for 21,000 pesos ($10.50) but they also offer 600 grams for 37,000 pesos ($18).
It was plenty for me because I had also ordered a few appetizers and the ribs were also served with a side of mango salad.
2. MU
Carrera 34 # 7-1 a 7-99, Poblado
Funny enough, I found this restaurant the night I ate at Humo. I was walking around Via Provenza and saw the sign MU Fukin Good Ribs.
After looking them up, I saw that they were open Thursday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight. The restaurant is very dark and romantic with candles on each table.
I decided to go that Friday with my family for dinner. They serve spare ribs to share and if you don’t want ribs you’re at the wrong restaurant because it’s all they offer. They are a “costillería” or rib house and one of the few in Medellín.
Their drink specialty is the Mojito and it’s delicious. I’m very picky when it comes to my mojitos and theirs will probably be my favorite for a while.
They have two different serving sizes for two or three people. These meaty ribs will leave you licking your fingers.
3. Federal Ribs
Carrera 35 #10B-17, Poblado
Federal Ribs was a restaurant recommended to me by Ryan. I decided to go with my brother to try it out. They serve six different types of ribs and offer both a half rack for 22,900 pesos ($11) and full rack for 36,900 pesos ($17.50).
The meat fell of the bone and was perfectly juicy. I decided to try the ribs bathed in a reduction of espresso, caramel and balsamic sauce. It sounds like a weird combination but I was pleasantly surprised by the savory flavor of it.
Each plate is served with two sides of your choice. I picked buttery corn on the cob and coleslaw.
4. Mundos
Km 7, Llanogrande, Glorieta aeropuerto (traffic circle near JMC airport)
Located in Llanogrande, I decided to take my sister to Mundos when she came to visit us last month. I had already heard a lot about the ribs. The portions were enormous and I couldn’t finish the plate by myself.
After speaking with the owner he informed me that the ribs are wood-roasted and trust me when I say it makes a huge difference. They have three options and I picked the Texas smoked Baby Back ribs.
I had eaten at Mundos before and it’s a very popular steakhouse serving certified Angus Beef. Every time I eat there I am pleasantly surprised and these ribs definitely lived up to my expectations.
They were mouthwatering and dripping in BBQ sauce. I like my ribs messy and I had fun with these.
5. Ocio
Carrera 33 #7-21, Poblado
In talking to Dave as I prepared this post, he insisted that we include Ocio based on his recent birthday dinner, where he tried their short ribs.
He told me they were some of the best ribs he’d had in Medellín, and given he’d tried the ones at Humo and MU as well, they must’ve been excellent.
In his review, he wrote “I opted for the short ribs (39,000 pesos, $20), which Mark F highly recommended. When the bowl of ribs arrived, the portion size seemed small, but looks can be deceiving. On top of a healthy amount of fat and the rich caramel sauce, there were no bones. It turned out to be too much for me to finish.”
The sad part about finishing this post is that I no longer have a valid excuse to go out and eat ribs everyday, but you, dear reader, get to go out and try every restaurant and let us know which ribs you liked best.
I just assume these ribs are pork ribs. Beef ribs hardly raise an eyebrow when it comes to ribs. I remember when I was a stock broker a rib restaurant chain did a pitch to us. I asked them what they meant by ribs (remember this was in the South). Their answer was beef ribs. I thought to myself that they wouldn’t last long in the South calling beef ribs RIBS. I was right on. No self respecting person would eat beef ribs and call them ribs. There was one mention of baby back ribs in the article and since the author lived in the South, I assume the ribs are pork ribs since that is what ribs are. Pork ribs = ribs. Beef ribs = beef ribs.
Humo is definitely pork ribs.
MU means “pig” in Thai, so despite the cow’s face on the facade, I believe they’re pork ribs. Their website doesn’t specify.
Ocio’s menu only said “short ribs.” I believe they were pork.
I remember asking Mu about their Ribs, they say its pork and not cow. You are right at some point there was a cow face on their logo, I believe now its a pork face. Some people claim its cow ribs since they are huge. Not really sure what exactly they are but there is some mystery going about the type of ribs they sell.
I am a Ribs lover myself and I tried some of the restaurants listed above. Mu is by far the best Ribs I ate here in Medellin. Mundos Ribs were great as well. So my top 2 so far here in Medellin are Mu and Mundos. I also tried Federal ribs, I found it when Googled best ribs Medellin and read some reviews so I was very excited to try their ribs but I was very disappointed when I tried them.
I dont think those ribs are anywhere close to the other restaurants mentioned on this list. Ribs on restaurants like Savannah (Llanogrande) and Jalapeño Mexican restaurant (llanogrande) are all better than Federal so I am not sure how that one even made it to this list. I ate numerous home made Ribs tasting lot better than one as well. I actually told them I was disappointed since they asked my opinion after I finished my food.
I would love to try Humo and Ocio. I can tell from the pictures those ones will be a treat.