La Arepa — Restaurant in Portland

We recently had them cater our event. Let me preface this by saying I have been having events catered for 8 years now, so I can say I have used a variety of places and that we really wanted to love them.

They prepared a quote based on a specific budget but if they didn't feel that 150 people would be fed on said budget then I would have needed to know. The biggest feedback I got was that there wasn't enough food. Many people complained to me about it and many people left, literally informing me they had to go because they were hungry. This has never happened in all the years I have been doing this. We clocked our total number of people attending at less than 150 so we should have had plenty of food, in the past years, with the same budget we always had leftovers. They did inform us of the amount of food we would receive but I leave it up the caterer to decide if that is enough food for the amount of people based on their experience. It seems they were unprepared to accurately determine food for such a large group.

In addition, to running out of food, they were extremely late. I have the email asking them to arrive at 5PM so they would be done with setup by 5:30PM when the event started. My coworker was still on the phone with them trying to locate them at 5:46PM!!! I had her check her phone log, just to make sure that this was correct, so I wouldn't be inaccurate. With setup they weren't done until 6:20PM--for an event that started at 5:30PM!!! That is completely unacceptable. If I go from when I asked them to arrive to when they finished setting up, then that is beyond an hour late. I write a program based on people being able to get food and sit down or gather and enjoy themselves, the fact that I had a massive backup and delay in food caused our whole event schedule off. If they had arrived at 5PM any issues that arose could have been handled and dealt with accordingly, so again setup would be complete by 5:30PM.

I would not recommend them to cater an event larger than 20 people. Maybe the food was good---but I was one of the many people who...

I can't speak to the food quality because I never received my food, despite paying for it, tipping 20% and presenting my receipt after waiting 45 minutes. I ordered food from here on my way to a pedalpalooza ride by using the self service touch pad. My order was simple - one order of shredded chicken with avo and sauce. After I paid I noticed a sign that said 30 minute wait so I sat at the picnic table directly in front of the cart to wait to ensure I didn't miss my order. 30 minutes passed, then 45. I really didn't want to be that person asking about my food when they were slammed but everyone else in my group had already eaten. When I did check, they denied they had my order. I showed them my receipt and instead of making it for me they went to speak with someone else who in turn came out and told me I should have been listening and that someone else must have taken it. They said that they called my name but I was sitting right there and I heard Chris, Gabby and Isabella but I never once heard my name. They had multiple opportunities to make the food and to apologize but they never did that. Ultimately I walked away without dinner and they offered a refund which I have yet to receive, so now I have to dispute the charge with my bank. By the time I got to the park, the bike ride had left the park and I ended up tagging onto the end with no time to eat elsewhere. I got an email asking about my experience so I was honest and they emailed me back not to apologize, but to be defensive and simultaneously tell me "this is fresh food not fast food" and also that it only takes 7 minutes to make and I should have known that 45 minutes is too long to wait. I definitely won't be returning and won't recommend anyone...

Craving AREPAS? Look no further! These are the best arepas with the best sauces in town! The guy working there today was too sweet! My only suggestion would be to acknowledge the customer when they are ordering. I had never done a self-order at a food truck and was a little anxious if I was doing it right and didn't get a chance to ask any questions about the sauces listed so I tried them all, which worked out great for me because they were all AWESOME! But I initially felt weird/unwelcome that he didn't say anything while I was ordering. However, when I picked up my food he was SUPER friendly and we had a nice conversation even though he was busy. That's one thing I love about food trucks is that you get to engage with the person that is making your food for you and really feel the love/community in those small interactions, which I didn't realize was such an integral part of the experience until I was interacting with an iPad to place my order. Just my thoughts. SIDE NOTE: I saw a few reviews related to customer service and I wanted to share that I overheard the owner on the phone talking to a delivery company about a problem with an order. I could tell that she was put on hold for long periods trying to figure out a solution and if that were me I would probably be so irritable having to repeat herself so many times. But I was so impressed with how much integrity and patience she had, I think it showed her true nature and that is exactly the kind of owner I...