The Shawmut Inn — Restaurant in Boston

Oh, Orinoco. Why must you be so delicious, my Venezuelan friend? With your sexy Latin flavors, drinks, and decorations, the temptation is simply too hard to resist.

Sundays are for Venezuelan brunch! Order yourself some of their exquisite red sangria. The drink's taste is so unique - almost reminiscent of autumnal mulling spices - and our waiter clued us in to what makes it so. Cloves, passion fruit juice, and juniper berries were a few of the ingredients we squeezed from him. The rest is a secret! Unfortunately a carafe doesn't come with a ton of liquid, since both the glasses and carafe were filled with ice. It's too bad since we finished it off pretty fast and were left wanting more of the sweet stuff!

As for food, you really can't go wrong! Empanadas, arepas, and more substantial breakfast plates are offered during their Sunday brunch. Do your table a favor and order the datiles as an appetizer. The Reina Papiada arepa is shredded chicken sandwiched with a tomato and avocado in an arepa and served with a very garlicky aioli on the side. This plate may look small, but that guy was stuffed and can still be a good amount for a meal. And the flavor packed in that small package is pretty unreal!

Inside the Empanada Mechada, the warm, shredded beef with sweet onions reminded us of the Cuban dish ropa vieja. There are 2 empanadas cut in half and served with a large salad in the center of the plate. The salad wasn't too noteworthy but added a nice freshness. Also a good amount of food for a lighter meal. And the flavors of that sweet, juicy beef can't be beat!

You can't have a proper brunch here without a Venezuelan breakfast plate! The Pa' Los Gringos (aka "For the Non-Latin Folk") is a hefty serving of everything you would want to see in the morning. Savory chorizo, a mix of scrambled eggs with onions and tomatoes, a disc of yucca hash, and a plain arepa. The arepa was pretty flavorless but provided a nice vehicle to transport the eggs and chorizo from plate to mouth. The yucca was served hot and crispy on the outside. I'd never even yucca in the form before and wish more restaurants would get a clue. It would be the perfect accompaniment to pretty much any dish.

Since anything goes during brunch, we ended our mid-Sunday meal with dessert. The quesillo is a Venezuelan cheese flan. The texture was creamy and the caramel flavor delicious. It's served cold and just the right amount of light sweetness to end the brunch on a satisfying note without that feeling of bloated guilt. The only guilt I feel is how long it takes me to return to Orinoco between visits. Apologies, amigo. Nos...

We got insulted here by the waitress, - terrible service!!! We were here on the 27th of September, 2023. Everything started quite nicely until one of the waitresses came to us and said that my partner needed to put his shoes back on. Fair, their rules, we have no problem with that, but we do have a problem with the waitress' attitude. It is not like my partner took the shoes off, in smelly socks, put the feet on the table, - he quietly took them under the table so that even I could not see, let alone other guests. Even if she wanted him to put them on, that could be done nicely and politely, without an attitude and a sort of insult, making him feel like he is a savage who does not know how to behave in public. After that everything escalated. We decided not to leave the tips. In the end, it is up to us whether to do it or not. The waitress can be disappointed, understandable, but it is up to us, it is our right. What the waitress did was insane, she came to our table and started forcing us to change the amount of the payment to give her more tips. It was done aggressively and rudely, she was raising her voice at us. I don't remember her name but this girl has to learn how to deal with the disappointments in life, it can turn out to be a useful skill. Needless to say we felt very uncomfortable and left. But it was not enough for her, she continued saying nasty stuff to our backs when we were leaving!! Outrageous! Of course, we are never returning back. But I also kind of hope that the manager will have a serious talk with...

On Saturday 8/11/18 my boyfriend and I catered a lovely housewarming party at our upscale apartment building's rooftop deck on the edge of the South End. While the weather outside may have been wet, our hearts were warmed and stomachs more than satisfied by the lovely spread of food prepared by the Orinoco catering team. Everything was lovingly cooked or baked to perfection; we had an entire array of special condiments including their 'by request only' homemade hot sauce. The order arrived exactly on schedule and the food was easily warmed in the venue oven every half-hour or so tasting as fresh as ever. We had many guests who struggled to believe that we were ordering from a top-tier neighborhood restaurant with bulk-order discount pricing and a modest delivery fee. I know we made many new fans of Orinoco among our dozens of guests that day, and we personally look forward to patronizing them again frequently as we have always done. If you want to make your next weekend event truly memorable, take your guests to Orinoco - or bring Orinoco to you! You'll never regret it. Andres and the team were nothing if not customer-centric, thoughtful, and conscientious in making this a truly unforgettable experience. It's no wonder that Orinoco has prospered in the highly competitive Boston restaurant space for nearly 13 years. We wish them many more, and cannot recommend them for your consideration...