First time having Venezuelan food!…read more This was at a small local restaurant, El Venezolano on Danforth. We got the El Venezolanito, which came with 2 arepas, 2 mini cachapas, 2 tequenos, 2 mini empanadas, and 2 patacones. Finished off with some churros! Apologies in advanced if I butcher the descriptions! Might be helpful to people that are new to Venezuelan food like me. - arepas: cornmeal cakes stuffed with meat - cachapas: Venezuelan corn pancakes - tequenos: fried bred cheese sticks - THESE WERE AMAZING -empanadas: baked pastry pockets - patacones: fried plantain I really liked the dipping sauce and the owner gave me 2 small containers of it to take home which was super sweet!

Best thing about Toronto is finding gems of restaurants like these! Small shop but full of life,…read morepassion and flavours! The staff are super friendly and lots of locals come here. The wall decor is cute too. Empanadas were oily but tasty. Great little garlic dip that comes with! I wanted to try the assorted platter of appetizers (El Venezolanito) but I was hesitant on the price as it increased by almost $9 since last year.

Simple and down to earth Venezuelan food. The owner was fantastic and explained all the different…read moreitems to us. I'm guessing this is more of a takeout place but was very happy to see that they have a small indoor seating area and some picnic tables outside. Everything was delicious! We had: * PARRILLA MIXTA - Grilled beef tenderloin, grilled breast chicken, chorizo, yuca fries, arepitas, nata, and guasacaca * PATACONES FLYING PORKY - Pulled pork with pineapple chutney sauce, ham, grilled fresco cheese, lettuce, tomato and salsas * TEQUEÑOS - Venezuelan cheese sticks * Drinks - Papelón con Limón (lemonade with cane sugar), Chicha (Venezuelan rice drink), and Passion Fruit Juice (my fav). I don't live close by, but if I ever have a craving for Venezuelan food, I will definitely drive the distance for it!

O-M-G! Gluten free empanada, arepas extraordinaire! I'm in Heaven!…read more And even better, these are the most lovely humans! Come here, you will not be disappointed!

Passionfruit slushie tasted decent, but was not a slushie, but passionfruit juice with ice shreds…read more Steak cachupa was good. It was sweet & salty. The steak was tender & tasty. There was a lot of meat & quite a lot of cheese. It had a chewy & crispy body & was served with a very light tasting creamy sauce.

Fresh ingredients, lots of options at the very good Venezuelan restaurant. Freshly cooked bun with…read morelike an avocado chicken salad, beside is a freshly made ham cheese empanada. Fast service too.

La Parrilla is a small takeout restaurant that's big on flavours! The food is meticulously prepared…read moreto order fresh from the grill. What is the meaning of 'parrilla' you might ask? It's a traditional form of Argentinian barbecue on the open fire. I've tried Brazilian rodizio and Venezuelan arepas but that was near the extent of my Latin American foray so it was exciting to taste the cuisine at this hidden gem. The must-get menu item is their charcoal grilled chicken. It's sort of akin to Portuguese chicken but in comparison the meat here is more juicy and better seasoned. The half chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender with slightly smoky flavours, then even tossed in chimichurri sauce. Perhaps greasy yet each meaty bite is satisfying! Honourable mention also goes to their empanadas. A pretty sight: golden baked crust folds over the fresh beef filling, that might be even better by the dozen. And at their price point, I can see why guests generally agree La Parrilla is a 5-star visit. I ordered ahead and the food was ready for pickup upon arrival to avoid any wait. Owner Serge was friendly about offering an extra sauce on the side along with chimichurri tossed on the chicken. Definitely get that sauce, as it adds dimensions to the asado / grilled meat. It's not easy for family businesses to operate these days, so I applaud that La Parrilla charcoal churrasqueria continues to offer top notch food from this little plaza.

** BEWARE OF ORDERING FROM THIS PLACE **…read more This place is unbelievable. The food is good but the attitude of the owner makes it feel like he's doing you a favour for even being open. Orders are NEVER ready on time. Always add 30 minutes to their quoted time and be ready to deal with attitude when you inevitably ask how long it'll be until your food is ready. On their latest mishap, they took an UberEats order (which I was charged for) but when I called to follow up on when it's be ready I was told they weren't doing app orders...then why is your store online in the app? Avoid this place like the plague.

In a town of chain restaurants and box stores, cafe Andes stands out authentically amongst the…read moreothers. If you've ever had Colombian food before, then you will be transported back with every bite. If you've never had it before, you have to try. One of the best cuisines in my opinion. Cafe Andes does it perfectly and offers a range of the classics. Newmarket doesn't understand what a gem this place is.

They get 4.5 stars…read more Buñuelos (Colombian Cheese Fritters) was a large ball. It was decent: spongy & light. Mar Y Tierra (Grill Mix) was pretty tasty though the flavour was a bit one-dimensional. There were many types of seafood in it: mini & normal shrimp, squid, mussels & octopus. The chicken and steak were in chunks. Though I got it for takeout, the fries were still a bit crispy when I had them. The dish was a bit salty (I have high salt tolerance). In the Sugar Cane Lemonade, the lemon predominated. But they're supposed to have pure sugar cane right now. Tequeños (Venezuelan Cheese Sticks) were large & slightly crispy. They were better than the buñuelos. Besides cheese in the dough a little was stuffed inside too. They had a nice springy texture. Tres leches (3 milks cake) was very good: rich, moist & light.

Stopped here for a light dinner, and ended up with some great options. The food is a fusion of…read moreArgentinian and Venezuelan food, and has some great flavour combinations. My highlight was the arepa I had here - the best I have had including arepas I have had in Colombia. Service was friendly and very quick; and I am keen to explore more items on the menu.

I truly feel like whatever Arepa I got, I would have been satisfied. The soft Arepa with the tender…read moreslow braised beef with the beans, cheese and soft plantain was fantastic. This was my first time trying an Argentina Empanada, Spanish bechamel to be exact, and this reminded me of a Quiche but the inside was more moist and 'raw'. Tasted great You can dine in, they have seating at the window, middle of the restaurant where the kitchen is an open concept. Ran by 3 lovely women. They also have plenty of seating in the back. I ordered take out and it took about 15min to get my food, well worth the wait!

I was out for a walk this afternoon and I stumbled upon a new restaurant boasting arepas,…read moreempanadas, and other delicious South American items, so it took me all of about two seconds to decide to pop my head in and order something. I walked in and after taking a look at the relatively small menu, I decided I needed to try the joint's empanadas. I didn't know which of the four to order, so I asked the very helpful woman behind the counter to give me a couple of her favorites. Those turned out to be a Cheese Empanada and a Pabellon Empanada ("Shredded Beef, Cheese, Sweet Plantain, Black Beans"). I got them home a short time later and they were actually still hot! I started with the Cheese Empanada and I was blown away pretty much from the first bite. The salty, melty cheese within was absolutely irresistible, and the empanada itself was perfectly fried and essentially the ideal of what an empanada should be. The Pabellon Empanada fared even better, in my opinion. The perfectly proportioned filling ensured that every bite was pretty much perfect, and I should note, too, that the included zesty sauce only enhanced the concoction's overall impact. I'm definitely excited to welcome Arepatite to Midtown, and I can't wait to try their other offerings.

Update! I stopped to try the Pollo (shredded chicken) Empanada today and it was another success…read more It's the cornflour dough and the dipping sauces that really stand out. It eats like comfort food, yet packs a big punch of flavour.

They get 2.5 stars…read more Bandeja paisa: steak was decent, crackling was so-so (pretty crispy but not that moist or flavourful). Sausage tasted decent but slightly dry. Egg was a bit overdone & arepa was decent though somewhat crispy  Beans were decent. Plantain was so-so (not crispy or sweet). Pork tenderloin was pretty tasty but tough & dry especially for a tenderloin. Rice was decent, with a slight flavour, but a bit mushy. Plantain was crispy. The restaurant interior was decorated quite nicely but was very warm (in summer) & service was disorganised & some servers didn't speak English well so communication was sometimes difficult. I asked if the pork tenderloin had a sauce; they said no but it came with a tomato & peppers sauce. They also billed me wrongly.

Incredibly delicious food, authentically Colombian, big portions, and amazing value for money. The…read moreseafood dishes are filled with various different kinds of high-quality seafood to the brim (more protein than rice). All the staff are so friendly - from the waitstaff to the chefs / owners and kitchen staff, everyone in the restaurant seems to exhibit the Latin American hospitality and friendliness. The place feels homey, cozy, and festive with the music in the background (from the TV screen on the wall), and big photos depicting different places in Colombia along the wall. Ambience is very laid-back and casual, with amazing food that tastes homemade and authentic. It took a while for the food to cook and come out (about 40 minutes) - mostly because of the Cazuela de Mariscos (seafood soup) that took the longest to cook. It was also during a very busy time on a weekend. They seemed to have a constant flow of incoming catering and take-out orders (a good sign), and the restaurant itself was packed. All / most mains come with coconut rice, salad, and tostones (fried plantains). As for drinks, you can order freshly squeezed juices in either water or milk. We ordered the fresh strawberry & blackberry juice in water, as the one in milk would make it more like a smoothie. Each juice order comes in a jug (whether it be a small or large jug). This came as a surprise to us - really good value for such a large volume of juice ($6 for a whole "small" jug that turned out to be quite big, enough to refill each glass a few times for 2 people). The juice itself tasted fresh, natural, and refreshing. Dishes that we tried: 1) Filete de Tilapia con Camarones (grilled tilapia fish fillet & shrimps with coconut rice, plantain, and salad) - Big pieces of fish and lots of small shrimps, in a very delectable sauce. 2) Arroz Marinero (seafood rice with plantain & salad) - Loved this dish. The rice was a bit soupy which I liked. It was a bit like a soupy paella (including the rice) - very delicious and packed with various kinds of seafood. 3) Cazuela de Mariscos (seafood soup with coconut rice, plantain, and salad) - Very creamy soup, like a chowder. I'm not a big fan of chowders / cream-based soups in general, but others liked it and said this was good. 4) SIDE: Ensalada (House Salad) 5) Arepa de Chocolo con Queso (sweet corn dough with cheese) All of the main dishes were EXCELLENT - loved the mixed seafood (fish fillet, shrimps, octopus, squid, etc.). There was so much seafood in every dish. In most places, you get more carbs / rice compared to the protein. Here, it was the opposite. The coconut rice was a bit dry but it's decent - good to soak up the sauces of the main dishes. The salad is just shredded cabbage and carrot with big sliced tomato. I was a big fan of the salad dressing (some creamy mayo-like dressing), but luckily the dressing was only at the top of the salad (the bottom part of the salad remained fresh and crunchy, which I liked). We ordered the Arepa de Chocolo con Queso for to go. It was different than the Venezuelan arepa that I'm used to. The Colombian arepa seemed to be sweeter and more buttery. It probably would've been better if it was eaten right after it was freshly made, and while it was still warm. There was a lot of cheese in the arepa, giving it a nice salty and savoury contrast to the sweet corn dough. After you're done the meal, you go up to the counter to pay (instead of having the bill brought to your table). Great food overall - I would not hesitate to come back.

This place is gorgeous, spacious and the food is delicious…read more It gets very busy during the weekend so better to come early. Food price is average but the food is phenomenal. I really love the way they make the rosa latte here as well as the stuffed arepas. The sauces are also amazing and I highly recommend the green one. Parking can be a bit of a challenge and transit might be the best way to get there. They also sell local grocery products. This place is definitely worth a try if you are in the area.

Amazing food and service!…read more Cute shop on Danforth offering authentic latin bites. I enjoyed their fish empanada and iced coffee. Will come back to try their other items!