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In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Lunch at Exquisite Hotel Movich Cartagena de Indias Cartagena, Colombia

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

We were running out of days on our visit to Cartagena, and we still wanted to have a fine dining lunch experience before we left.

We considered several upscale hotels in the Walled City.

Let me just say, that with Billy being a trained French Chef, we are accustomed to eating well at home. If we go out and spend "good money" on a meal, we want it to be unique, or at least memorable.

We were looking for something different.

We didn't want to spend $100USD for a steak, grilled lobster or a pork chop. We could get that any day of the week at Chez Billy.

What were we going to do? Where should we go?

Movich Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Movich Cartagena de Indias

Since this was the day before we were to leave Colombia and return to Mexico, we had already gone to a number of restaurants and rooftop bars by now.

Sure, there were several upscale hotels which had restaurants that we hadn't visited yet. And we checked out their menus and prices online to help us make a choice.

But remember, Billy has stuffed a chicken breast in more ways than you can count. And he has sauced and grilled both steak and pork with wines, creams, pestos, mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes.

You name it.

 What a dilemma.

Lobby at Hotel Movich Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

The Lobby at Hotel Movich Cartagena de Indias

Sometimes what we like to do is order several appetizers and share them. This gives us a variety of flavors and expands our dining experience.

 

 

 

 

So my mind went back to the Hotel Movich Rooftop Bar where we had that superb octopus Carpaccio and the various bruchettas. There were lots of things left to be tried on that menu... Let's go back there!

Excellent.

Alyzia restaurant inside Movich Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

The entrance to Alyzia Restaurant

On the first floor of Movich is the Alyzia Restaurant which caters to the guests staying in the hotel.

We walked in and asked the waiter if we could see both the lunch menu and the Rooftop Bar menu. Alyzia Restaurant offers Mediterranean and Caribbean cuisine.

Look at this beautiful entranceway with fishing net-style curtains, and hanging rattan globes inside the dining room for lights.

Lovely.

Inside restaurant Alyzia in Hotel Movich, Cartagena, Colombia

Inside Alyzia Restaurant

Several banquettes with tables were on one side of the dining room and four-top tables on the other.

The neutral tones gave it an elegant feel.

menu at Hotel Movich, Cartagena, Colombia

The menu

The regular lunch menu had nice varieties, but we passed over the pastas, and the steaks with potatoes.

It felt like 100 degrees outside and we wanted something more distinctive and lighter, like seafood. No sauces, no creams, no butter. 

Looking again at the Rooftop Bar Menu, we decided on a grilled seafood platter. We held the idea of ordering a Caesar Salad if we were still hungry after the platter.

Seafood Platter, Alyzia Restaurant, Hotel Movich, Cartagena, Colombia

Magnificent Seafood Platter

Wow.

After ordering, we waited a short while when the waiter brought us this amazing platter filled with fresh robalo white fish, octopus, shrimp, squid, mussels, grilled Portobello mushrooms, tiny red tomatoes, sweet red onion and zucchini.

At one end of the oblong platter was a pile of potato wedges, which were actually quite good.

Seafood Platter at Alyzia Restaurant, Movich Hotel, Cartagena, Colombia

A closer look

My first bite was out of this world.

Anyone can ruin seafood by overcooking it.

All of these pieces have different cooking times and nothing was rubbery, tasteless or mushy.

The Chef knew exactly what he was doing and the proof was in the plate.

The octopus had a crunchy taste of fire, but was juicy and tender inside. The shrimp popped with freshness, and the squid was baby-tender.

Under the pile we found the robalo, which had a savory crunch to the outside and was perfectly moist inside.

The potatoes, which could easily have been generically tasteless, were also delicious unto themselves.

Seafood Platter with 3 sauces, Alyzia Restaurant, Hotel Movich, Cartagena, Colombia

Served with three sauces and fresh bread with dipping oil

Our three dipping sauce choices were an avocado sauce, a mushroom mayonnaise sauce and an olive oil/green herb sauce.

We eagerly dug in and after eating and eating and eating... we still had much left over. It was at this point that we were grateful for not ordering the Caesar Salad!

We ended up taking a good portion of this plate home to put into our hotel room refrigerator.

Coconut ice cream with strawberry filling Alyzia Restaurant, Hotel Movich Cartagena, Colombia

Fresh coconut ice cream snowball with fresh strawberry filling

There was no room.

We couldn't eat another bite.

Forget about dessert... We couldn't possibly fit in anything heavy like a Ganache au Chocolate or a Creme Caramel...

No, no thank you.

 

 

 

 

Then our waiter said, "You will love this, I promise."

If you have never had fresh coconut ice cream made in the tropics, this is a must-order.

Cold, light, refreshing,... and the tartness of the chunky fresh strawberry syrup in the center was a great contrast. The thin swash of chocolate with crumbled vanilla cookies kind of reset the palate for the next bite.

The whole meal was simply spectacular.

Our bill at Hotel Movich, Cartagena, Colombia

Our bill

The bill for our lunch with tax and tip included came to 150,000COP or about $47USD.

Unbelievable, don't you think?

We definitely recommend Alyzia restaurant at Hotel Movich.

Upstairs you can enjoy the pool for the day so long as you order a drink or food, and be sure to visit Hotel Movich Rooftop Bar as well.

Hotel Movich Cartagena De Indias

Centro Histórico, Calle de Vélez Danies No. 4 – 39 Cartagena Hotel, Colombia

Phone: +57 5 6642995 OR +57 (1) 521 5050

Website: https://www.movichhotels.com/es/ 

Email: atencionalcliente@movichhotels.com  

There are 6 locations in Colombia and Ecuador

Rooms are priced around $250USD per night

For more information on Colombia, with photos, stories and videos, click here

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About the Authors

 
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

 

contact Billy and Akaisha at theguide@retireearlylifestyle.com

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