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    La Cocinita

    4.6 (33 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Order La Cocinita Takeout or Delivery

    La Cocinita Photos

    LA COCINITA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Happy hour specials
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - La Cocinita

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    Sidney Z.

    At my age and my position in the world, I have very few "Firsts" left in me. By "Firsts", I mean something new, different, exciting and novel. Today, was the first time in my life I had Venezuelan food; and yes, it was new, different and exciting; and yes, I really enjoyed it. La Cocinita here in Evanston just north of Chicago was this super clean and well set up restaurant. Their menu had a very different take on south of the border cuisine. Of course my palate has had: Several variations of Mexican food Argentinian Steak Peruvian Ceviche El Salvadorian Pupusa Cazuela from Chile and many more, but Venezuelain food has its own taste and make up. We ordered: * Tres Tacos - and yes they were tacos, but not Mexican. The flavors and consistency were way different but good * AREPAS - which is "Venezuela's Gift to Humanity" (as they call it). They are handmade stuffed cornmeal patties with your choice of proteins. Very good and very different * Build Your Bowl Customized Caribbean-Style Bowl with Your Choice of proteins - also very good Why the three stars? With their restaurant being almost empty at the odd hour we came, our order took over 30 minutes to be served. It didn't make any sense? Apologies accepted, I don't think I'll come back.

    Andrew P.

    Went here for a late lunch / early dinner on a Saturday and the place was pretty busy inside! The staff members who helped me out were extremely nice, friendly, and all had smiles on their faces which was greatly appreciated. Ordered a handful of things including a Venezuelan food platter, a side beef empanada, and La Llanera arepa for my friend and I. Everything was really really good, although I did kind of find the food to be a bit on the pricier end in general. The nice thing was that we had arrived for happy hour so two cocktail drinks came out to around $12 or $13 which is a steal! Loved the food here - just wish the prices were slightly lower.

    La Sifrina Arepas

    The La Siftina arepas were excellent and very filling. Service was also friendly and speedy.

    Tacos
    Amber C.

    Had this catered for lunch! SO GOOD. Both the chicken and pork were cooked so tender. Also loved the cabbage slaw.

    El Pabellon Arepas
    Mary G.

    Amazing is an understatement! One of the best arepas I have had in a very long time! All the flavors and the soft but gooey arepa bun. It was a party in my mouth! I will be coming here again! The staff was so nice and was very welcoming!

    Us after eating all that delicious food
    LaDonya S.

    The foods was so good that I wanted to keep eating but ran out of room in my stomach. The service was great. The music and ambience made me feel like I was visiting Venezuela. I enjoyed every moment!

    Veme
    Laila A.

    Sorry I took a bite before taking the photo. I used to come weekly during my first pregnancy, always got the sampler...The low rating is due to the portion size which has become nearly half of what they used to be; the sope and the plantain much smaller in size... considering this is now $4 dollars more... defn not worth $17. The good thing is that the taste is still the same, but due to the shrinkage of the sizes, this will be my last order.

    NaywriChi W.

    They used to be around the corner on Chicago, remember that! Now their bigger and better with a full bar. I had a menu item. The staff and service are loquacious.

    La Llanera Arepas
    Kylie W.

    This place was so amazing! The food was Devine and the environment was great! Will definitely be coming back for more!

    Kitchen and bar.
    Wendy B.

    Delicious from start to finish. Don't let the casual ambiance fool you. The food is amazing. The Tropical Agua Fresca was zesty and refreshing. I had the Venezuelan Sampler and each offering g was interesting and tasty. We also shared the roasted vegetables which were surprisingly yummy.

    La Llanera Arepas
    Andrea V.

    Super yummy arepas! They are the perfect size! I got the llanera and the meat was cut into pieces but it was enough and really tasty! I would definitely come back! I loved the cheese too!

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    5 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    6 days ago

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    3 days ago

    We shared yuca fries , empanadas and tacos and next time I won't be sharing . And I'll also come back for the arepas

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    11 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    10 months ago

    The food here is very delicious, and the service was fantastic. I will definitely be back!

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Love the new location! Can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Dine-in was great with prompt, friendly service and a great space.

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    Ask the Community - La Cocinita

    Bienmesabe - BienMeSabe dessert

    Bienmesabe

    (293 reviews)

    $$

    The Loop

    A true Venezuelan gem in the heart of Chicago's Loop!…read more As a Venezuelan, finding a place like Bien Me Sabe right in the middle of Chicago's financial district honestly blew my mind. Surrounded by office buildings and big companies, this spot brings a real taste of Venezuela to the Loop and people know it. I saw so many non-Venezuelans coming in for lunch, which says a lot about how good this place is. They serve arepas with huge, flavorful fillings, cachapas, and Venezuelan bowls that look and taste amazing. Everything was fresh, and the service was super fast and friendly. The empanaditas come in orders of three, same with the tequeños, and they're perfectly stuffed, small enough to try different flavors, which I loved. They also have natural juices. I had a passion fruit one and it was delicious, perfectly sweet, super cold, and really refreshing. They even sell Frescolita, Malta, and all those drinks that make Venezuelans instantly nostalgic. There's plenty of space to sit, and the location couldn't be more convenient. Honestly, this place is a 10 out of 10. Whether you're grabbing something quick or sitting down for lunch, it's perfect. The portions are generous, the food is complete, protein, carbs, flavor, everything you need in one plate. It's not the cheapest spot in town, but that's just how Venezuelan food is, and trust me, it's absolutely worth every dollar. If you're in Chicago, especially around the Loop, and want something truly Venezuelan, Bien Me Sabe is the place to go.

    My colleague kept saying to me about trying arepas. We both made a plan on a day off to drive to…read moreBienMeSabe and try out different things. We got seated in a corner table with nice sunlight. My colleague helped me to order items - we ordered a sampler of apps and I got guava juice which was so refreshing. Our server was also very sweet. I ate a lot and I started experiencing food coma a couple of hours later.

    El Rincon De Fabio - STEAK TACOS Normal

    El Rincon De Fabio

    (78 reviews)

    $$

    Uptown

    Cero recomendable, un servicio patético. Pedí comida navideña para mi familia por teléfono y la…read morepersona que me atendió la orden no me cobró por teléfono. Al llegar al restaurante, la misma persona me informó que le dio mi comida a otra persona porque la comida no estaba paga. Mi pregunta fue por qué no me cobró la comida por teléfono, y lo que me respondió fue "¿pero cómo te voy a cobrar por teléfono?", una práctica que es totalmente normal, cobrarle al cliente por teléfono. Lo que es aún peor, manejé 30 minutos para recoger la comida y ni una disculpa me ofrecieron por su falta de profesionalismo. En otras instancias, el deber del personal de un restaurante es cobrar el pedido por teléfono o devolverme la llamada para confirmar que el pedido será recogido. Por todas estas fallas, además del bajo nivel de profesionalismo al no disculparse por el error cometido, no recomiendo el Ricón de Fabio y, por mi parte, no volveré a este restaurante. READ IN ENGLISH BELOW Not recommended at all, a pathetic service. I ordered Christmas food for my family by phone and the person who took my order did not charge me over the phone. When I arrived at the restaurant, the same person informed me that they gave my food to someone else because the food was not paid for. My question was why they did not charge me for the food over the phone, and what they responded was, "but how am I going to charge you over the phone?", a practice that is totally normal, charging the customer over the phone. What is even worse, I drove 30 minutes to pick up the food and they did not even offer me an apology for their lack of professionalism. In other instances, the duty of restaurant staff is to charge for the order over the phone or call me back to confirm that the order will be picked up. For all these failures, in addition to the low level of professionalism shown by not apologizing for the mistake made, I do not recommend El Rincón de Fabio and, on my part, I will not return to this restaurant.

    The arepas were amazing! We especially loved the green dipping sauce, it was a balanced mix of…read moregarlicky and sweet. We also got cheese stick appetizers which were also really good in the green sauce. The meal was really filling. They also happened to be giving away free donuts when we were there :) It's order at the counter and the employee was super gracious and helpful. We had a great meal and experience. Highly recommend!

    Sabe a zulia - Shredded beef empanada

    Sabe a zulia

    (21 reviews)

    Cragin

    Venezuelan food is new to me but I've been having it a lot lately. I decided to go try it in a…read morerestaurant and I don't remember what this was called but it was essentially surf and turf and it was incredible. We tried a few different things and everything was good. I already have a list of what I will try next. Also I don't speak any Spanish and I didn't prevent me from getting what I wanted. It is a nice ambiance with a lot of people going in and out rotating tables. Very busy place but even still there was no wait. If you have not tried Venezuelan food you are missing out. Go try this place. Happy Fooding!!

    This place was great, I don't know what some of the reviewers are complaining about! I always like…read moreto try Venezuelan food whenever I have the chance to. I tried numerous little items from this place, including the mandocas or corn fritters, pastelitos de queso or cheese pastelitos, and the shredded beef empanada. Everything was really quite good flavor wise, very cheap, and overall just gave a nice street food kind of vibe. The corn fritters were really good. Fried crispy on the outside and a bit oily, but not in a bad way. They were surprisingly quite sweet and fluffy in the inside. Cheap and delicious. The beef empanada came in a large portion, and I really enjoyed it. The beef was well seasoned, flavorful, and had a fantastic texture. It wasn't too bready. I loved the green and slightly creamy sauce they served with the empanada. Great. The cheese pastelitos were probably my least favorite of the few items I tried, I thought they weren't all that flavorful, but definitely weren't bad by any means. Filling was decent with a good amount of cheese, but just not a ton of flavor to them. All in all, a very nice place to get street food type of items and more substantial items too, like cachapas and arepas. I'd definitely recommend this spot.

    La Cocinita - venezuelan - Updated May 2026

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