Budare Latin Cuisine LLC — Restaurant in Johnson City

After reading so many great reviews about this restaurant, we knew we had to see for ourselves. If I had to boil it down to one word, that word would be FANTASTIC!

First impressions: super clean establishment with very friendly and caring owner and staff. You order at the counter, and they bring your food to your table. Their menus are very readable with photos of the items.

As we have never eaten any Venezuelan cuisine, we ordered a variety of items to share. We requested two bean and cheese empanadas, one cheese pastelito, one Pabellón (shredded beef, black beans, fried plantain, and cheese) arepa, and a cachapa with fried pork. It was nearly impossible to say which was our favorite...they were all so delicious and different.

The pastelito was simple, a piece of mozzarella-like cheese wrapped in dough and deep-fried. Crunchy outside and gooey inside. Really good.

Next up, we had the empanadas. These were great and they were different from other empanadas we've had. The dough was lighter and crunchier and the filling was very tasty.

The cachapa with fried pork was next. It looked like a pancake wrapped around white cheese with chunks of fried pork on the side. First, the pancake was awesome! Definite corn flavor and it was sweet. We love sweet and savory together, so this really fit the bill. Then, the fried pork was tender and so flavorful. Perfect seasoning.

Last, we dug into the arepa. This was definitely a two-handed sandwich. It was so full of ingredients that we ended up having to go "knife and fork" on it just to keep from being too messy. The shredded beef was tender, moist, and really delicious. The plantains were fried just right. Add the black beans and cheese to this and it made for an extremely satisfying and hearty dish.

With each item, you get a side of garlic cilantro sauce (like an aioli) and definitely ask for their homemade hot sauce. It is high on the heat scale (for us, anyway) but adds a great flavor to all of the items.

I have to say that it has been awhile since I've been to a restaurant where all of the items I've ordered made me this food happy. We love tasty food and this was that and more. Needless to say, we were quite full but it was so good we didn't ...

Alright y'all, this place is a keeper. My wife and I went in for lunch today (12/10/24). We were greeted warmly when we arrived and the staff could tell we were unfamiliar with Venezuelan cuisine, so they walked us through some of the highlights of the menu. I settled on their current special which is a selection of dishes popular at Christmas, which included a tamal with pork and chicken, a cold chicken salad, a ham roll, and some roasted pork. My wife got the cachapa with shredded chicken and some taqueños. All of the food was fresh, hot, and delicious. I actually had to stop one of the staff and ask them if I accidentally ordered a plate that was meant to be shared - it was so much food. I loved everything I put in my mouth, but to me the star of the show was that chicken salad followed by the taqueños and cachapa, but everything was delicious and used flavor combinations that are new to me (and I have been an adventurous eater for all of my 48 years). Please check this place out. We plan to go back soon with our kids because there is so much more on that menu to explore and I am hyped...

I pulled into the parking lot around 8:25 AM, planning to have breakfast here since their website clearly says they open at 9. I figured I’d wait a few minutes till they opened.

A man came out—looked like the manager—and walked around my car with a phone in his hand. Then he came back out again and knocked on my window, asking if I was planning to eat at his restaurant, saying that people often park there and don’t come in.

I told him I was planning to eat there, but the website says 9 AM and there was no sign outside saying they were open yet.

He just turned around and walked back inside. That was enough for me—I left.

I don’t know about y’all, but I like to spend my money where folks treat people with kindness and good manners, not suspicion. If they’re so worried about their parking, maybe a sign would help.

Not the kind of welcome I expected....