Divina Colombian Cafe

Sep 7

One of the most exciting things that I love to do is check out food from cultures other than my own. Today I had the opportunity to try Colombian food at Divina Colombian Cafe and Restaurant in South Sacramento. This restaurant is located in a part of town that is a bit off the main road, but it’s worth a visit to experience the lively atmosphere there.

I went on a Sunday afternoon and Divna features live music during that time. I walked into a very festive atmosphere with people singing on stage and families enjoying their lunch. The interior of the restaurant is decorated with much Colombian flair and it’s fun to walk around and check out all of the decor on display. My personal favorite was the pink pay phone they had next to the painted map of Colombia on the wall.

Divina features an all day breakfast as well as lunch and dinner items. Be careful if you are going to dinner though as the latest they close is 8pm on certain days of the week.

The menu is full of Colombian cuisine. On my visit I wanted to get a try of some of their most popular items so I got their empanadas, the cheese arepa, and a special plate called bandeja paisa.

The empanadas are probably the most ordered dish at Divina, and for good reason. This appetizer is great to share and comes filled with delicious beef, chicken, or potato. The server let me know that to eat them, you should take the first bite and then spoon in the sauce that comes with the empanadas before taking the second bite. The sauce inside was awesome and I’m glad she told me otherwise I wouldn’t have ever known to do that.

While the empanadas are crisp, the arepa is very soft with gooey cheese on the inside. It’s similar to a quesadilla in terms of its flavor profile, but the texture is different. The arepa at Divina came with a cute little Colombian flag on the top which I thought was a fun little touch. My favorite thing about the arepa was cutting it open and then doing a cheese pull. You know it’s good when the cheese gives a good stretch.

The main dish I ordered was the bandeja paisa. This was a high energy dish from Colombia’s past. Workers used to eat this to get enough energy for their strenuous work days. This dish was absolutely loaded. It had pork belly, sausage, ground beef, beans, egg, avocado, and rice. It was a lot of food and I could not come close to finishing it - especially after the appetizers.

The food overall has a very home-cooked, authentic feel to it. You can tell that it is made with love and that Divina wants to share their Colombian traditions with Sacramento.

If you’re like me and want to experience some new things, Divina Columbian Cafe is a great spot to check out!

Website: Instagram

Address: 6201 Franklin Blvd Sacramento, CA 95824