Bernaveu: Argentine Parilla and Sports Bar

Editor’s Note: As of April 2013, Bernaveu has closed and been replaced by a J&C Delicias restaurant.

Bernaveu is the sports bar where I ended up one afternoon when I had a hankering for a cheeseburger. More specifically, it’s a football (soccer) bar and restaurant with an Argentine-style parilla attached.

The bar occupies prime, visible-from-the-street, real estate in the Rio Sur mall on Avenida Poblado.

As you can see from the photo above, its semi-outdoors, which allows you to enjoy the Medellin weather, as well as do some people watching.

It was a quiet, Sunday afternoon, so I was able to get what I consider to be one of the prime game-watching seats that look out over much of the restaurant.

There were a few people sitting alongside me, watching the football match on the two largest flat screen tv’s, which hang above the outdoor grill.

If I’d been in Medellin for the Olympics, or happen to be here for the 2014 World cup, this is the kind of bar where I’d want to be watching matches.

I started off with a coconut lemonade (5,000 pesos or $3), which was a little too small in my book, but tasted great. Other drinks include Red Bull (9,000 pesos or $5), soda and tea.

Available beers include: Aguila, Aguila Light, Club Colombia, Reds, Peroni, San Tomas, and Heineken. Prices range from 4,000 to 7,000 pesos ($2 to $4).

If you’re hitting the bar with a group of friends for a big match, a bottle of Aguardiente Antioqueno runs 70,000 pesos ($39) and a bottle of Ron Medellin costs 85,000 pesos ($47).

The menu features tapas, and from the parilla, typical dishes like chorizo, morcilla (blood sausage), and plenty of steaks, ranging in price from 18,000 to 28,000 pesos ($10 to $15).

I was in the mood for a cheeseburger, and that’s what I got. The thing was absolutely huge, even after I stripped off the raw tomatoes, onions, and decorative fruits. In addition, they offered plenty of fries, ketchup, and barbecue sauce.

The burger itself was good, not great. Perhaps it was due to the infusion of red wine, but the meat appeared orangish-brown.

My verdict? Bernaveu is a worthy destination if you want to mix your carnivorous habits with football, while enjoying the fresh air.