There's no better feeling in the midst of cold winter than a warm dose. And authentic South…read moreAmerican food provides that warmth! Arepa Guys is set up at a local convenience but they're very welcoming. Chef owner Moises is a cool dude who seems quite passionate about Venezuelan food and culture. I came early and was politely asked to wait for the first dozen arepas (corn meal breads) to be grilled and baked to perfection. From the menu, I had their carne mechada: delicious slow-cooked shredded beef with a healthy mix of plantains, beans & cheese stuffed in the warm arepa. They had quite the variety of other fillings including chorizo, crab meat/shrimp, shredded chicken breast and eggs as well. Arepa Guys is open weekends only, and introduces this unique food to many of us for the first time. Their arepa was perfectly crisp on the outside and the shredded beef stuffing was a bit light in flavour. I did realize later that I missed out on their homemade cilantro, garlic and hot sauces. So apply some from the dine-in area when picking up an arepa to go.

I'm almost hesitant to write this because I want to keep this place a secret all to myself but the…read moreworld needs to know - Arepa Guys is incredible!! My wife and I just left after having two pork arepas with pico de gallo and cheese, along with a tres leches, and we're already looking forward to our next visit - we don't come to the area often but we'll make the journey just for a taste of this again. Also, the man behind the counter and the lady who brought the food over (I regret not asking for their names) were extremely nice. As long as they're there, we'll be supporting them. Do yourself and favour - stop reading my review and head over there now!

First time having Venezuelan food!…read more This was at a small local restaurant, El Venezolano on Danforth. We got the El Venezolanito, which came with 2 arepas, 2 mini cachapas, 2 tequenos, 2 mini empanadas, and 2 patacones. Finished off with some churros! Apologies in advanced if I butcher the descriptions! Might be helpful to people that are new to Venezuelan food like me. - arepas: cornmeal cakes stuffed with meat - cachapas: Venezuelan corn pancakes - tequenos: fried bred cheese sticks - THESE WERE AMAZING -empanadas: baked pastry pockets - patacones: fried plantain I really liked the dipping sauce and the owner gave me 2 small containers of it to take home which was super sweet!

Best thing about Toronto is finding gems of restaurants like these! Small shop but full of life,…read morepassion and flavours! The staff are super friendly and lots of locals come here. The wall decor is cute too. Empanadas were oily but tasty. Great little garlic dip that comes with! I wanted to try the assorted platter of appetizers (El Venezolanito) but I was hesitant on the price as it increased by almost $9 since last year.

Simple and down to earth Venezuelan food. The owner was fantastic and explained all the different…read moreitems to us. I'm guessing this is more of a takeout place but was very happy to see that they have a small indoor seating area and some picnic tables outside. Everything was delicious! We had: * PARRILLA MIXTA - Grilled beef tenderloin, grilled breast chicken, chorizo, yuca fries, arepitas, nata, and guasacaca * PATACONES FLYING PORKY - Pulled pork with pineapple chutney sauce, ham, grilled fresco cheese, lettuce, tomato and salsas * TEQUEÑOS - Venezuelan cheese sticks * Drinks - Papelón con Limón (lemonade with cane sugar), Chicha (Venezuelan rice drink), and Passion Fruit Juice (my fav). I don't live close by, but if I ever have a craving for Venezuelan food, I will definitely drive the distance for it!

I've had multiple arepas before and I find that the ratio of arepa to filling is sometimes an…read moreissue, leaving you with mouthfuls of dough at the end. Not at Arepa Republic, as they stuff each of their arepas full and overflowing so that a single arepa becomes a meal. We ordered the Reina Pepiada (chicken avocado salad) and the Pabellon (shredded flank steak, fried sweet plantain, avocado and white cheese) with a side of Yuca fries. I liked the Reina Pepiada more out of the two, as it was lighter and creamy without being overpowering. The Pabellon is definitely the heavier of the two, but holds its own with it's deeper savory meat flavors. Yuca fries was a little fibrous in parts, but generally delicious dipped in their house dip. There isn't any indoor dining space, so be prepared to eat in your car or enjoy one of the four picnic tables outside!

Came with a friend to try the $14 vegetarian arepa which was tasty. For $16 we shared the yuca…read morefries and two empanadas (spinach and sweet plantain with beans). Everything was made fresh and hot. I only wish they had a fresh element like a side salad as most things are deep fried. We sat outside to enjoy some sunshine. Service was friendly.

I truly feel like whatever Arepa I got, I would have been satisfied. The soft Arepa with the tender…read moreslow braised beef with the beans, cheese and soft plantain was fantastic. This was my first time trying an Argentina Empanada, Spanish bechamel to be exact, and this reminded me of a Quiche but the inside was more moist and 'raw'. Tasted great You can dine in, they have seating at the window, middle of the restaurant where the kitchen is an open concept. Ran by 3 lovely women. They also have plenty of seating in the back. I ordered take out and it took about 15min to get my food, well worth the wait!

So, I asked a native Venezuelan, and he said this was authentic, and I was not disappointed…read more There isn't the usual effervescent food truck personality with the ladies running the truck, but the food definitely delivers. I imagine it is all very fresh, but this means they run our of things quickly! I ordered a reina pepiada? which is a chick and avocado mix (with other ingredients that I do not know) in a corn based pita. The chicken is shredded thin, and then mixed up with the avocado. It has bright lemony citrus notes that make it taste fresh too. The corn pitas (which definitely have a real name), are warm and soft with a nice chew from the corn. They are stuff with the chicken avocado mix to almost bursting. They like to hang out in Liberty Village sometimes in the summer, so I will definitely be on the lookout to try some of the other arepas!

This place does Venezuelan Street Food…read more Had the Classica Casabe (substitution for arepa). Advertised as a crispy flatbread made from cassava (yuca) flour, it was really just a salad bowl with more ham than salad with crispy chunks at the side, served with sweet sauce on the side. It was so-so - the ham didn't seem grilled, just shredded & the cheese was just shredded, not melted. Got 1 of each empanada (you can mix and match). Plantain was ok with not as much salty & sweet contrast as I'd expected (it was more salty). Tofu was actually quite good with nice spices & a vaguely Indian flavour profile. Beans & bacon & beef were both decent. Tried arepitas dulces, which came with sweet cheese & were flavoured with anise. They were not very sweet & were ok.

Delicious food!! The back patio is underrated. Very cute. The service is great and the food and…read moredrinks are even better. We loved everything we ordered and it was well-priced for the portions. We left very full. I loved all the little sauces they brought out. Very tasty

The interior of this Venezuelan cafe is more modern than most Latin American places. They have the…read morelargest variety of arepas I've ever seen. Since it's Good Friday, I went for the special seafood menu. Fish empanada & shrimp empanadas were big, with a nice crisp exterior. They had a corn body so they were like fried arepas. The stuffings were decent. Fish was tastier. "Fish Ceviche" was actually seafood. It had shrimp, mussels, squid, octopus & clams. There was a lot of seafood in there, cut with minimal vegetable. The seafood seemed cooked before being tossed in sauce & was of decent freshness. It was accompanied by tostones (fried plantains) which were pretty good: quite crispy. They're still doing only QR code menus, which was annoying.

I was out for a walk this afternoon and I stumbled upon a new restaurant boasting arepas,…read moreempanadas, and other delicious South American items, so it took me all of about two seconds to decide to pop my head in and order something. I walked in and after taking a look at the relatively small menu, I decided I needed to try the joint's empanadas. I didn't know which of the four to order, so I asked the very helpful woman behind the counter to give me a couple of her favorites. Those turned out to be a Cheese Empanada and a Pabellon Empanada ("Shredded Beef, Cheese, Sweet Plantain, Black Beans"). I got them home a short time later and they were actually still hot! I started with the Cheese Empanada and I was blown away pretty much from the first bite. The salty, melty cheese within was absolutely irresistible, and the empanada itself was perfectly fried and essentially the ideal of what an empanada should be. The Pabellon Empanada fared even better, in my opinion. The perfectly proportioned filling ensured that every bite was pretty much perfect, and I should note, too, that the included zesty sauce only enhanced the concoction's overall impact. I'm definitely excited to welcome Arepatite to Midtown, and I can't wait to try their other offerings.

Update! I stopped to try the Pollo (shredded chicken) Empanada today and it was another success…read more It's the cornflour dough and the dipping sauces that really stand out. It eats like comfort food, yet packs a big punch of flavour.

They get 2.5 stars…read more Bandeja paisa: steak was decent, crackling was so-so (pretty crispy but not that moist or flavourful). Sausage tasted decent but slightly dry. Egg was a bit overdone & arepa was decent though somewhat crispy  Beans were decent. Plantain was so-so (not crispy or sweet). Pork tenderloin was pretty tasty but tough & dry especially for a tenderloin. Rice was decent, with a slight flavour, but a bit mushy. Plantain was crispy. The restaurant interior was decorated quite nicely but was very warm (in summer) & service was disorganised & some servers didn't speak English well so communication was sometimes difficult. I asked if the pork tenderloin had a sauce; they said no but it came with a tomato & peppers sauce. They also billed me wrongly.

Incredibly delicious food, authentically Colombian, big portions, and amazing value for money. The…read moreseafood dishes are filled with various different kinds of high-quality seafood to the brim (more protein than rice). All the staff are so friendly - from the waitstaff to the chefs / owners and kitchen staff, everyone in the restaurant seems to exhibit the Latin American hospitality and friendliness. The place feels homey, cozy, and festive with the music in the background (from the TV screen on the wall), and big photos depicting different places in Colombia along the wall. Ambience is very laid-back and casual, with amazing food that tastes homemade and authentic. It took a while for the food to cook and come out (about 40 minutes) - mostly because of the Cazuela de Mariscos (seafood soup) that took the longest to cook. It was also during a very busy time on a weekend. They seemed to have a constant flow of incoming catering and take-out orders (a good sign), and the restaurant itself was packed. All / most mains come with coconut rice, salad, and tostones (fried plantains). As for drinks, you can order freshly squeezed juices in either water or milk. We ordered the fresh strawberry & blackberry juice in water, as the one in milk would make it more like a smoothie. Each juice order comes in a jug (whether it be a small or large jug). This came as a surprise to us - really good value for such a large volume of juice ($6 for a whole "small" jug that turned out to be quite big, enough to refill each glass a few times for 2 people). The juice itself tasted fresh, natural, and refreshing. Dishes that we tried: 1) Filete de Tilapia con Camarones (grilled tilapia fish fillet & shrimps with coconut rice, plantain, and salad) - Big pieces of fish and lots of small shrimps, in a very delectable sauce. 2) Arroz Marinero (seafood rice with plantain & salad) - Loved this dish. The rice was a bit soupy which I liked. It was a bit like a soupy paella (including the rice) - very delicious and packed with various kinds of seafood. 3) Cazuela de Mariscos (seafood soup with coconut rice, plantain, and salad) - Very creamy soup, like a chowder. I'm not a big fan of chowders / cream-based soups in general, but others liked it and said this was good. 4) SIDE: Ensalada (House Salad) 5) Arepa de Chocolo con Queso (sweet corn dough with cheese) All of the main dishes were EXCELLENT - loved the mixed seafood (fish fillet, shrimps, octopus, squid, etc.). There was so much seafood in every dish. In most places, you get more carbs / rice compared to the protein. Here, it was the opposite. The coconut rice was a bit dry but it's decent - good to soak up the sauces of the main dishes. The salad is just shredded cabbage and carrot with big sliced tomato. I was a big fan of the salad dressing (some creamy mayo-like dressing), but luckily the dressing was only at the top of the salad (the bottom part of the salad remained fresh and crunchy, which I liked). We ordered the Arepa de Chocolo con Queso for to go. It was different than the Venezuelan arepa that I'm used to. The Colombian arepa seemed to be sweeter and more buttery. It probably would've been better if it was eaten right after it was freshly made, and while it was still warm. There was a lot of cheese in the arepa, giving it a nice salty and savoury contrast to the sweet corn dough. After you're done the meal, you go up to the counter to pay (instead of having the bill brought to your table). Great food overall - I would not hesitate to come back.