Arepas El Cacao — Restaurant in Orlando

What happened to this place?!? It's really gone downhill. It used to be 100% solid, and by far the best arepas in the United States. Back when I lived here in Orlando for 10 years I used to eat these every other week minimum. My pregnant wife used to eat these twice, sometimes 3 times a week. I know how they should be. Ya ya the prices have come up, a bit much if you ask me, but even still, the quality has dropped off significantly. Evening shift December 28th workers were very unpleasant, the sauces had run out, and then they totally skimped on the meat and shrimp on my arepas with everything! I even said something to the guy while it was happening and he ignored me. I can't believe I typed him prior to making them. I may go back there again during the early afternoon before we leave and head back to the West Coast just to see if a different worker makes things the way they're supposed to be. We're on Christmas vacation right now. I had hyped this place up so much for my daughter who is going to try a arepas for her first time...absolute let down. These arepas were 75% chicken salad, and I watched the dude barely put any chicken or shredded beef in each of the arepas. Like it was 100% a skimp job, never mind the fact that there were missing shrimp. Supposed to be 3 in each.

I get the fact that they expanded building, I understand that inflation is a real thing. But I also understand that this place used to have a 4.8 rating!!! There's a reason why it's like a 3.5 now. Y'all better get back to the way you used to be, otherwise you'll be out of business before you know it when you charge high prices for mostly filler chicken salad arepas.

So sad, we were so...

The food was very good however, the service was slow and the food was overpriced. Total cost for 4 arepas and 1 empanada was $61!. First off, the menu on the wall is not the same as the menu that is presented at the register. They charge one standard price of an arepa rellena. It's a good price if you fill it with 5 options but if you only want two things or one, you are still paying the same 12 dollars for an arepa you can make at home for 1 dollar. In our case we ordered an arepa with avocado And cheese only. We asked for chicken on the side and they said they couldn't give it to us which makes no sense if we paid the same price whether we did order it or not from the beginning. The man was awful at the customer service and just brushed us off rather than try and resolve the issue. In addition, they forgot to make our empanadas that we paid for. We got home and realized it wasn't in the bag.

Instead, they should have separate cheaper prices for custom arepas or for arepas that are not filled with 5 items... also, they should streamline a process that is like a chipotle or pita pit style where you go down the line and pick the items you want in your arepa. It would be faster and smoother if they had the arepas already made and you can just fill it as you go. The wait was over 30 minutes and it was busy but not that busy. No places to sit if you're waiting.

Overall, I would go back if I'm just paying for myself. But to go with a family or friends if you are paying for everyone then I recommend going somewhere else to get more bang for your buck. I hope I get compensated for the paid empanada I...

This was not the 5 star I was anticipating for a few reasons. While it seems that business has grown at a decent rate (based on updates done within the location), the staff flow/movement was not orderly and several people were commenting on this. Basic pleasantries like saying they'll be right back, right with you, etcetera were lost on the ladies working yesterday. Perhaps better signage "order here; pick up here" or being given an order number would assist with the crowd that congregates at the register, but it seemed a bit chaotic. (Then again this is the perspective of a FL native who hasn't visited many other countries. Perhaps this is the norm there?)

The food was good and prior to moving last year, hubby and I were here a few times month. I swore no one made arepas like they do, or at least did. This time it was very hastily prepared. There was always a quick grill after it was stuffed, just to melt the cheese and make the flavors more cohesive, however this time it was very hastily stuffed into our "to go" bag which subsequently leaked juice all over the rest of our order, out of the hole in the bottom of the bag to the floor of our vehicle. Just a little extra annoyance to what should've been our previous great experiences.

So if you're okay with questionable service, the food is definitely on point and...