Arepas, sancocho, criolla: A beautiful taste of Colombia in Bonita Springs
At Bella Colombia in Bonita Springs, the flavors, scents and sounds of Colombia are served six days a week.
Close your eyes at Bella Colombia restaurant in Bonita Springs, and you're transported to Bogota or Cartagena.
Colombian news stories play on the TVs, many of the diners are speaking Spanish and the smells of Colombian food — churrasco, criolla sauce, sancocho — fill the dining room.
Near the intersection of Bonita Beach Road and US 41, the restaurant opened in 2007. Its current owners, Marco Betancourt and his wife, Adriana Lira, purchased Bella Colombia in December 2010. The couple is originally from Colombia but lived in New York for 27 years, where Lira owned a Colombian eatery. When they moved to Southwest Florida, the opportunity to buy Bella Colombia opened up and they decided to have their own restaurant in the area.
The eatery attracts a wide range of customers, Betancourt says, many from Mexico or Central America, as well as Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
“We also have a lot of Americans," Betancourt says, "especially in season.”
The restaurant does a busy lunch trade. Some customers order off the menu — the bendeja campesina with ground beef, pork belly, sweet plantains, avocado, eggs, rice and beans is particularly popular — though many opt for the lunch special. For $7.99 Tuesday through Friday, the lunch special comes with a bowl of soup, a piece of meat, rice and salad.
“Every day is different,” Betancourt says. “Today we have grilled steak, tomorrow is chicken, the day after tomorrow could be ground beef. It’s always fried fish on Fridays.”
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The weekend special features a large bowl of soup and a side such as rice, salad or sliced avocado for $11. The soups are traditional Colombian soups, including sancocho or ajiaco.
“Latin people, they love their soups,” Betancourt says.
On Saturdays, the restaurant offers sopa de mondongo — beef tripe soup — served with a plate of rice, avocado and salad.
For breakfast, diners can choose between traditional American breakfasts such as eggs and omelets, or they can opt for arepas filled with cheese, eggs, blood sausage, steak or chicharron.
For bigger appetites, there’s the calentado or “reheated” dish, a combination of rice and beans, eggs, and a meat — either pork belly, steak, blood sausage or Colombian sausage.
“This is very traditional in Colombia,” Betancourt says. “Especially on the weekends.”
The restaurant also offers fresh tamales — all at reasonable prices
“If you compare our food with another restaurant,” says Betancourt, “it’s very affordable.”
Artis Henderson is a freelance writer and author of ‘Unremarried Widow,’ a New York Times Editors’ Choice; find her at artishenderson.com and on Twitter.
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IF YOU GO
Bella Colombia
Where: 3431 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs
Hours: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday
Prices: Most breakfasts $6-$8, most entrees $13-$18, weekday lunch special $7.99
Call: 495-9943
More: bellacolombiarestaurant.com