I really wanted to love this place after all the glowing reviews, but it was just ok. First of all, it's really only fitting as a date spot, given how dark it is and how hard it is to get a table for larger groups. The sweet plantains were amazing, but I was sorely disappointed by the other dishes. We also tried the Maracuchitos, queso paisa wrapped in sweet plantains, which was basically a few bites of delicious plantain and then a block of cheese in the middle that fell out. Total disconnect there. For my entree, I was really excited for the Pernil arepa, described as a "mojo marinated pork with fresh tomato." There was a slice of mozerella, which was a pleasant if incongruent surprise. The pork was SO dry. And relatively flavorless. Huge letdown.I'll come back to give another entree a try and for another bite of those plantains though, before completely writing it off. read more

I've been here a couple times and I'm a big fan. The arepas are delicious and go well with the beer, and the plantains are good.

We tried this for the first time last night and had a great meal. Our party had the Mahi Mahi and the Tuna, Both were excellent. The Mahi- Mahi was served with some beef stew and the taste complimented each other. The Tuna was cooked to perfection, nicely seasoned and served over a salad. I recommend ordering a vegetable side to go along with your entree. We had both the spinach and asparagus - both very nice. The restaurant is small so it may not be good for a large group. They have a nice outdoor seating area. We will definitely return. read more

Extremely horrible service. A woman there, probably the manager, was very very RUDE, in a very classless, ill-mannered, and impolite way. Customer service is definitely not the priority of this establishment. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how the food taste, the incredibly vulgar service completely overshadows the entire dining experience. There are so many great restaurants nearby with great food and great service, go to one of them. read more

It can be a little hard to find Orinoco at first, but the food is amazing and the atmosphere is great. I love the plantains and my friends and I always get the passion fruit juice-- it's delicious! Service is a little slow and sometimes inattentive, but it's still worth it for the cozy, candlelit-feeling atmosphere and the delicious food. Highly recommend! read more

Food here is very good but service is mediocre. The food arrives late and the waiter is rude.

Good sampling of Venezuelan cuisine and mostly authentic. Restaurant has nice back patio area for when the weather is good. Goof value, good eats read more

This was the first time I tried Venezuelan food and got the lamb entree and it was tasty. It was good but did not live up to the hype. The place gets very crowded for dinner especially with people waiting for table in the middle of the restaurant, and it was hard to flag down a server. Otherwise great small place with an intimate atmosphere that isn't too loud so you can have a conversation easily. read more

Really fresh greens, overall the food is quite good. Servers seem a bit inexperienced, maybe that can get worked out. My big complaint-the tables are too close together. It's like sitting with strangers. read more

Harvard Square's best kept secret! Tucked away off JFK street away from the tourists, a cozy and friendly spot for very tasty tapas (lamb chops with truffle Chimchuri yum!), all at a decent price...I can't believe I only discovered it now. read more

The food deserves 5 stars, no question. Everything that I have ever ordered has been fantastic. The plates are my favorite (shredded beef, white rice and beans!!). Bacon wrapped dates, yes please. However, there always seems to be something. Credit card machine was down 3 times in a row that I went, you have to order appetizers and your meal at once (I have received plates cold and I think it's because of this rule) , the hours are inconsistent, the staff could be a bit more personable. Despite these few 'issues' I eat there at least once a month, because the food is that good! Oh, and go easy on their home made hot sauce!! read more

We were a little worried about the reviews complaining about the lack of reservations, long wait times for food, etc., but we shouldn't have been. We arrived for dinner around 7pm on a Wednesday and there was plenty of room, and service was perfectly reasonable. I ordered a selection of small plates-- the appetizer portion of the guava BBQ baby back ribs, the bean and cheese arepa, and the Mechada empanada (stewed beef with peppers). The ribs were adequate-- very tender, tasty enough, but the sauce was rather overpowering. Extremely sweet and tangy, so much so that the meat kind of got lost. I probably wouldn't order them again, or at least only to share with the table. The arepa was good-- the beans were cooked with pork and had nice flavor, and the corn "pocket" was perfectly crispy on the outside and had a nice chew on the inside. I was a bit taken aback to see the gigantic piece of pork bone in the middle of the sandwich-- I know the bones were in there for cooking, but I didn't expect to find bone in my beans. If I hadn't been watching out I could've cracked a tooth... as it was, I just picked it out and kept eating. Finally, the empanada-- to my mind the star of the show. The filling was perfect-- meaty, with excellent depth of flavor-- and it came with a substantial salad, which had a tart dressing that perfectly complemented the richness of the empanada. Definitely worth ordering again. My husband had the beef tenderloin churrasquito, which came with a crab picadillo and grilled asparagus. I tried some and thought it was only so-so. The meat was well seasoned, but the crab was only mediocre and it was cold (was that intentional?) We also ordered the quesillo for dessert-- an egg custard that's basically like flan but is denser. I was disappointed. I know it's supposed to be dense, but this custard was clearly overcooked. It had curdled, making the texture like packed cottage cheese instead of smooth, creamy custard. Probably the low point of the meal. We'll definitely go again, though, if only to order more of the delicious empanadas and try some other flavors of arepa! read more

Amazing place! If you have never tried Venezuelan food you should definitely go to this place. They have a large menu with different dishes, from arepa to pabellón criollo. Don't forget to try their passion fruit juice (jugo de parchita). read more

I am so happy my friend suggested meeting here for dinner. I had never had Venezuelan food before, but apparently I am a huge fan. The arepas and empanadas are delicious (and made with corn -- so they are great for those who avoid wheat). The fried plantains were also great, and I *highly* recommend the sauteed spinach. read more

Fantastic from the drinks to dessert. Was in town on business and a colleague mentioned this place. All four of us had different dishes and not a drop of food left on our plates. Soooo wish there was a sister restaurant located in Bristol, RI! One of the best and most interesting restaurants we eaten at since leaving the SF Bay area. read more

This is one of my favorite places! Great empanadas and tapas! The ambience is excellent!

Yummy-yummy. The food was really delicious here. My friends and I decided to try this place for my birthday. We ordered a few apps, including the bacon wrapped dates that are a MUST, and some flatbreads with guava that were delicious. I had the steak for dinner that was very tasty and perfectly cooked. One of my other friends has the lamb, and it looks awesome too. We had sangria and some of the house juices and both were very good. The sangria was sweet and so refreshing. read more

Nice atmosphere, really nice staff. The appetizers were the highlight (bacon wrapped dates, empanadas, oyster mushroom and cheese bread). Food came out fast, was reasonably priced, and was very tasty. This was a nice change of pace and a great spot. read more

Didn't know what to expect, never having had Venezuelan food before. It was delicious! The bacon wrapped dates and the asado negro were both excellent. The prices and portions are very fair, too. read more

I would have given this place 4 stars for the help is nice and the place is charming, but someone in the kitchen has a little portion control problem. The plates are tasty, but often you feel like you didn't quite get enough. The selections are interesting and more authentic flavors than a lot of places trying to be Latin (I've traveled to Costa Rica, Panama and Puerto Rico multiple times). This place is hard to find, but particularly worth seeking out. The sangria is spot on, and like I said, the service is excellent. Order double of what you would normally get and don't look too closely at the check and you'll be happy! read more

Orinoco Orinoco Orinoco Orinoco. Orinoco. You are amazing to my stomach. This is where we discovered arepas. Or, maybe, where arepas discovered us. In all seriousness, orinoco is an amazing experience and where we would consistently bring out-of-town visitors for a nice, calm dinner with amazing quality food and consistency. The passion fruit juice is delicious. All the arepas we ever tried were perfect. read more

This place can be a little slow, but the food is really good and interesting. I love the vibe. The portions are perfect for me - the arepas are small enough that you can get an appetizer and dessert and still not feel too full. I love trying new things here, and I'm sure I'll keep going back. read more

I have been to Orinoco three times now, and each time it has been fantastic. The sides and salads are tasty, but the real show stoppers are the arepas. My favorite is the cheese and fried sweet plantain. I also had a portobello mushroom arepa special which was delicious. The vegetable sides are also tasty. I recommend the asparagus and the spinach. Service is great and the restaurant has a cozy intimate feel push back from the street. read more

Orinoco is a nice little spot, kind of separated from the craziness that otherwise epitomizes Harvard Square. The food and service are solid, and there's not an ounce of pretentiousness about the place. I'd recommend it to anyone! read more

Hands down the worst dining experience I have ever had. I can't comment on the food because we were never able to try it after being there and seated for an hour and fifteen minutes. The staff is very pretentious and couldn't tell us that they lost our order and instead lied. Mistakes happen but your reaction to make up for that can still salvage the experience. We were offered 2 sangrias and an very small appetizer plate of rice and beans in the 1hr and 15 min we were there with the rice and beans coming after an hour of waiting. Bringing a 3 and 1 year old with no high chair or booster is not helpful either so definitely don't bring young kids. To top it all off, I witnessed food hit the floor of the kitchen and then put back on to a plate and served. Maybe it was all for the best that our food never arrived. Harvard Square has many better dining options than Orinoco so if you are visiting to have a good time or special night out save yourself the frustration and try somewhere else. read more

Hooray! Orinoco has come to Harvard Sq. to save us from this restaurant desert. I've lived in the Sq. for the past five years and, while we have our ambient places, drinking places, touristic places, we're severely lacking in genuinely excellent food. For that, you've had to walk to Inman or Central Sq. Now we have Orinoco which is affordable, welcoming, and delicious. May Small Plates, the previous occupant, rest in peace but it was prohibitively expensive. My friend and I had brunch and we ordered an arepa (with pulled beef, plantains, black beans and Venezuelan cheese), an empanada (mushroom with a tower, literally, a tower, of dark greens, sliced pear, and vinaigrette), and thick dark Venezuelan hot chocolate. The staff was extremely nice and kept checking on whether we had enough heat sitting by the window. Our waiter is learning English but was so genuinely inviting and kind that it was no hindrance at all. We left an extra large tip. My only concern is that the restaurant was practically deserted on Sunday at 1 pm, so now I'm on a quest to spread the word about Orinoco. read more

After growing up on Venezuelan cuisine and travelling to the country, I've missed these foods. A friend told me about this joint so I had to give it a go. I got two arepas, and a side of yuca which were all pretty good. What wasn't so good is that my date and I waited an hour and a half before getting our cold food. I saw only one waiter and a couple others in the kitchen. The place did have six or so other tables, but even then it shouldn't take that long. After asking them to reheat my meal they apologized and made me two fresh ones. As I said the taste was there but the service was insulting. The waiter of course apologized but no compensation of any sort was given to us, and to boot it was on the pricey side. Not sure why I waited that long, but for this terrible experience I will never go back. If I want Venezuelan food it may be quicker for me to get a plane ticket to the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas next time. read more

Firstly, this review is based entirely on poor service, because in the end I wasn't able to eat here. I've heard fantastic things about Orinoco's food, and I was greatly looking forward to eating an authentic Latin meal! Understanding the no-reservation policy, I decided to arrive shortly after they opened. I was meeting a friend for dinner and drinks, and they would not sit me until she arrived. Right off the bat, I think this is unreasonable since 50% of the party is present, which is your typical rule of thumb. But I decide to patiently wait for my friend to arrive. When she arrives, we check in with the host and he informs us that the wait is now 30-40 minutes. He takes down my name and phone number, and we decide to have a drink at the corner bar. Nearly an hour passes by and we still haven't received a phone call, so we go back to check on our place on the list. The host claims that he called me and I didn't answer, so I lost my place on their list. I told him he was mistaken, as I had no trace of any phone calls, no voicemails, and I definitely had service at the corner bar, as I had been receiving texts and other notifications during this time span. I had him confirm that he had my phone number correctly, which he did. At that point, he just begins to repeat "I called you several times," uselessly. As someone who has worked in customer service and retail, I was appalled. I wasted close to two hours of my life between waiting for my friend to arrive and then waiting to be seated. We took our business elsewhere in Cambridge. read more

The food was very good and the service was terrible - so amateur as not to be believed. The restaurant was not close to full on a Sunday night, yet we waited some time for the waiter to show up after being seated. We immediately ordered wine, which came rapidly, but then waited an inordinate amount of time for the waiter to take our orders. It was only after we had finished the appetizers that the waiter informed us that only one salmon remained and that two of us would have to find an alternative entree. It took more than 10 minutes for the waiter to deliver a second bottle of wine after putting in the request. When I went to pay with credit card, I was told that credit card weren't accepted that evening because the machine wasn't working. The waitress asked, "Weren't you told that when you came in?" The answer was "No." Luckily, I had a wad of cash and could easily pay. What a debacle and not worthy of a restaurant of this caliber. Too bad - I won't return. read more

wow. this place is awesome. i am shocked it is not more popular since the food is so good! If you're ready for a heavy but delicious meal, come here. it's also great for groups and not too loud. Service is A+ too. I would definitely come here again. read more