Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen

Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen

Recommended by: Nobody. With our recent patronage of Chi Mac right down the street on The Ave, we continue our visit to Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen.

Description on the Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen’s Facebook Page: We at Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen aim to provide our costumers with a uniquely Venezuelan dining experience.

Neighborhood/Type: University District 

Address:1405 NE 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105

Type: Venezuelan

What we ate/drank: Best Bart Arepa-Pork and Shredded Beef w/cilantro sauce, Reina Pepiada Arepa-Chicken, avocado salad, mayonnaise.Chicken Empanada $9.65. Stuffed corn turnover filled with chicken. Beef Empanada $9.65. Stuffed corn turnover filled with beef. Pabellon Bowl -$9.95. Shredded beef, plantain, black beans & grated Monterey jack cheese with rice. Chochina Felix Arepas -$9.10. Signature pork, tomato & cilantro sauce. White corn-meal pockets.

Comments: Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen is located a few blocks down the street from our last review, Sip House. It’s an unassuming little place right off The Ave(University Ave) on 50th.  Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen is family owned and established in 2015.

Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen specializes in arepas as you might have guessed.  For those not familiar with arepas, it’s similar to the Mexican dish, gorditas and consists of a handmade corn flour, which is then grilled and stuffed with meats, veggies and sauces.

Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen has 19 different types of arepas, so you’re sure to find one to your liking. We were told that the Cochina Felix pictured below was one of their most popular.  They have some vegetarian options, but have meat options of pork, chicken shredded beef, sirloin strip steaks and even hamburger. These are accompanied by cilantro sauces, cheeses, avocado salad, and various vegetables.

The arepas are made to order and the menu states that it takes about 15-20 minutes.  Besides arepas, they also have empanadas that come three to an order. What makes these empanadas different from the ones we’ve had in the past is that these are deep fried instead of baked. We actually like the crispy outside and the filling is jam packed and really tasty. Of the beef and chicken empanadas we ordered, we really enjoyed the beef.

Another dish we’ve gotten is the Pabellon bowl. It’s a similar dish we had at Mojito, where we discovered that this was the national dish of Venezuela. Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen is known for their arepas, but this dish was our favorite. It comes with sweet fried plantains, perfectly seasoned shredded beef, black beans and cheese over rice. The below picture might be misleading, the amount of shredded beef was substantial and went all the way down to the bottom of the bowl.

There aren’t many Venezuelan options in Seattle. As you would expect being near The Ave, Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen is a no-frills quaint and welcoming spot. Their food is a great take-out option and very much like Sip House is a great option when going to the University Farmers Market

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 4.25

Service: 4.75

Food/Drinks: 4.50

Bang for the Buck: 4.50

Overall: 4.50

Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.

• • Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
  • Most locals know about it
  • Locals “in the know” know about it
  • Only those who live close by know about it.
  • You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!

Servers recommendations to visit in the future:   

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