SONIDO — Restaurant in Melbourne

A good solid four-star lunch review for Sonido. Probably rates five, but have only been once and never for coffees.

We had chicken and beef arepos, which come with a pleasant bit of salsa and avocado on the side. Excellent flavours, nice presentation. Various habanero sauces also available at the table. I don't know if it's purely authentic, but it tastes great and is definitely not the sort of bogus mod-Oz weeds-and-seeds breakfast nonsense that gets palmed off for twice the price along Gertrude street.

Customer service tended to be somewhat impersonal, but this may well be a cultural thing. There were certainly lots of happy customers, many of whom obviously come here often. The chap rounding up the plates was friendly and solicitous.

Hip little venue. Nicely outfitted with Colombian kit, not extravagant, just enough to give it a nice sense of awayness. Beautiful large glass windows on the street side letting out onto plenty of green trees and heritage buildings across the way. Music: very well done. Interesting things you probably haven't heard before, South American vibe, played at a volume that lets you talk and think. Blessings be upon them.

I thought my arepo might be a bit on the short side, but turned out to be very satisfying and filling. Magic! So, yes, although we're talking Melbourne prices (where there are no bargains), Sonido is decent value for money and should be putting the fear into the competition.

Didn't try the coffees but they looked very appealing. Some other time.

Well worth a visit.

Pro tip: catch them earlier in the day when the light is spectacular, and get a seat...

ORDERED: 🐄 Ropa Vieja Arepa on a Plate: Pulled beef, guac & salsas ($18.40) 🧀 grilled cheese ($2.40) 🐔 Pollo Arepa on a Plate: Chargrilled free range chicken, guac & salsas ($18.80) 🧀 grilled cheese ($2.40) ☕ Hot chocolate 🥧 Portugese tarts ($5.00) (+10% weekend surcharge)

I paid $36.00 here.

REVIEW: ☀ A bright, colourful and fun Colombian cafe. I loved all the colours, which is so different from typical Melbournian minimalist decor.

❤ Nestled in Fitzroy, I got to try Arepas for the first time! On a flatbread with a protein of your choice there's delicious fresh guacamole and the option of salsa/chimichurri on the table. You can add as much or as little salsa/chimichurri as you'd like - making this a very customisable meal. ☘ We found that grilled cheese is a MUST because it added a level of wicked savouriness that heighted the experience. ⬆ Between two people, getting the arepas on the plate gave it a slightly larger portion. We swapped over halfway so we got to try a bit of both! 🤗

Don't expect much table service. Grab your own table that's available (no table service - order at the counter), cutlery and tap water. They will bring you your food and wipe down the table for the...

Amazing!!!! Thank you to the Sonido team for sharing their culture with us through food.

I got their arepa pollo and my friend got ropa vieja. The arepa pollo was so delicious. The chicken was so tender, flavorfully umami, and smoky. It went so well with the arepa. The arepa was crispy and amazing (definitely way better than my homemade arepas 😂). I tried my friend’s guac and it was amazing it went so well with the arepa and chicken. I highly recommend getting the extra guac to make the dish more complete.

The coffee was strong and rounded! Just as how I expect it to. The hot chocolate was also good. However, the drinks were on the lukewarm side rather than hot. So if you prefer your drinks hot you might want to let them know.

The decor was so cute and we were a big fan of it. My friend and I kept on raving about the decor and how good it was 😂 it really shaped the atmosphere.

There’s no table service, so once you’re ready to order, come up to the counter and let the friendly ladies know what you want to order! We also came quite early around 10 am on a weekend, so the place wasn’t too crowded yet.

Amazing food!! Will definitely come back for the...