Stopped at El Eden for a quick lunch after an appointment in Hagerstown. Ordered Sopes with…read morecarnitas with a side of rice and beans. Sopes were really crispy but the carnitas were fatty and overpowered by the pile of lettuce on top. Tasty but not as good as others I've enjoyed. Beans and rice were also tasty but a little cold. Overall middle of the road, but I took leftovers home and plan to eat them for breakfast tomorrow.

La comida muy buena cuando está el cocinero indicado, cuando no, no tanto, siempre suelo ordenar…read morepara recoger pero desgraciadamente siempre es la misma historia, se toman alrededor de 1 hora o más en tener la orden lista sin importar con cuánto tiempo de anticipación se ordene. Necesitan mejorar el tiempo de entrega de órdenes

Delicious crispy pastelitos. I ordered three mix-n-match pastelitos with shredded chicken, ground…read morebeef & potatoes, and sweet plantains & cheese. Shredded chicken was all right (a bit dry, in my opinion), but ground beef and sweet plaintains were great. The beef one is my favorite by far -- very juicy and flavorful! The sweet plaintains one was pretty unique, both sweet and savory. The texture of the pastry was crispy, and the accompanying cilantro lime sauce complemented the pastelitos well. Only con is that they take a pretty long time to make (maybe 20 minutes?), but the vendor makes everything, including the pastry dough, from scratch, so I can't complain about the fresh quality. Next time, I'll try their empanadas, which look delicious. Great friendly service.

Great addition to the relocated Southwest DC Farmers Market (now at the southern end of the wharf)…read more Arepas were made to order and even after walking home they were hot, fresh, and DELICIOUS!! These are probably the best Arepas I've had in the DMV!

I finally got to check out their brick and mortar location! It is a cute, dimly lit cafe that has…read moregames, beer, wine, coffee, tea, and very cozy seats. I didn't count the tables, but maybe you can seat about 20, and there's a table in the middle that I saw a bunch of folks standing around. Connect Four and some other games were on there. It has been a long time since I last had them, and I was excited for my friend to try them. We each got an arepa, and we split tequenos and chicken empanadas... Yes, we were hungry lol. The chicken salad arepa I was as good as I remembered, and I got a glass of white wine that complimented it perfectly. It was my first time having their tequenos, and they were nice and cheesy. I'd take those over mozzarella sticks for real. There was only one woman working, and she was efficient in handling orders. I would come back just to hang out... But if they got music, that would really set the vibe.

Tried Arepateca for lunch and I'm already planning my next visit! I had the Porky Pine arepa and it…read morewas incredible, smoky pork with a little sweetness from the pineapple habanero sauce, and the pickled onions tied everything together perfectly. My only tiny note is I wish the cheese was melted just a bit more, but overall it was the perfect portion and absolutely delicious. Do NOT leave without trying the tres leches, it's amazing. I also took home frozen tequeños and made them for the Super Bowl... so good and now officially my go-to party snack. Service was excellent, super fast, and the girl at the counter was so sweet and really knew the menu. The ambiance is great too, they have coffee, wine, board games, and books, which makes it perfect for hanging out with friends. Definitely recommend checking this place out!

This is such a cozy family owned Venezuelan place I love to…read morecome here specifically for the cachapas adding the chicken adds an amazing combination of sweet and salty dish. They have indoor seating with a very nice ambiance and usually you won't need a reservation, the service is always great!

Brightly lit dining area with soft jazz that was at just the right volume. The restaurant is…read morebrightly lit and I felt like I was in a Venezuelan cafe. The food was delicious. We got a sampling of Arepas and I liked all of them except the cheese-filled one. The paella was yummy. The owners stopped by our table and we chatted with them for awhile. Our service was great.

Stopped by for dinner on the way home from Coopers Rock. Ordered:…read more-chicken empanadas (I love the Venezuelan empanadas with the super crispy and sweet corn shell!) -arepas (got the beef one, I'm not too blown away by this, beef is kind of dry and tough) -Cachapa king (my friend got this and she loved it) -mango juice (very refreshing, tastes like real mango, not too sweet) -flan (we didn't like it, I haven't had flan in a while so not sure if it's supposed to be like this, but the flan texture was harder than what I'd like)

Wow! 15 5-star reviews brought me there (now 16). I believe it was the owner who met me at the…read morecounter. You could tell he had pride in his product and was trying to get out the word. Venezuelan cuisine. I ended up getting the Cachapa Classic and a side of beans. Really good flavor, sort of sweet, you could taste the corn in the pancake. Great flavor cheese as well. Anyhow, I plan to return to try some of the other offerings. I think this place is a winner, and fairly affordable as well (in a time when many things are not!).

Must try. Authentic taste. Friendly. Lots of space in the back to sit and eat…read more I have been looking for cachapas con queso de mano (handmade cheese) and this did not disappoint. Tasted so good. They import the cheese from Venezuela! The tequeños were good. Tasted like the ones from panaderías in Caracas. My son and husband approved of the empanadas. The crust was crunchy and crispy. And filling was seasoned well. If you're in the area, this is a must try. You will not be disappointed. I wish they would move to northern Virginia.

They stole my money. I made an order for pickup when their hours said they were open, they marked…read moreit picked up, I showed up and their door was locked. I went in the next day and they did not honor the order. Do not eat here

First time in but it won't be our last!…read more Service was amazing. Our server, Spence, was great! Very knowledgeable about the menu and always there making sure we had what we needed. Do not sleep on the cocktails! The Lessons In Alliteration will bring me back here, it is so well balanced and goes down a little too easy. The food was incredible. We started with the Tequeños and Patacón Salvaje (the best bite of the night for me!). Then came the Caribe Atómico (a little too salty) and Caribbean Surf & Turf Salpicón. For our entrees we tried the Duck Atollado (the rice in this dish was amazing and so flavorful) and the Pelao Guayanés. Everything was well prepared and so tasty. Dessert was the Vanilla Quesillo and Cacao+, would skip, dessert was our least favorite course.

What can I say... I had a lot of expectations as this place has been open for a while, but I was a…read morebit disappointed. We had to get an early reservation as they were fully booked at dinner time. The food was just okay: the appetizer with the plantain and fried calamari was okay, it lacked a little bit of dimension and was too acid forward (needed more salt to balance it). The main was the "olleta" which is a vegetarian meal; it wasn't exactly memorable. It has an incredible amount of olives and capers and not enough tofu/plaintain/mushrooms. It was also very acid forward and lacked layers/balance to the flavor. Lastly, we tried two desserts: the flan (I believe it was called quesillo) and the chocolate one. I LOVED the flan with the foam on top, and the chocolate one was towards the bitter side (which was pretty good) but I wouldn't get it again. The desserts were very overpriced for the size of it. The place is well maintained and I love the plants all around. I would like to give it another try as I like to support my fellow Latinos