Private Tour: Dinner and Salsa Show in Cali

See for yourself why Cali is considered the salsa capital of Colombia. After personalized hotel pickup, your driver takes your group to a longtime local hot spot. Inside the restaurant whose name means ‘Old Shop,’ you are thrown back in time, to the days when you hit the neighborhood joint after a long week of work for a night of hearty fare and dancing with loved ones.

Under white lights strung across a corrugated pitched roof, admire vintage cars displayed beside a replica of an old modest chapel. Tables are topped with patterned cloths and surrounded by simple wooden chairs painted in bright colors. In the center, a black-and-white checkered dance floor hints that good times lie ahead.

Follow the host to the table reserved for you, and look up. Lined up on the wooden balcony are musicians dressed mariachi-style, playing their violins, guitars and horns with harmonious, happy energy. Perhaps you’ll recognize a popular Latin song and join other guests in singing along.

Dig into one of two delicious dinner options, either a tapas-style array of succulent meats or a mixed plate of chicken, pork and steak, each served with accompaniments (see sample menus below). For some kick, try aguardiente, or ‘firewater,’ a traditional Colombian alcoholic beverage. Enjoy your food while being entertained by dynamic music and a sizzling salsa performance, during which couples in suits and sequined dresses spin out onto the dance floor and mesmerize you with their lightning-quick feet, twirling and dipping.

You’ll see others stand up and swing hips to the infectious beat. Is salsa good for the soul? Finish dinner, head toward the dance floor and find out for yourself. After you’re done strutting your best moves, your private driver will transport you back to your hotel.

Sample Dinner Menus (subject to change)

Choose one of the following options:
• 
Array of meats, presented tapas-style, including pork, beef, chicharron (pieces of fried pork), served with plantains, yuca frita (fried manioc), tomatoes and aji (homemade chili sauce)
• Mixed plate of roasted chicken, pork loin and steak, served with potatoes, arepas (flatbreads), salad and ajiEach meal comes with a half-bottle of aguardiente per two people and unlimited soft drinks.