Crepes & Waffles: Colombia’s French-Style Crêperie

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Pollo Pekin crepe. 14,900 COP ($8.04 US dollars)
Ice cream selection
Ice cream selection

Crepes & Waffles is one of the most famous international restaurants in Medellín. They have restaurants in nine countries and 77 in Colombia.

Ask anybody where the closest Crepes & Waffles is and most will know how to get there. There are 13 restaurants and six ice-cream parlors in Medellín alone.

Crepe of shrimp in curry sauce, served with a basket of bread.
Crepe of shrimp in curry sauce, served with a basket of bread.

The restaurants are easy to find and most are located in malls. Each one has a special touch that makes it feel different from the others. My favorite is the Laureles location which looks like it is in its own miniature forest.

Crepes & Waffles opened its first restaurant, a small rustic French crêperie, in Bogotá in 1980. It was originally intended for upper-class families.

In 1994 they opened their first location in Medellín and in 1995 the business became international, opening its first restaurant in Ecuador.

Crepes and Waffles specialty juices.
From left: strawberry milkshake, mint lemonade, pineapple, mint and ginger and “Alegría” mango, pineapple and maracuyá.

Walking into a Crepes & Waffles around lunch time guarantees that the restaurant will be full.

Most restaurants are big enough that you wont have to wait to be seated, but if you do it’ll only be a few minutes.

Hawaii ice-cream. Scoops of guanabana , mango and mora (raspberry) with whipped cream and topped of with a strawberry.
Hawaii ice-cream. Scoops of guanabana, mango and mora (raspberry) with whipped cream and topped of with a strawberry.

Something you’ll notice going into Crepes & Waffles is that the only male worker you will see is the guard (if the restaurant has one).

This is because Crepes & Waffles only hires women who are the head of a household. They are single mothers or daughters who support their families.

A bread bowl (panne cook) with chicken in curry sauce.
A bread bowl (panne cook) of chicken in curry sauce.

Crepes & Waffles is famous for their unique menu and fairly inexpensive prices. They offer delicious plates that will leave you full.

They also have a special vegetarian menu or a sweet crepe menu if you’re looking for a desert that does not include ice-cream.

Pollo Pekin crepe. 14,900 pesos ($8)
Pollo Pekin crepe: chicken marinated in “hoisin” sauce with slivers of onion, cucumber, peanut vinaigrette, and spouts. 14,900 pesos ($8).

Be it a crepe, a pita, a bread bowl, sweet crepes, waffles, salads etc.; I’ve never tried a plate I don’t like.

The gold mine at this restaurant is the French onion soup. A soup that is hard to find here in Colombia. It is amazing, gooey cheesy deliciousness.

Probably the best french onion soup I've found in Medellín.
The best french onion soup I’ve found in Medellín

Crepes is also famous for their ice cream menu which really is a work of artistic flavors.

You can order everything from fondue, to banana splits, cones, fruit flavored ice-cream, even rose petals ice cream, which sounds odd but it is truly delicious.

Artesanal ice-cream. Flavors in order: Rose petal with strawberry and merengue; __ with maracuyá and peach; __ with blackberry.
Artesanal ice cream. Flavors in order: rose petal ice-cream with strawberry and merengue, old-style vanilla ice-cream with maracuyá and peach, curuba yogurt and almond ice-cream with raspberry.

They also recently open their Stone Glazé chain, easily comparable to Marble Slab or Cold Stone Creamery in the United States. For now they are only found in the ice-cream parlors.

Crepes & Waffles has amazing food for amazing prices. I can easily be satisfied for a meal of about 20,000 pesos ($11).

Whether you want a traditional make-you-feel-at-home ice cream or a new exotic flavor, Crepes and Waffles has it all.
Whether you want a traditional make-you-feel-at-home ice cream or a new exotic flavor, Crepes and Waffles has it all.

Crepes & Waffles is a great option for brunch, lunch, dinner or desert. They have rightfully earned the title of being one of my favorite restaurants in Medellín.

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Melissa was born in Florida and moved to Medellin at the age of 13. She is an Industrial Design student at the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, who loves photography, traveling and FOOD!

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10 COMMENTS

  1. Gosh I love this place. I eat here just about every day. It is a diabetic/vegetarian’s dream place to eat. Granted it is a bit more expensive than the mom and pop restaurant, but dang I love the food at Crepes & Waffles. Forgot to mention the Bogota Beer Company beer they also sell 😉 Mmm Monsoratte Roja!!!

    • Going with you on this one. And fresh salad bar to boot. I don’t care if the crepes are like those from the west part of France, though those may be far better. These are like those in the U. S. and every where else that I have had one. The main ingredients are the flavor anyway, not the crepe. I am partial to the bolognese. To each their own..

  2. Hi Melissa,

    I’m french and from the west part of France, where salt crepes are famous.

    And i’m sorry but the restaurants Crepes & Waffles have nothing in common with french Creperie 😉

    First, search for “Creperie bretonne” in google pictures and compare.
    Second, the french salt crepe are made with sarrazin flour whcih give fer this special brown color. Maybe it’s impossible to import this flour in Colombia to do it, but i have try it in Medellin and it’s completely very far of crepes made in France.

    • Hi Julien.
      I definitely get what you’re saying, Dominoes pizza will never be like a real Italian pizza.

      When the owners opened the restaurant for the first time they wanted it to resemble a french crêperie. Crepes & Waffles is a more commercial version of a crepe.

      Thanks for the info on real, french crepes. Looks like I’m gonna have to look for a real crepe in Medellin.

  3. For a real french salt crepe, the cooker need the special flour who give to the crepe the special taste 😉

    It must be this colour : http://img.radio.cz/pictures/jidlo/palacinka.jpg

    It’s the problem when a country doesnt want to import ingredients from other coutries because they consider it unsafely good to consume.

    For same exemple in Medellin, the restaurant Amelia propose “Fondue” but it’s not the same than you can find in France or Switzerland, because i think Colombia dont want to import these cheese due to the fermentation, bacteria and mold which is not consider as unsafe in France.

  4. Personally I am not a fan of the food at crepes and waffles with exception of the Mediterranean salad (with extra smoked salmon) and the ice cream. I like the concept in only hiring single women. Their new “flagship restaurant” in the old city in cartagena is spectacular (design and decor). I find their service very slow, often bring your bread with no butter, often do not bring the tables dishes at the same time.

  5. Hi Melissa,

    I have written a business case on Crepes and Waffles.
    Where can I get the latest financial and other information on this company.
    Does it have a restaurant in the USA?

    Best regards,

    Professor Phatak

    • I’d suggest you start by digging around on their corporate site, and Google, though financial info may be in Spanish.

      They’re in 8 countries besides Colombia, but all are in Latin America. I imagine at some point they’ll break into the U.S. market, starting with Florida.