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    Pastel Gourmet

    4.7 (109 reviews)
    InexpensiveCafes, Empanadas, Venezuelan

    Pastel Gourmet Photos

    PASTEL GOURMET ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Quiet
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Katie S.

    So so yummy and so unique for our area! A must stop in with the kindest owners. Their cheese fingers were delicious and can't wait to try the chocolate one I am taking home!

    Sarah B.

    Yes, it's beside a gas station. But just the first few minutes inside and you'll feel like you're in our Uncle's house, about to chow down on amazing authentic Venezuelan grub. We ordered a smorgasbord of items (we came hungry, what can I say?) and the owner, Marlon, at the register was a real help walking us thru the menu. "I'm not responsible for the addiction that happens after this," he said with a smile. Egg and bacon baked empanada: GREAT flavor. This could be an easy breakfast go to. Didn't even need the additional orange sauce that came with. Barbarque fried empanada: it comes out HOT!! No question these are cooked to order. Not overly spicy, but good backyard barbecue flavor. Don't think 'sauce' as there is none. Just the meat and it's perfect. The corn shell makes this like cornbread and meat-- a Venezuelan corn dog!!. Awesome! Pabellon: black beans, fried plantains, white cheese and pulled pork. Not my favorite, but an interesting combination of sweet (plantain) and savory (everything else). At this point Marlon checks back in with us for a second time- making sure everything came out right and hot. This first time, he brought over a green sauce for us to try and mentioned that in Venezuela, you don't dip into the sauce, you pour the sauces on: "Because you don't want to leave behind anything good!" Shredded beef baked empanada: Me: "I'm not sure which one this is." Hubby, licking his fingers: "GOOD." This one speaks lunch to me, and the addition of the orange sauce makes it wonderfully delicious. Finally (I told you we ordered a lot!) the shredded beef Arepas: It's like a sandwich with fried corn patties for the bread. Shredded beef, cheese (but not too much), and a green sauce that will BLOW YOUR MIND! I'm so glad we saved this for last, because I'm walking out of here on cloud 9! Marlon is a gem- we spent a few minutes chatting with him after our meal, talking about the 'take home and bake' selections in the freezer. He points out the corn cheese appetizers and says "Do you have a little room let? I want you to try these, on the house". So now, we wait, ready for the next hot, delicious, wonderful tastes that Pastel Gourmet has in store for us...

    Will T.

    Uniquely located next to a gas station, Pastel Gourmet is a sure thing when you are in the mood for great pasteles. My order was served accurately and exceeded my expectations. It was also served with a variety of sauces that were great for dipping. The owner is very personable and you can tell he is a good man that has a passion for his craft. He took the time to explain nearly every item on the menu to me and also offered recommendations, taking into account my diet. With that being said, I will definitely be back whenever I am in the area and in the mood for positive vibes as well as delicious pasteles. Pasteles recommendations: Ricotta and spinach, and Cheese

    This is the new "must try" Milhojas! Delicious!!
    Michele S.

    This is definitely the most flavorful Venezuelan food spot in Houston area. Every single thing you get is delicious. From Cachapitas con queso (Corn cheesy bites) to Asado Negro (Black Roast Beef) it is just amazing. Recently tried the new creamy strudel Milhojas and honestly there are no words to describe it, you need to go and try it. Excellent place!

    Solid cheese and hard ham inside the pastry :(
    Linda P.

    I am really sad to post this review but I have been frequently buying breakfast from here in the last year and I'm sad that one of my pastry of ham and cheese filling is burnt or over cooked. This have happened in the past two times I've purchased from here through UberEats. I feel like there must be a lack of quality control. I really do want to continue supporting small businesses in the area but i don't want to pay $3 or so for pastries that are not made to par.

    Pasteles  (top) and empanada (bottom) with green garlic sauce and red pepper sauce.
    Mindy L.

    My belleh is happeh. My husband and I wanted to check out this place based on the Yelp reviews. Clean inside with a few tables to sit at. While we were there several other people came in to eat and get things to go. We ordered three types of pasteles: shredded beef, shredded chicken, and egg with bacon. We also ordered one shredded beef empanada and tried a couple of mini cheese fingers. My husband got a bottled water from the fridge and I got coffee. The first thing that made a big impression on us was how hot the food was. I had to wait for the pastries to cool down before I could dig in. I'm much happier to wait for food to cool off than to get some that's lukewarm. Even the coffee, which I got free refills on for eating in, was super hot. I like that most of the pastries do not have cheese in them. My husband's stomach can't handle a lot of cheese, so the offerings are great for us. The shredded beef and chicken pastries are seasoned well, but do not have any spicy heat. I enjoyed the garlic sauce on the beef empanada and the red pepper sauce, which had a little kick, on the egg and bacon pastel. The cheese fingers had a salty melty cheese on the inside which we both liked. All of the pastries had a great texture to the crust. They also have vegetarian options and lunch items are available starting around 11'ish. The owner was very nice and helpful, plus he was easy to talk to while we munched on breakfast. I hope he is successful and we'll definitely stop by when we're in the area.

    Mi A.

    Made a quick run for gas while I was at work... I have reviewed Pastel Gourmet before on yelp... So I decided to grab a few iteams and return back to work... The are located next to the Shell gas station... Very small establishment but full of delectable goodies... I bought 3 savory pastries... Can't remember 2 out of the 3 pastries but the one I remember was the mushroom cream cheese empanada... It was very good... I split all 3 pastries with my co worker and we both agreed that the mushroom cream cheese empanada was the best out of the 3... One of the pastries had ham in it... My co worker said the meat tasted funny... I am will to return to try another empanada...

    This is the view from my car right I front of the place.

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    11 months ago

    Business owner information

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    Marlon U.

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    1 year ago

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    Marlon U.

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    9 months ago

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    Marlon U.

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    1 year ago

    The owners were so very nice, go there even if you don't know Venezuelan food. They will help you and it is really yummy!

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    Marlon U.

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    2 years ago

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    Marlon U.

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    3 years ago

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    Marlon U.

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    4 years ago

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    Marlon U.

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    8 years ago

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    Marlon U.

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    3 years ago

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    Marlon U.

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    Marlon U.

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    4 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    Marlon U.

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    5 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

    The food is ok but everything is definitely overpriced. There are other good Venezuelan options in the area with more reasonable prices.

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    9 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Food is very tasty. They are a small cute little business. Every time we pass by we have a good meal here.

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    9 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    Page 1 of 3

    Pastel Gourmet Reviews in Other Languages

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    4.6(33 reviews)
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    This place is such a hidden gem. Every time I go, I am blown away not just by how delicious the…read morefood is but by how kind and attentive the people are. The customer service is honestly some of the best I have experienced anywhere. They treat you like family from the moment you pull up. They are so sweet, smiling, and genuinely happy to serve you. Even though it is an outside spot, they make it feel so comfortable and easy. They give you a little alarm so you can relax in your car while you wait, and it goes off when your food is ready at the window. It is such a thoughtful touch that makes the whole experience stress free. And then there is the food. Everything tastes so fresh, warm, and made with love. The tequeños are perfection, crispy on the outside and filled with gooey cheese that melts in your mouth. The empanadas are packed with flavor and always come out hot and fresh. You can tell nothing has been sitting around. It is made for you and handed to you at the perfect temperature. The freshness and care in every bite makes it stand out from anywhere else. I really wish more people knew about this place. Every time I drive by, I do not see as many people there as I think should be. This food and this service deserve a line wrapped around the corner. It is one of those spots you fall in love with instantly and then want to tell everyone you know about. If you want incredible food, warm customer service, and an experience that feels personal every single time, this is the place. I cannot recommend it enough.

    La peor comida Venezolana que he probado en Houston. Los pasteles llenos de aceite por dentro, y…read morerotos, la presentación es muy deficiente. NUNCA vengan a comer aquí. Es botar el dinero

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    Fran's Bakery - Party platter

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    Arepas de Pilon - Arepas de pollo, carne molida, y Carne mechada

    Arepas de Pilon

    4.0(3 reviews)
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    I was so happy to find the Venezuelan place inside the market. The ladies were so sweet and…read morewelcoming. We ordered 12 tequeños and 3 arepas: chicken, carne mechada, and carne molida. All 3 were fried perfectly and were delicious. The green sauce was also a perfect compliment. My favorite was the carne mechada one. The tequeños were also cooked perfectly and they were cheesy and delicious. My kids were really pleased with them. I would definitely come back here for my empanada fix and to try other items on their menu. I also ordered a cafe con leche and was so happy to see Cuban coladas on the menu. There is a lot of room to sit down and eat, but we chose to take ours to go due to COVID. I love to support Latino-owned businesses, and I would definitely recommend this place. We'll definitely be back.

    The food court at Harvest Natural Market is under renovation, but Arepas de Pilon is a separate…read morebusiness and is still serving. I stopped in the other day for lunch while shopping and had an empanada, an arepa, and a passionfruit drink. The empanada was a Mechada, filled with shredded beef. It was deep fat fried and pretty greasy, with a hard shell. Now, I don't mind grease at all--that puddle at the bottom of the container is a sign of good things to come. I very much enjoyed my empanada, the beef was tender and flavorful and I love a crunchy shell. But some may be put off. For the arepa I chose the Venezuelan Queen. An arepa on its own is a corn pancake. These arepas are split and filled, making a sandwich, and it's kind of like eating a sandwich on an english muffin. The Venezuelan Queen is a chicken avocado salad arepa. It was generously filled with a smooth and tasty filling. Not super flavorful but just fine. Either of those items would make a good meal. I washed them down with the passionfruit drink, which was sweet and refreshing. I tried the sugar cane lemonade and don't recommend it unless you specifically know and like sugar cane drinks. Yelp needs a new category for restaurants. This is South American food, and I couldn't find a good category for it. We will see more of it as refugees from South American start businesses here.

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    Arepas de Pilon - Cachapa

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    El Kourmet

    El Kourmet

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    Perhaps at some point this was a food truck, and maybe still goes out to events with their food…read moretruck, but I am in a full restaurant, with both indoor and outdoor seating, and nice cool AC. There is a small menu with tiny print, but luckily the young man behind the counter was very helpful. I asked him for suggestions from a few things I had narrowed it down to. I am getting a Patagonia mixture, with pork, and the pork Ralf recommended. It's very colorful for sure, and I'm not quite sure how to eat it because it's a sandwich looking type item with the filling falling out the sides. The first thing I noticed is the mustard. Oye, thats a lot of mustard, and I'm thinking, maybe ketchup? I haven't ever put ketchup on a sandwich, well burgers aside. It's definitely too hot to pick up at the moment, so I'll continue. I also ordered a drink, Papelon con Limon. It's sweet, for me, too sweet, but I also have water, so I am good. I had to cut the beast in half to get a better handle on it. There is lettuce, tomato, ham, cheese and like a pulled pork. I have yet to figure out what it is that holds all this together, some kind of fried ... idk, something, perhaps a fried plantain. It's really good, really messy and a little heavy on the mustard. I do wish the print on the menu was bigger, even with my glasses, I couldn't make any of it out. I also had to, or felt the need to, soak up excess grease from the ... , bun? It's not a bun, I just don't know what else to call it. I am thrilled with the taste, it's really good, again, a little mustard heavy, but that's ok I am going to bring the other half home to my son, along with the sweet drink, I feel he will like this even more than I do. I am also going to have to look at the menu online and see if there is a better, easier to read description. another table ordered burgers, and they look pretty dang good, huge too. So yeah, I would definitely give this place a try again and recommend.

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    El Kourmet

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    Primo's - Inside the shredded chicken empanada

    Primo's

    4.5(31 reviews)
    7.8 mi

    Food here is so good, I absolutely loved it! I tried the Spring, brick and mortar location, and we…read moregot the Patacon Burger which was by far my favorite, the arepa peluda, pepiprimo, and the picada. I love plantains and the idea of using them as the buns for the burger was sooo good I absolutely loved it. The Picada was also good and I loved the mix of items in it. Definitely recommend!

    Thanks to reading up on this truck after visiting here during my dogsitting adventures in Spring, I…read morefound out it's located in the Gosling Express food truck court. How did I not know the name of the venue but knew what the truck was!? Nevertheless, my friend and I stopped here when he returned when I mentioned the food truck court off Gosling. He had no idea this was less than a mile from his residence and was pleased with all the truck options. We decided on this one since I wanted to taste this the moment I saw it. Yes, it's another Venezuelan food option but the eats just keep kicking with street goodies such as the arepas, empanadas, hot dogs, and burgers. Going a bit light, I went with the mushroom and cheese arepa and a shredded chicken empanada. The arepa had the right texture with the melted cheese and light crisp of the shell. The empanada was alright, similar to other empanadas I've had although I liked the golden brown color. My friend ordered the Pepi Primos sandwich which was stuffed with goodness beef, cheese, cabbage, dressing, onions, etc. A messy sandwich but he scarfed it down. like there was no tomorrow. We can't wait to return and try other items and my friend is glad this is near his location!

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    Primo's - The food truck is close even though it says it opens at 2pm... picture was taken at 2:30pm.

    The food truck is close even though it says it opens at 2pm... picture was taken at 2:30pm.

    Primo's - AREPA PELUDA

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    4.8(13 reviews)
    15.2 mi

    Why 3 stars? Because the whole experience was a bit of a let down…read more --- --- --- I had this place bookmarked and wanted to check it out for a few weeks. I finally made the drive down 1488, but was a bit saddened by the events. Attempt #1: I drove over, put in my order and waited. A few minutes later, my buzzer went off and I was told that the gas for their stove top ran out and that they would have to refund me. It's unfortunate and it happens, but it was definitely not ideal since I drove 15-20 minutes just for this. Attempt #2: I sat in awful traffic on my way here that made my commute about 30 minutes. And then I waited another 20+ for my food after ordering, which I definitely did not expect. When I got home, I was pretty unimpressed with my pepito. And my wife felt the same about her California hot dog. I know this is about as small a business as they come and I hate to be too harsh, so I'll just leave my rating at 3-stars, though it's a bit of a round-up.

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