I love this place so much. I'm usually good about taking pictures of my food before I eat it but this is one of the few places where I'm like...f*ck it! I'm not waiting! And just dig in. Their food is that glorious. Ive eaten inside and ordered from them and I always fall in love with their food again and again, every time I eat it. I love their arepas. I especially love their vegetarian options. Their marinated tofu is glorious, beans are delicious, and the plantains are spectacular. I highly recommend trying their Caribbean cheese and nata if dairy agrees with you. I would also like to note that Im a picky b*tch and I love how they have create your own arepas so I can make sure it has exactly what I want. They're also ridiculously consistent - which is rare for a restaurant during Covid. Highly, highly recommend giving them a try if you haven't yet. If you haven't, you're definitely missing out... read more

I love this spot! I haven't had Venezuelan food in so long and it was amazing. We stopped in for a quick lunch and it was so great. I got an arepa with beef, cheese and plantains and it was the most delicious thing. My mom got empanadas and there was a beef, a cheese, and a chicken - she loved them! The staff were super friendly and helpful. Can't wait to come back! read more

Bienmesabe - Arepa - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My goal when I visit Gylani is to try out different neighborhood restaurants in walking distance. So today we tried Bien Me Sabe Venezuelan restaurant. Gylani started off with a Venezuelan hot chocolate..Soo good . Then for an appetizer we tried Tequenos which is a cheese wrapped in a croissant type dough and it came with two sauces...the white sauce was my favorite. For our main meal Gylani tried the Oriental Brunch which was a Cachapa stuffed with cheese topped with a sunny-side egg and avocado with a side of well seasoned shredded beef I ordered a gluten free churrasco arepa with steak and peppers cheese and a side of avocado Both were amazing and we were soo full!! The outdoor seating was beautiful and the service was attentive! I'm ready to come back and try more dishes!! read more

Truly delicious! The food was great! Just seasoned right and very generous portions! The fires with house made sauces was a great side! Service is so friendly, attentive, kind and quick read more

. I can't believe we haven't been here before - got the arepa, caramelized asada negro, ceviche (not really raw seafood), tres leches cake, and chicha If you have a sweet tooth and LOVE all things horchata-like you HAVE TO get the chicha and tres leches cake. It's so good I wanna cry. It's like horchata on CRACK. So freaking good The meat was overall super tender . I wouldn't say it's the best meat I've had in my life but it's really good based on the same cuisine we had read more

I came here a couple of years ago, and even though the food was delicious, the service was horrible, so I never returned until yesterday. Our server, Nicolas, was amazing. He gave us the best recommendations. He was funny and caring. We had the papelon, which I consider quite a small drink for the price. The sample platter was delicious. I had the seafood soup (I forgot the name) 10/10. My family ordered arepas, and they loved them. Finally, Nicolas convinced us to get the almond cake for dessert, which did not disappoint. Very nice experience! read more

Fantastic Venezuelan food. Homemade arepas. Great coffee drinks. Good selection. Friendly staff. Street parking is usually easy but can be hard depending on time of day. Nice area to walk around. Close to shops. Not too far from the el. read more

One of the best, most underrated brunches in Chicago. Thinking about their Venezuelan breakfast legit makes my mouth water.

We had a large party for a late lunch today. We made a request of the staff and they were so very accommodating. Thank you so much for helping us out - our meal put an easy and tasty end to a very eventful weekend with friends. The accommodation was much appreciated by all. read more

What a gem! We really enjoyed our dinner here. We started with the tostones - expected chips with dipping sauce and instead got beautiful plantain rounds topped with cheese and sauce. My husband ordered the pabellon arepa. I ordered the pabellon dinner. Ample portions and absolutely delicious! Lots of gluten-free menu options. Pleasant outdoor seating on the sidewalk with stringed lights. This would be a fun place for a casual date. Pleasant, attentive service. We'll be back to try more food. read more

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This place is fire. Must try. Food is great. They have another location in the loop that is also great. read more

I've been ordering tres leches on Uber eats and I'm obsessed! It's just so flavorful. Whenever I get a dessert craving but don't want to leave the house this is the place I order from! read more

Bienmesabe - Tres Leches - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I went there to eat food and the food was terrible. The plantains were not crispy. The meat was salty and all they can offer for free never go back there again not true Venezuelan food it was terrible. read more

The Pabellón was amazing!!! The perfect balance of sweet and savory between the meat and maduros.

Really cute place! I went in with 0 expectations, and the food was great. The arepitas (tiny fried arepas) were fresh, hot, crunchy, and absolutely stuffed with fillings. I had the crab arepitas as well - OMG! I didn't expect to like them as much as I did, but the sweet crab and the hot crunchy arepa were heavenly together. The patacones were huge! I couldn't finish mine. The traditional reminded me a lot of a jibarito, and the maduros was soft and flavorful. The pabellon was tasty too, and presented really well. Overall, a lot of bang for your buck, and the menu is really helpful if you've got food allergies of any kind. read more

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Bienmesabe is SO GOOD. Seriously. The food is absolutely amazing. It's no wonder Cubs players venture here so often, because what they serve is cream of the crop! My husband and I each ordered different arepas, and we kept switching plates to get a couple bites of this one, and then a few bites of that one. They were both phenomenal. Although slightly expensive at about $12-15 per arepa, I have heard that they run a half off deal sometime throughout the week that I will be returning for ASAP! I will say, service leaves a little room for improvement. At first we sat, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. No one came at all, and the restaurant isn't big, so you can see what everyone is doing. As soon as the waiters agreed on who would be caring for us (IN FRONT OF US!!!!), we began being taken care of. Imagine our surprise when, AFTER JUST AGREEING ON WHO WAS OUR WAITER, both of them came to take our order, one after the other, just seconds apart. I was so confused. Like I said, they definitely need to get service together, but it wasn't enough to detract from the amazing food! We will absolutely be back! read more

Bienmesabe - Arepa - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Bienmesabe is easily one of my top five favorite restaurants in Chicago. The meals were so wholesome and I felt appropriately full and non lethargic. The sangria is best I've had. Not too sweet. Each meal was made with love and their dishes so well made. The steak was flavorful and juicy but still had a chew to it that made it the perfect texture. Already ate the leftovers as soon as we got home lol Can't wait to go back but stop at liquor store down the road for their BYOB read more

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Nothing but authentic Venezuelan food in this place. I have truly no complains about the food, tequeños are a huge must. I love the cachapa (either the regular or the one that they have on the brunch menu) arepas are so good as well (especially la reina) and now that Christmas season is on you gotta try their plato navideño! Cannot wait to get it! I am so happy how they have improved their customer service and their quality, I am so happy to see how they are always busy, and getting customers from different nationalities! Thank you for spreading the fantastic flavors of the Venezuelan food in Chicago!! read more

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This restaurant deserves 5 stars from the great food and friendly staff!! Must try the shrimp and steak dishes! Honestly, best shrimp and steak I've ever had. Bienmesabe you'll see me again! Oh and it's BYOB. Don't forget the boozes read more

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Love me some Venezuelan! Sometimes, you can just tell food is made with love. Actually ordered delivery and still was so fresh and si good. I've been wanting to dine in and will need to go back soon! This healthy sized entree consisted of delish platter of mixed arepas with chicken, avocado gouda cheese and shredded beef. Also featured is the Pabellon dish with shredded beef. Mmm mmm mmm. read more

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A solid spot for good Venezualan arepas. It's a little hard to judge since I haven't had arepas to compare them to before but they remind me of a torta or a sandwich except with AMAZIN' bread. I'd recommend getting a signature one instead of their plain ones or creating your own as my asada negras was good but a little plain. I wish the sauce was more creative and inside the arepa as it was a pain to add to each bite but maybe that's not authentic (shrug). My favorite thing here was actually the pumpkin soup (perfect for a cool day). The server kindly told us that it was $8 because it was meant to be more of an entree so we ordered it and split it 4 ways as an appetizer and it was the perfect side for our arepas. I'd recommend this to anyone for a casual night out with a group. For under $20, we were filled to the brim. We were feeling pretty good with the wine that was free to BYOB and the service is great. Don't forget to make reservations! read more

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It is always a pleasant experience to visit Bienmesabe . From the moment you enter the restaurant you feel at home. The staff is very friendly and the food is out of this world! . I can definitely recommend this restaurant without any hesitation!!!! read more

TIP First of all place is BYOB and if you find yourself reading about this review while you are walking into the restaurant no worries there is a liquor store on the other end of the block. SERVICE 4/5 Place was super busy when we got there around 8pm. There was no hostess station near the door so checking in for a reservation was not possible and we ended up stopping a waitress to tell her we made online reservations. She found us a table within few minutes. What sucks is all the guest are asked to wait in a tiny waiting room that was so crowded you could barely move. Our waitress knew the menu well and helped us selecting few dishes from pictures we found on yelp. FOOD 3/5 The white fish streak and purée yucca was super delicious and this dish gets five stars but the meat in the after party arepa was so salty it was hard to eat it and the dish gets one star. It was so salty that we ended up asking the waitress if that was normal since we are not very familiar with Venezuelan cuisine. Overall cute place with a simple yet interesting menu and BYOB. Delicious seasonal dishes and half price arepas on Wednesday. We will be back to try other items on the menu and desert read more

Bienmesabe - Carenero Fish Steak - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I feel like I went on an off night or we ordered the wrong items given all the other positive reviews. The place over is clean and they had a really well put together carry out area that clearly labeled what delivery service each bag of food was supposed to go to - Uber, grub hub, door dash etc. They have both indoor and outdoor seats and the best part is that it's byob. Went as part of a birthday party at a table for 8. We ordered two of the sampler for the table and they asked us if we wanted to get 3 or 4 pieces of each which was nice so we could get 2 samplers of 4 pieces each so everyone could try one. This is mostly likely where we went wrong. Everything was heavy fried food and not very good. We all had the apps and didn't think they were great. We then ordered the main dishes. The arepas wasn't very good and was super heavy. The Venezuelan parrilla looked really good but was the worst piece of steak I have ever gotten at a restaurant. I wasn't expecting it to be super tender but it was super fatty and poorly seasoned. When your paying plus 50 bucks for a steak dish (for 2) you at least want it to be edible. I don't think we will give this place a second try. Not for us. read more

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I could eat the tropical arepa every day for the rest of my life and it still wouldn't be enough! The plantains are perfectly soft yet have a crunch, the chicken is tender and seasoned perfectly, the black beans top it off perfectly. Also.. that aioli sauce is everything!! The fries were amazing and perfect to split with another person. The staff was friendly and the inside is casual modern. Love having lunch here! read more

Bienmesabe - Tropical Arepa and fries - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The steak arepa was excellent and perfectly sized! Great and friendly table service. My first time at a Venezuelan place and it did not disappoint. read more

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My first Venezuelan food experience, and it was out of this WORLD!!! Outdoor seating, excellent service, and the most delicious food at this price point you could ever imagine. As an appetizer, we had the ROMPE COLCHÓN (Venezuelan aphrodisiac ceviche) and now we know why it's termed "aphrodisiac"... it was absolutely amazing. Shrimp, mussels, calamari ceviche with plantain chips...YES PLEASE. We both had signature Arepas, which were stuffed sandwiches in a tender cornbread pocket with an impossibly crispy, buttery top crust. Nothing like it I've ever had! And the cheese? A generous slab of their homemade cheese, similar to fresh mozzarella in taste and texture. MMM! This is a gluten-free diner's wonderland, as an aside. Many wheat-free options indicated by a symbol on the menu. We'll be back! read more

Bienmesabe - ROMPE COLCHÓN Venezuelan aphrodisiac ceviche - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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3 stars for BYOB setting, good food, and value. My favorite was the empanadas (chicken, beef, and cheese). It's deep fried to super crispy, although the chicken and beef got a little dry since it's all meat inside. The cheese was the best of the 3. I ordered the ceviche and that was a bit too citrusy. And the shrimp and fish were so so. The cocada (coconut smoothie) and Nutella cappuccino were delish!!! Must have! Service was a bit slow but that's probably because of the way the food is cooked. Otherwise, our server was attentive. There's a $15 cork fee and an automatic 20% gratuity for party of 6 and over. read more

Bienmesabe - Empanada - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great choice for takeout! We ordered delivery and were really happy with our dishes. The servings are massive and the prices are reasonable. Favorites included: The After Party Arepa Build your own arepa: I chose tofu, black beans and avocado. Yucca - served fried with guasaca (an avocado sauce) Patacon- a sandwich served on fried plantains (tostones) and you choose the meat. We ordered the pork. This is massive! Pumpkin soup - creamy and cheesy! This may be seasonal. I love that they have so many veggie option and that you can build your own arepa. Definitely try the arepas here and get extra guasaca sauce! read more

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We had a really good experience at Bienmesabe the other night! It's a great place for a date night or a casual dinner with friends. Lots of seating both indoors and outdoors and has a really nice ambiance with a good amount of street parking nearby. The food is delicious and tastes authentically Venezuelan. As a heads up, there was a little bit of confusion with reservations. We made a reservation on Open Table and had a choice between indoor and outdoor seating and we selected outdoor. When we got there, we were told outdoor seating is first come, first-served so we ended up waiting about 20 minutes for an available table. Not a huge problem, but may be helpful for management to clarify with Open Table regarding which kind of seating guests can reserve. Once we were seated, we had a great experience! Service was great and very friendly. They were helpful with answering questions too. I really enjoyed the papelón, which is a very sweet Venezuelan lemonade. It was nice and refreshing and if it's too sweet you could dilute it with some water. My husband and I built our own arepa to share, which I strongly recommend since the portions are really big and it serves as a nice starter. The cornmeal in the arepa is delicious and I really liked the crispy edges. Their house-made dipping sauce is great too. Lastly, I got the pabellón with shredded beef as my main and it was really hearty and delicious. The portion was so big I have leftovers to enjoy! The shredded beef is tender, flavorful, and pairs really nicely with all the other parts of the dish -- rice, black beans, and plantains. The presentation of the dish looks really nice too. Other than the hiccup with seating, we had a really nice experience and hope to come back again soon! read more

Bienmesabe - Pabellón - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Bienmesabe, me sabe bien! The food is made fresh at the order. Their menu is Venezuelan, and the authenticity comes thru in every bite. The Arepas are delicious, and come out filled to the brim. The Pabellon is a traditional dish that has a beautiful presentation. They are BYOB, so this is a great place to fight inflation on the booze. read more

Bienmesabe - Outdoor dog friendly patio - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was really looking forward to trying their arepas especially since there aren't many places that offer it. We started of with the BienMeSabe sampler. Everything was fried and topped with A LOT of cheese and some stuffed with even more cheese. I felt like the many of the flavors were similar, so I wouldn't get this again. The meat in the empanada was unfortunately a bit dry, too. I tried the pabellon, patacon, and pebellon arepa. The shredded flank steak is definitely yummy and I liked it the best in the pabellon entree with the black beans, rice and sweet plantains. We had the chocolate sensation for dessert which was good, but it's pretty hard to go wrong with a big brownie and ice cream. Overall, dinner was just okay. I'd give the place another shot to try some other arepa combos, but I'd skip the appetizer sampler! read more

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We had a reservation at 5:30 and were a party of 8. We ordered our food around 6 and didn't get our food until 7:30. We didn't understand why the food was taking so long since when we arrived at the place when it wasn't busy and only got busier closer to 7. The two dishes I tried were the Asado Negro and the Churrasco Arepa. The meat for both were over cooked and chewy. The Churrasco Arepa didn't really have any flavor. The wine sauce that came with the Asado Negro was amazing! This place does have amazing juices. These juices did not taste like processed fake fruit but very natural and tasty. Another thing to note is this place is byob so we brought rum and mixed it with their mango juice which turned to be a very delicious drink. read more

The food here is aweful. Spent nearly $80 for 2 Arepas, sampler platter, and dessert. The arepas had no flavor (no seasoning not even salt) so it was extremely disappointing to have ordered from here. The best thing was the sampler platter. I called the following day to speak to a manager and was advised the manager wasn't in however was offered to leave a message. When I agreed to do so I was hung up on. I would never order from here again. If you want amazing arepas please do yourself a favor and try "Rica Arepa". read more

This is my favorite Venezuelan Restaurant in Chicago. Being a Venezuelan myself I miss my Venezuelan food. This place is so authentic and the food is amazing. Every time I go I literally want to order everything I've had Cachapa, Arepas, Tostones and my favorite dessert (Torta Tres Leches). Definitely recommend this place!! I can't pick a favorite plate because I literally LOVE everything read more

Deliciousness and Big Servings. Great service, Nicolas was supper friendly, and helped us with a great recommendation, the Llenera Arepa!!! Definitely give it a try. Great Patio too. read more

Bienmesabe - Llanera Arepa - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Bienmesabe was my introduction to Venezuelan food & Arepas. Love both! Arepas are similar to an Italian stuffed calzone, with many Venezuelan ingredients, combos, and ability to customize whatever you want. I've never raved about beans before, but theirs have a fabulous sauce or almost a bit of a marinade. I hate dry food, so I was in heaven. I like them so much that I regularly order a side of beans, rice and maduros army meal. Ordered pickup, during covid and it worked well. We will definitely continue to order pickup or delivery.from BienmeSabe. If you can, Please support our local restaurants & businesses in these trying times. read more

Excellent and popular spot for tasty delicious food and fun times. Great vibes, outdoor seating and friendly staff. Arepas are great and I'm told the chicken board is outstanding read more

Bienmesabe - Venezuelan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I had the Cocada coconut smoothie, yummy! The sprite soda was a bit watery. The food portion are .. too big! I wish the creamy pumpkin soup was available cup-size, not the bathtub size bowl it was served in. It was good, but HUGE. The Bienmesabe Sampler was ok, but again, 12 pieces for an appetizer? I am already over 6 feet tall ... ! We had the sampler before, it felt a bit over-fried and I lacked the culinary spirit. The Caraquena arepa was good, liked the texture and the flavor, served at the right temperature, could have used a bit more of the creamy dressing. The Tres Leches was a disappointment, had better. The service was less than average, not unpolite, but somewhat not visible. Overall, including a tip I spent $100 for 2 people. Not sure I come back. read more

This review is for take out only. Another one of those days where I wanted to go out and eat, but the thought of actually moving stopped me cold. Head to Yelp to see what is available for delivery that isn't pizza, Asian, burgers or Mexican. Bienmesabe popped up. Had no idea what Venezuelan food was, but there was meat and cheese and the delivery time looked good, so it was a wrap. Since this was the first time having Venezuelan food, I decided to do a sampling: Bienmesabe Sampler, After Party Arepa, Asado Negro Arepa, Black Beans, White Rice and Marquesa de Almendras. The delivery was on point...showed up when they said it would. Food was still nice and warm. We started with the Bienmesabe Sampler. It contained tequenos, tostones, empanadas and mandocas. The tequeno was a pastry crust wrapped around salty queso blanco...think cheese egg roll. The mandoca was very good. It's a deep fried cornmeal ring covered in cheese. It was sort of sweet...reminded me of Jiffy cornmeal. I could definitely see eating these with just rice and beans. The empanadas came with chicken, cheese and beef...the pastry on the beef one had a sweetness to it; very good. The tostones (twice-Fried Plantains) were good but not my favorite. They weren't bad, but the other items were just better. I will give props to the sampler as each items comes with 3 of each, so there was plenty for me, Dr. M and The Heiress Apparent (La J). The arepas we ordered were very good. Warning...don't be fooled by the sizes as these sandwiches are dense and filling. We got the After Party Arepa (Pork) and the Asado Negro Arepa. Dr. M and I split them and that was plenty. I am a swine girl but gotta say the steak was way better. It was thick and looked dense, but was very tender and just melted in my mouth. Again, do not order more than one of these as they are filling. The arepas is the actual maize bread holding all the fillings and it fills you up. We also got a side of rice and beans. The containers are of a decent size so you only need to order one of each. I almost made the mistake of ordering two containers of each and changed my mind...so glad I did as it would have been too much. Nice flavor to the rice and beans. I recommend mixing them together. Of course I added some Tajin to the mix because I don't do rice or beans without it. The last thing on the menu was dessert. Marquesa de Almendras is almond cake, cream and pralines. I am not a dessert person and don't really care for super sweet desserts. That said, I am an excellent baker and I am going to give this dessert props because they did the pralines right. You could taste the dark flavor of the burnt sugar in making the praline. La J thought it was coffee, but I explained to her that it was the process of burning the sugar to coat the pecans. This is a very rich dessert that looks like a parfait. Dr. M and L J split this with me having a taste. Solid take out order, which leads me to believe that the food in the restaurant would be even better as it is coming straight out of the kitchen. Although I wrote a tip for this place, let me state here that if you are going to order take out, use Yelp instead of the restaurant's website. Yelp has more choices for food than the restaurant. Also the restaurant's online ordering service would not let me add certain things to my cart. read more

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