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 wish this place was open when I went to UMD!…read more This was my first time having arepas (and Venezuelan food in general), and I loved it. Even though they're known for arepas, the pabellón bowl ended up being my favorite it tasted like a comforting, home-cooked meal in the best way. The staff were also super helpful and took the time to explain their options. The space itself is so modern and clean and there's a cute little market area on the side with things for sale. Would absolutely go back!

Idc what anyone says...I LOVEEE Arepa Zone! I will TREK on a lunch break to eat here hunny, in 4…read moreinch heels and all! My go-to-order here is the Pabellón Arepa. While it may 'look' small in size, it packs enough of a punch to fill you up completely. It's stuffed with flavorful, moist shredded beef, chunky queso fresco, savory plantains and black beans. It comes with a side of garlic cilantro sauce to seal all the flavors together, though you lowkey end up wishing you paid for another one by the time you finish ;) What's more, they offer a free arepa of any choice when you tell them your birthday, which is an awesome customer loyalty perk. When I'm feeling extra spicy, I order an empanada or two (usually carne molida), and I'm beyond satisfied. I will make the journey here every time!

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!

I've admittedly only had their arroz con leche but it was AMAZING and the best I've ever had.read more

My wife and I had an excuse to come back because my sister got my wife a gift card for her…read morebirthday. We didn't get a chance to come for her birthday but instead, came for our wedding anniversary. We've brought family here on special occasions, celebrate my wife's birthday three years ago, have come for happy hour and we've always enjoyed the food here. It was no different this time. I absolutely loved the patacón salvaje which we've never tried before. They use cornmeal to coat the calamari so it is naturally gluten-free, which my wife was able to eat. Also, their Caesar salad was delicious. The bar was set high from our first two courses. I wanted a second order of the fried calamari but we had a steak coming. We were warned about the restaurant being short staffed on Sunday, since we told the hostess that we tried making a reservation through Resy, but nothing was available until Wednesday, which the hostess found odd. Because they were short staffed, things took longer than usual, and our food came out really slowly, but that was a communication issue with the waiter. We saw tables around us who ordered after us get their food first, but we appreciated the waiter who chdecked in on us realizing it was unusual that we've been sitting for a while without any food. The food was worth the wait though. Although the steak was good, and the yucca that came with it plus the sauces, I feel like it wasn't as special or outstanding as the first two dishes. We asked for the steak to be cooked medium, but there were parts of the NY strip that looked a bit rare. We also ordered dessert, the Cacao+ and they also brought out two glasses of non-alcoholic Prosecco which were all on the house. We will definitely be back, especially finding out that Happy Hour runs all day on Sundays.

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

Brazza on Steaks is such a solid place for good Latin American cuisine. The owner seems to be very…read moredevoted to the quality of the food and the steaks really could not be any tastier. I do think that a mix of the steak and other dishes is a good balance but it would've been great to have more greens as an option. But then again, this isn't something that is unique to this restaurant alone or the type of cuisine. I would love to watch a great soccer game or other sports event here to root on a local team. It is the perfect combination of solid food, genuine vibes, and great service.

I first heard of this place when Yelp sent an email with suggestions on where to eat in the area…read more Having never had Venezuelan food, I was curious about it. I looked at their menu, then set out to learn about their various entrees. My husband agreed to give it a try. Before going, we settled on trying "Pabellon Criollo" which is considered the Venezuelan national dish. We were here on a Saturday around 5 p.m. and were surprised to see a few large parties dining in. Also, people came in to get their takeout orders. Not sure as to how the ordering worked when dining in, we made our way to their counter. The owner, Carlos, spotted us and got 2 menus. We confirmed that we wanted to dine in. Carlos is very friendly and welcomes customers with a smile. He also was our server. To drink, I had a lemonade while my husband had a can of Coke. We let Carlos know that we were both having the Pabellon Criollo. This dish consists of black beans with a bit of shredded cheese on top, white rice, carne mechado (which was shredded), 2 arepitas (small arepas) and some platanos maduros. When the food came, it was obvious that the platanos were freshly made. Carlos also brought a bottle of brazza sauce (also called "salsa de amor). He told us we could put it on any item we wanted. It's a mild sauce which is mayonnaise based with cilantro. We enjoyed this dish. Everything was mildly seasoned yet still well flavored. Nothing went to waste! When it was time to pay the check, Carlos rang us up. We both say we would like to return and try their steaks. From start to finish, we had a great experience.

Great food!!! Plentiful , tasty and reasonably priced. We were just traveling through - wish we…read morecould return.

First time here, traveling from out of town, found the recommendation on Yelp. Caroline was very…read morehelpful us select two different entrées, they were excellent! Had the BRAVA and CACHAPA CONSENTIDA and the CHICA rice drink was also wonderful! Locals love the place. Great experience, will do this again next time we're in the area

Definitely recommend RicArepa for authentic Venezuelan food. Delicious, well seasoned, very juicy…read moremeat, very filling. Served hot with extra condiments to make the meal very tasty. All served with a warm smile! Great food for the whole family.

From the owner: Ricarepa Venezuelan Food Truck & Cateringread more