El Rey Latin Food — Restaurant in Paterson

Stop reading this review. Just go to El Rey de Las Arepas. This place may just be my all time favorite restaurant in Michigan.

I'd never had Venezuelan food before, and am often reluctant to step outside my comfort zone, so I'm really glad that one of my friends dragged me to this restaurant and showed me the light. You may drive to the restaurant and be a little sketched out by the location, that's ok! It's not in the best part of Detroit, but if you can get past that, Food Heaven awaits you.

The restaurant presents itself as what most people would think of as a "hole in the wall". It's something you'd never notice if you were just passing through, and unfortunately you'd probably go on not living your best life. Lucky for you (yes, you!) you've somehow found yourself reading this review, and may just be able to broaden the horizons of your eating experience.

There's a decent amount of seating inside, I can't say if it gets packed during peak hours as my friend and I went in the afternoon on a Sunday, but we had no problem finding seats. Once seated, our server asked us if we'd ever been to the restaurant and gave us some time to explore the menu. If you've never had Venezuelan food, I'd recommend getting some suggestions from the waiter. Luckily my friend is a more enlightened being than I am, and was able to explain what to get.

We ended up getting the Shredded Beef Arepa (with cheese), the Reina Pepiada Arepa, the Cachapa, and the Parilla Mixta. My friend and I follow a Ketogenic (Keto) diet, so we avoided the carbs in the dishes. You may get some strange looks from other folks in the restaurant if you follow our lead, but don't let it stop you from experiencing food bliss. All the dishes were fantastic in their own way, but the Reina Pepiada Arepa was especially delicious, do not miss this one!

Are you still reading? Really? Well hopefully I've convinced you to make the trek and try out El Rey de Las Arepas, trust me, you...

Unfortunately I will have to give them one star. I have had my dinner ruined one too many times. I specifically love the “perra” item, however I notice that sometimes it comes with a hot dog and other times it doesn’t. Whenever there is a lady taking the night orders, she refuses to add on the hot dog and charge extra. She sometimes calls and says she can’t fulfill the hot dog order unless you give your credit card over the phone ??? Sometimes they just pack it without the hot dog.. what’s an hot dog without the hot dog???? she also claimed that she can’t do price adjustments on Uber eats .. like what?? She needs to learn to use the app because she just lost a $40 order over some price adjustment. I had to call Uber to cancel my order. And now again, I...

Decided to try this place because of their menu, however, food and service was okay. Ordered a dish that was supposed to come with quail eggs, but they were missing. When I asked for...the waitress stated that they didn't have. Would be nice to let us know this kind of issue in advance. Moreover, they allow costumers to come without face mask, eventhough they aren't consuming foods. Lastly, be aware if you decided to dine in they automatically charge you with a...