Great little place! I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the authenticity, which is hard to come by for Latin food on the East Coast! You were able to impress this California Mexican food lover with the tacos so well done! I'll definitely be back! read more

This restaurant is extrememly inconsistent. When they first opened they were good, but not anymore. EVERY time I order food they screw up the entire order. Today the same thing happened to me. This was the 4th or 5th time this happened so I decided to ask for a refund. When the manager answered the phone she was extremely rude and refused to give me a refund, insisting that I drive all the way back to the restaurant so they could remake my order. Please work on your customer service LaQchara. The 4 starts this restaurant has is very misleading. Ive given them plenty of chances, but today was the last straw. read more

Went in for a cup of dark roast coffee at around 4:30. Coffee was luke warm and was poured out of two different caraffts, making me think it was a mix of what ever they had. For restaurant that supposedly prides themselves on coffee it really missed the mark. I've eaten there and was disappointed, but thought coffee would be fine...clearly I was wrong. Won't go back. read more

Great breakfast spot! Good ambiance with central American music, excellent and smiling service, and delicious food. I highly recommend the huevos rancheros, and be sure to ask for the home made hot sauce. read more

I absolutely adore La QChara! The food is amazing- super flavorful and always cooked to perfection. I've ordered lots of different dishes, including the quinoa bowls (yummy and light) but I always go back to my mainstay, the Venezuelan Benedict- it's one of the best breakfast dishes I've ever tasted- too good to pass up (and gluten-free to boot!)Their chai tea latte is delicious- nothing like the overly sweetened stuff you find at other coffee shops. Their smoothies are fresh and tasty- I personally love the David :) For those with food sensitivities and allergies, La QChara has plenty of options (gluten-free, almond milk, chia pudding sweetened without sugar). And to top it off the staff have always shown me kindness and great service. Whether it's breakfast, a cup of tea or lunch, La QChara is a 5 star pick! read more

La QChara - La QChara boasts an artistic menu board- just another perk of this great eatery! - Latin American Near Me - Melrose, Massachusetts

The food was decent, but service was terrible. The cashier had a scowl the whole time and looked bothered when we asked for the silverware he forgot. Additionally, we ordered arequipe (dulce de leche) pancakes and I don't know if they thought we wouldn't know the difference but we just got syrup with Panela (brown sugar). Overall not a great experience, didn't get what we ordered and the service was unsatisfactory. read more

The food options are good, the smoothies are the best in the area and the CHIA pudding totally rocks! The service is hit or miss (mostly miss), and I agree with other posters, bordering on rude (ignoring you when you come in, especially the guy that's there on the weekends in the AM) and thus a huge turnoff. I hope they do some staff development as customer service here is obviously NOT on the menu. read more

Poor service took people and didn't acknowledge me very slow to my order had everyone else's order ready besides mine it's like they were avoiding my order read more

Purchased the chia pudding and come to find it was now served in a dixie cup but still the same exorbitant price!

Delicious Latin food - reminds me of my grandma's cooking. Great range between comfort food (fried plantanos, rice, beans, meat, etc) and then healthy things like fresh smoothies and chia bowls. Something for everyone here. read more

It's a cute cafe but they always get my order wrong. I've even been over charged. I don't experience it as Venezuelan food. They should market it as "inspired by"...which is more accurate. Over priced for what it is. An entree will run you 15.00 for breakfast! No beverage included...no service. read more

Ordered for delivery in Stoneham. Food arrived promptly, and was fresh and delicious! Perfectly seasoned, the arepas were piping hot, the chia pudding and slaw cold. An excellent choice for a satisfying and healthful meal! read more

I stumbled across this on Yelp while visiting my family outside of Boston. I checked out a few vids and the reviews and since it was close to me, I took a ride there to check it out. The trip was not wasted, and they delivered as I had hoped. I ordered the Arepas with Venezuelan Chicken Salad, which means it's made with avocados, cilantro line and parsley, not mayo. This place was looking like it was right along with the inclination of my palate and my hunger This Chicek was served inside of a grilled and cut corn arepas. It also came with a side of vinegar/habanero slaw. More favorites of mine, I love a vinegar slaw! To drink I had a fresh squeezed Kale. Cuke, Celery, Ginger Juice I ordered, the young woman working the counter and register was very pleasant and helpful, she also brought the food to my table, I think now that I heard them call it out it was ready , but I was spaced out on my phone. I added Sriracha and Chelsea ' Wicked ' Hot Sauce, and I was loving it all. Then suddenly my son says, Daddy, you are really sweating... The Habanero seeds had my sinuses cleared and sweat going. It was like 95 degrees outside as well. I really enjoyed the flavor profile change of the Venezuelan Chicken, the inside and outside of the place is unique and hip, and I was glad I made a visit. I know I will be back every time I come to visit, this is too good of a match to not be a regular Oh one more thing, I should have ordered the Yuca fries... read more

Love their coffees, smoothies and chia puddings. Their cakes are good as well. Have to give their food a try next!

This has quickly become my go to place for breakfast, the food is authentic, creative and delicious. I usually get one of their arepa breakfasts, which comes with spicy coleslaw and a stuffing of your choice. I also will always take one of there muffins, as at their sister restaurant coffee tea and me the baked goods are AMAZING. As with most places that focus on traditional authentic fare, you are better served ordering something exotic like the arepa with chorizo than something you can get every where like scrambled eggs. If you are looking to have an awesome breakfast and sample delicious food from another culture, stop in here. If you want eggs and bacon like mom used to make, you would be better served elsewhere. Food: 5 Stars Service: 5 Stars Decor: 5 stars read more

My husband and I love everything we've tried here! We're new to Melrose, and we've been here every weekend since we moved in. Love that there are so many healthy yet tasty options. Really impressed with the menu, and the service is great. Highly recommend! read more

I love this place and cannot stop going back. The food is so tasty and you can sit outside. The food comes out a bit slowly-- but it's totally worth the wait. read more

Food is good...but not worth the 35 minute wait. Went here for breakfast and waited close to 40 minutes to be served. While sitting at our table waiting we saw over 3 people come in and pick up huge take out orders. This just goes to show that the food is good, but guests who take the time to come into the restaurant are unfortunately not a priority. This place needs to figure out how to become more efficient. If I ever go back it would probably be for take out. read more

No place like it! The food is out of this world! And they have SO many selections. Personally, I am a meat eater, but I was still so impressed with all the vegan dishes they had and how amazing they looked/sounded. I want to try them all! Everything is so fresh and so good! The staff and owner are super nice -always! Any time my husband and I have a morning off together, this is our date spot. Our favorite is the Venezuelan Benedicts! You have to try this place! read more

This was an interesting place. Think Latin American fare with a hipster coffee house vibe. The space is inviting, with vibrant red walls lined with bench seating with rustic looking pillows. I was a bit confused on walking in, as I wasn't sure if I ordered at the counter or if it was a table service restaurant. As I surveyed the situation, I overheard someone else ordering at the counter and using my powers of deductive reasoning figured I should, too, but an ORDER HERE sign would be helpful. I perused the chalkboard menu, only to discover that it was full of Spanish-sounding words that I had seen before in print, but really had no clue what they actually were, for example, chilaquiles. A fairly adventurous eater, I was just going to blindly pick something, but I was saved by the menus on the counter that offered descriptions. I chose the Venezuelan eggs benedict and was not disappointed. Two perfectly poached eggs served atop arepas (a word I was familar with) instead of English muffins with some just spicy enough chorizo and a green sauce in place of traditional Hollandaise. I checked their website and the sauce is something called guascaca. A subsequent Google search tells me it's an avocado-based sauce similar to guacamole. Delicious. I also love the yucca fries as an alternative to home fries. Being a counter service restaurant, the food took a little longer to come than I would have expected, but it was certainly worth the wait. Thankfully I hadn't checked Twitter in the past 4 days and had a lot of feed to catch up on. At the end of my meal, another confusion set in, as I did not see any obvious place to drop my plate. I asked a staff member if I just leave my plate and she graciously offered to clean it up for me, but there was in fact a bin set in the back where customers usually drop them themselves. Another case where more obvious signage would be helpful. After a first visit, a solid four stars and if I lived a little closer, I'd probably become a regular and bump it up to five in short order. read more

Ordered one of the specials that they had, some type of vegetarian omelet and beans type of plate with some yuca fries, no idea what it was called. I usually love eating red meat in any meal so I thought I would give it a try! This dish was also a suggestion from the cashier and it was pretty noice. The omelet was really creamy but it was cooked well. I was so hungry I eat everything and didn't really take my time with it. Another one of my friends ordered eggs benedict with green sauce on it. I don't remember it's name either but it was so good. It was really good. The eggs were perf, the sauce was perf, and even the yuca fries and the sauce was perf. Ugh I really want to try this next time I go! I also got an egg nog latte because there was the yelp coupon and of course I would have to use it. That was pretty good, better than Starbucks for sure LOL. The atmosphere inside was really homey. A little small, but that's what makes it feel warm and cozy. read more

Yikes. Stale pastries. Luke warm Americano. Very confusing self-serve counter? Also, what happened to the (supposedly) delicious, hot food that's mentioned in all the reviews below? Pretty disappointing. read more

Everything on the menu that I've tried is fantastic, and I keep coming back to try new things. Come with a friend so you can order more than one dish and share, and be sure to try something with arepas. This restaurant puts Melrose on the map as a destination for foodies looking to try something new -- run, don't walk. read more

I'd wanted to try La QChara for a while, and now that I have I'm sorry that the occasion finally arrived. Ugh. Biggest problem seems to be that they have no clue how to fry. Tostones were tough to the point of being almost inedible. Yucca fries, one of my favorite things in the world, were at once BOTH underdone (in the middle) and overdone on the outside. And under-seasoned. And served without any kind of dipping sauce. "Chipotle chicken" was decently tasty but I tasted no chipotle -- no smoke, no spice. More of an extra-savory warm chicken salad effect. Flan for dessert was fairly tasty. Once I peeled off the ROTTEN STRAWBERRY on top, with obvious mold spots. Did I mention "ugh" in the review yet? Seriously. Was the flan sitting around for a long time after being made, or did the person prepping the dish not seem to notice the disgusting condition of the produce? This was a takeout order or I would have taken the entire thing back. Never again. read more

I visited La QChara yesterday for brunch with friends. I ordered the French toast with a side order of yucca fries because who can really resist yucca fries. Anyway, I took one bite of the dish the French toast and it was not up to par and was covered in a syrup that tasted like molasses. It was so bitter that I couldn't enjoy my food. I went back to line and requested if I could order something else in lieu of the French Toast and the guy with the glasses and dreads had the audacity to question my motives and was quite frankly and asshole about it. So not only did his comments leave a bad taste in my mouth, I didn't feel the need to order anything else in fear that he would pester me. Not only did the staff not come visit our table to see how things were, they didn't even both to clear our plates because we were for 2.5 hours. I was under the impression that if you order something that is not up to par, you should be able to choose something else of equal value because I doubt the manager and owner want to see a bad review... I will never come back to this restaurant. read more

Best Cafe in Greater Boston. Sleeper cell of unreal flavors for breakfast lunch or an early dinner. Lorenzo and Emily are local heroes. Their Barista Mike is hands down the best Barista you can find in the burbs and he will deliver a latte made to perfection every single time. If you don't go to this spot it is your loss. read more

I've found the service to be very slow. It took 25 minutes to get my food at 2:00 on a Friday. The place was full of people eating when I got there, but at the time I finally got my food there were only six or so people there. After waiting all that time the food was room temperature. The staff seemed to be having a great time with each other, which is nice, but not at the price of waiting that long and then getting food that's not even close to hot. read more

If I had to sum up how I feel about La QChara in one word, it would be DELICIOUS! My husband and I were looking for a new café and came across this one. Upon walking in, we were greeted by the friendly staff. I ordered the chicken quesadilla and my husband ordered their vegetal sandwich. Both were absolutely amazing. We also tried their latte and iced coffee... No complaints there either. It's a great place to hang out and get some work done or just to enjoy a cup of Joe. The music is a bit distracting if you are trying to study, so I wouldn't recommend coming here for that purpose. Overall, I would absolutely tell people to come here and try it out... You won't be disappointed, and I will definitely be back! read more

Brought me back to being in tulum. Great food! Great iced americanos! Super fast service. We will definitely be back

This place is just what Melrose needs! There are many of us with young families who moved to the 'burbs from Somerville, Cambridge, etc. and are used to dining at casual restaurants that offer more than just pizza and subs. What a welcome addition to the neighborhood. We have gone here for breakfast once and lunch 3 times so far. The place is more spacious than Coffee Tea and Me and very family friendly. We were back again today and I tried the trio of tacos (pork and beef ones were amazing, chicken was okay). The Venezuelan Benedict is delicious, served on arepas with crumbled chorizo sausage and perfectly poached eggs with yucca fries. We've also been happy with the tortas, arepas and cachapas. They have a diverse menu of smoothies, fresh juices, and some unique espresso drinks as well. If this place continues to get the crowds it has gotten when we've been there and keeps serving creative and fresh dishes, it should be around for a very long time. read more

As a Venezuelan I would have to say that Lorenzo stays true to his origins adding his great innovative touches to every single dish. For example, the Venezuelan benedicts have that combination of authenticity and creativity. Every time I go with my wife we HAVE to eat tequeños, they're soooo good. The difference with the originals is that Lorenzo's are baked which are healthier than its original fried version. El pabellon criollo is delicious, the way he makes the shredded beef is like eating it at home with the family. By the way, there's no need to have any fries or burgers or anything alike. Everything in this place is fresh and authentic. And of course the coffee is as good as it gets... Don't hesitate to go there... Enjoy read more

An adorable spot by the train tracks serving up tacos and burritos and other Latin-American cuisine. Feels kind of like a homemade vibe. In a good way. Recommended. Feels a little bit disorganized sometimes, but the quality is good. I would give this a 4 star if it was in Boston, but 5 star seems appropriate for your a locally-owned joint that does a great job. read more

Fun local spot with a great variety of foods & beverages with a Hispanic flare. Adorable interior for IGers.

Amazing food, I get the peach tea and the coconut peach muffin ! So good! However, the restaurant is loud and somewhat cramped, other than that it is a great place to get Venezuelan/breakfast food read more

My wife and I finally decided to stop in for breakfast back in March or April and were sad that we hadn't done it sooner. Since then we have had breakfast there 2 or 3 more times and have been just as satisfied. Both of us also stop by for coffee or smoothies at least 1 time per week. Food is excellent. Great atmosphere and friendly service. Try the Venezuelan Benedicts for breakfast or if you're on the go, the Isabella smoothie is quite tasty. I do agree with one reviewer that the menu is a little unclear as to what is what; breakfast vs other meals...but, that won't bring down my score. Service, quality of food and atmosphere go a long way. read more

Super friendly knowledgeable staff, quick service, lovely environment and a kids menu for $3.75! Add raw juices, smoothies, excellent coffee and desserts to an already delicious menu and I'm sold! read more

Horrible service tonight. I've been waiting 45 minutes for dine in tacos. The restaurant isn't busy and no explanation is offered. This happened before recently. Disappointing. read more

First timers I have been waiting for months to make it here for lunch. I came across the knowledge Of La QChara months ago when I was searching for a juice bar in the surrounding area. The food in the pictures look mouth watering good ratings on the yelp page, I figured it was a place to definitely make the trip from New Hampshire to try. Finally after months I had been dying for my schedule to work out with my boyfriends so we could make our visit. While a lot of the food sounds delicious On the menu I am pescatarian so it narrows down my options but they have a decent amount of vegetarian options or even a choice to add Shrimp to certain meal options. 2 big reasons I wanted to dine here, Yuca fries and TEQUENOS. I can be pretty indecisive so it took a while to pick entree options but we starts with yuca fries and tequenos. Here was my take on the starter. Both were incredibly small portions and overly priced for what you get. I think we each had 4 yuca fries and they were no exaggeration either old or overly fried or even a mix of both, enough to give me a difficult time to swallow. They weren't warm but they were very very hard. The tequenos were good, nothing wild but probably the only good thing we enjoyed with our visit. Now for entree I ordered the Camerone arepa. It was a little dry, lacked some flavor and small portion for price and the tiny bit of slaw that comes on the side looked withered. My boyfriend had the 3 tacos that's comes with beef pork and chicken. He wasn't pleased at all he kept saying it was ok. Ran out of beef so he was given an extra chicken taco which is fine won't complain about that but the chicken tacos were dry and lacked with flavor. A aioli or some sort of sauce would've done the trick with that. Both arepa and tacos weren't even warm but probably more at room temperature. To me I was completely disappointed him and I had been waiting months to try it and I had bragged to him about how excited I was. Was just expecting a much better experience but sadly I don't even think I would go back for tequenos. read more

Great place for breakfast/lunch, I got "el pavellon criollo" was delicious, great option in the smoothie bar. "Cachapa" is a authentic Food from Venezuelan; they do a excellent job, sweet corn and fresh. read more

Food is awesome and super tasty! Love the variety of items on the menu. We had quinoa bowls! Yum! Also tried some raw juices, very good too. Can't wait to try everything else! :) read more