Inside the Fine Dining Restaurant Housed in a Colombian Prison

Munchies

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Restaurante Interno at San Diego District Jail in Cartagena provides female inmates with the skills and experience needed to secure a job when they are released.

In a crumbling building off the bustling tourist district of Cartagena on the northern coast of Colombia, waitresses wearing pink bows in their hair place matching serviettes on tables as Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” plays in the background. In a kitchen behind a metal door, chefs chop vegetables and debone fish ready for the evening’s service.

Restaurante Interno is one of the city’s most popular gourmet restaurants. It is also housed in the San Diego District Jail and staffed almost entirely by prisoners.