It started with an inconvenience. A work complication. A missed flight. Suddenly I was in Bogota for longer than I expected. After finding a hotel for the night and settling in feeling stressed and frustrated, I got down to the business of the real work: finding a place to eat. The reservation system at each of the restaurants I identified said the same thing. I needed to call the restaurant. After several misses, Debora was able to accommodate a single diner. There are certain items that I must have if I see them on a menu. Any kind of tartare, beef ribs, ceviche. I had looked over the menu and was immediately excited to see Lengua estofada (stewed tongue). Beef tongue is one of those dishes that is a must.
I arrived and was immediately taken aback. The restaurant was small, elegant, beautiful…and only half full. Still, I was ushered upstairs where it was empty. I was a bit taken aback but I had just made the reservation minutes earlier so I was not going to argue. The waiter came and introduced himself and the menu, plus an unexpected curveball: the tasting menu. At this point, it was not listed on the Debora’s website (it is now) so I was caught by surprise. I listened intently and was able to pick up that the tongue was not part of it. Two competing must-haves, tasting menu and beef tongue, competing against each other. I asked the waiter about the items on the menu that were allergens for me and he returned informing me that one of them would be substituted by the tongue if that was ok with me. Sold! Tasting menu with tongue.
So I sat back and waited for the Experiencia Bogotá to begin. And I waited. And I waited some more. This was one of a few missteps throughout the night. When the first drink finally arrived, it was a HOMERUN! Fruity, floral, smooth, refreshing. 20 de julio: Aguardiente, hierbas amargas ó caléndula, ruda, manzanilla paired the papa, carne estofada, and hogao. Wow! What a fantastic pairing. I was beyond happy with this type of introduction. I was primed for a fantastic experience. I should note that the first dish that was brought contained an allergen, and they quickly took it away. They brough back a second dish.
I waited and waited again for the second course: Abastos. Zanahoria, Jengibre, Manzana paired with the original drink. This was heaven. Beautiful. It was so light that I was not sure if I was eating anything. It was nothing but flavor, harmonized perfectly by the drink. Nicolas Bonilla, Debora’s mixologist, created a work of art with this cocktail.
The rest of the menu was good but lacked trajectory and the service was slow. Some of it was understandable. By the time I was done with my meal, there was no empty table in the establishment. The individual dishes were excellent, but the pinnacle of the tasting menu is definitely the first two courses, particularly that first pairing. As I looked at the menu, I wondered about vegetarian options. The folks at the table next to me said that they were more than satisfied by the vegetarian options.
All in all, Debora is an excellent restaurant that needs to iron out some of the bugs. The biggest one is that twice in the course of the service, a course was brought to me that contained an element that I was allergic to. This is something that should never happen, never mind twice.
The final course was a delightful nata paired with a rum and chocolate cocktail that was expertly balanced.
I enjoyed the food at Debora. The dishes were excellent. And I was blown away by the drink pairing. I am looking forward to returning in a year or so to see how this young restaurant matures.
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