El Sombrero: Authentic Mexican Food in Sabaneta

I’m a big fan of good Mexican food and since I live in Sabaneta I have driven past the El Sombrero Mexican restaurant many times and I have been meaning to try it out and I finally did recently.

It turns out that a Mexican living in town owns El Sombrero, which is a Mexican restaurant located near Parque Sabaneta. The cooks in the restaurant are Mexican as well, so the food served is very authentic traditional Mexican food.

The restaurant has been open for seven years. Several of my neighbors recommended it as El Sombrero is popular with locals and it is also considered by many to have the best Mexican food in Sabaneta.

My Recent Experience at El Sombrero

I happened to be near this Mexican restaurant recently at lunchtime and decided to try it out for the first time.

I wanted to try a variety so I ordered a special plate, the Fiesta Mexicana 2, which comes with a burrito, two tostadas and two tacos for a total price of 38,900 pesos ($13.15).

The waitress said it was too much food for one person but I ordered it anyway with a plan to take any leftovers home.

At the tables the restaurant has three different really good Mexican sauces including sweet and mild, medium and hot.

The food was excellent and I was impressed. I ate almost everything since it was so good but saved a tostada and half of the burrito for later.

My impression is that El Sombrero is a popular local restaurant in Sabaneta that has many regular local customers but I suspected not many foreigners have yet discovered it since it is located in Sabaneta and not in El Poblado.

But I talked to the owner who told me the restaurant has many foreign customers that have found the restaurant due to its very authentic Mexican food.

This Mexican restaurant has the most authentic Mexican food I have tried in the entire Medellín area. The restaurant’s slogan is “Colores y sabores de México” (Colors and Tastes of Mexico), which the restaurant really delivers on.

The restaurant also has reliable WiFi so I expect to start eating there fairly regularly for “working” lunches.

The Menu at El Sombrero

The menu at the restaurant has many typical Mexican dishes including Quesadillas (18,900 to 20,900 pesos), Burritos (16,900 pesos), Chimichangas (16,900 pesos), Enchiladas (20,900 to 24,900), Tostadas (16,900 pesos), Tacos (14,500 pesos), Fajitas (19,900 pesos) and Nachos (16,500 to 20,500 pesos).

The menu has several other options including Chile Relleno (20,900 pesos), Aztec soup (10,900 pesos) and taco salad (17,900 to 19,900 pesos).

Drink options include natural juices with water (4,500 pesos) or with milk (5,500 pesos), lemonades (6,500 pesos) and sodas (3,000 pesos).

The restaurant also serves many beers including local and imported beers ranging in price from 4,000 to 7,500 pesos.

Of course being a Mexican restaurant it also has several Tequila drinks available including several flavors of margaritas for 16,500 pesos.

The restaurant also reportedly makes its own sauces and tortillas, which I understand are also for sale.  They also can have some food and drink specials at times – when I was there they were offering buy-one/get-one free margaritas.

How to Get There

El Sombrero is located in Sabaneta about three blocks from the popular Parque Sabaneta and Iglesia de Santa Ana.

This Mexican restaurant is also located about five blocks from Restaurante El Viejo John, which is another popular restaurant with very good traditional Colombian food in Sabaneta.

The easiest way to get to Parque Sabaneta is to take the Medellín metro south to the Sabaneta station. The park is located a 10-minute walk east from the metro station.

There are also frequent buses that run from the Sabaneta metro station to Parque Sabaneta, which is near to where El Sombrero is located. The cost is only 1,800 pesos ($0.61).

Or you can ask any taxi driver in Medellín to take you to “Parque Sabaneta,” just about every taxi driver will know where it is.

It is relatively safe to walk from the metro station to Parque Sabaneta as there are many people on the streets during the day, or you can take the short bus ride.

The bottom line is if you happen to be in Sabaneta and craving some good traditional Mexican food, El Sombrero is a highly recommended local neighborhood restaurant.