The traveler with a special diet has a concrete problem when booking at a high-end restaurant. Most author menus are built around animal protein, and the adaptation usually arrives as a salad or a vegetable plate the chef did not design with the same criteria as the rest of the menu. The result is a two-speed experience at the same table.
Etro Rooftop and La Makha resolve this differently from most spaces at their level. The reason has to do with the philosophy behind the gastronomic concept, not with the willingness to accommodate restrictions.
What to ask when booking
Before getting to the specific question about gluten-free or vegan, there is a more useful one: what percentage of the menu is plant-based or seafood without terrestrial animal protein?
At Etro, that question produces a different answer from most bars with gastronomy. The Colombian oceans concept has a significant proportion of dishes where fish or shellfish with technique is the protagonist, not meat, and Colombian vegetables play a central role in the menu.
For those eating gluten-free, the next question is about kitchen processes: are there cross-contamination risks with flour? Do the sauces use gluten-based thickeners? Those questions require an answer from the kitchen team, not the waiter. Prior coordination when booking is the only way to have the right answer before arriving.
Etro’s and La Makha’s teams can answer with authority because they know the preparation process of each dish. This is not a mass catering operation: it is an author kitchen where the team knows every ingredient.
Etro: the plant base of the Colombian oceans
Etro’s concept works with Colombian vegetables and fruits that have enough character to build dishes with argument without animal protein.
- Andean tubers. Yuca, ñame, bore, arracacha: tubers that Colombian Andean cooking has worked with since before colonization and that with contemporary technique produce textures and flavor depth with no equivalent in imported cuisines.
- Colombian fruits with acidic profiles. Lulo, tree tomato, sour guava, uchuva: in Etro’s dishes they function as origin-sourced acidulants, replacing industrial vinegars with something that has its own geographic identity.
- Cordillera vegetables. Those grown on the Valle de Aburrá hillsides (cold-climate spinach, altitude broccoli, fresh fava beans) have higher flavor concentrations than their lowland equivalents. Dishes built from them have more presence on the palate.
For vegetarians, that concept produces a genuine experience, not a reduced version of the main menu. For vegans, most of it complies naturally, with verification of kitchen processes for the specific details.una experiencia real, no una versión reducida del menú principal. Para quien come vegano, la mayor parte cumple de forma natural, con verificación de los procesos de cocina para los detalles específicos.
La Makha and haute cuisine adaptation
La Makha has a relationship with Colombian produce that makes it more flexible for dietary adaptations than most restaurants at its level.
The living menu (a card that changes according to seasonal ingredient availability) means the kitchen team permanently works with fresh produce rather than fixed catalogue recipes. That way of working produces cooks who understand the ingredient and know what can be substituted, rather than simply executing a recipe.
For gluten-free adaptations, La Makha can identify which dishes on the week’s menu are naturally suitable and which can be adjusted without compromising the result. The team makes that assessment when the diner informs at booking.
For vegan adaptations, the honest assessment is that La Makha is not a vegan restaurant. Full vegan adaptations may result in a significantly reduced version of the seasonal menu. The team communicates this clearly so the diner can decide with real information. You can learn more about the sourcing philosophy behind these decisions in the article on responsible cuisine at La Makha.
Communicating the restriction before arriving
The factor that most determines the special diet experience at Etro or La Makha is not the menu: it is whether the restriction was communicated at booking or announced upon arrival.
When the team knows in advance there is a gluten-free or vegan person in the group, they can prepare real alternatives with the same criteria as the rest of the menu. When it is announced at the moment of sitting down, the response is whatever is available at that point, which may or may not be sufficient.
Direct booking at Etro (through Binn Hotel’s website or WhatsApp) allows including the restriction as part of the booking information. That detail travels from the reservations team to the kitchen before the group arrives. If you are traveling with a mixed group with different restrictions, the article on large groups at Etro and the sharing menu explains how the dish selection works in that context.
Frequently asked questions
Does Etro Rooftop have vegan options on its menu?
The plant base of the concept (fresh Colombian vegetables and fruits with contemporary technique) naturally covers vegetarians and much of what vegans need. For specific confirmation on which dishes are suitable with no animal component, consulting the team at booking produces the most accurate answer based on that week’s menu.
Does La Makha adapt dishes for vegetarians?
Yes. La Makha works with responsible farming and has a significant proportion of dishes where the vegetable or seafood is the protagonist. For groups with vegetarians, the team can advise on which dishes from the seasonal menu are suitable and which can be adapted without compromising the result.
Is it possible to indicate dietary restrictions when booking online?
Yes. Bookings through Binn Hotel’s website and WhatsApp allow including that information at the time of booking. It reaches the kitchen team before the visit so the preparation can be appropriate.
Colombian plant-based base · Coordinated adaptations in advance · Ingredients of origin
