Top Arepa Venezuelan Food — Restaurant in Schaumburg Township

I’ve been meaning to try this place for awhile. They have a pretty big menu with a variety of items. Located at the end of a small strip mall. You don’t have to worry about finding parking spaces. Inside, it’s mostly self service. You place your order at the register, find a table, and then pick up your order at the counter. You toss out your garbage before you leave. We ordered arepa seafood, chicken cordon bleu empanada, la caballota, a coca-cola, and frescolita. The frescolita tasted just like cream soda. The staff was friendly and will answer any questions you may have. Prices were fair because the portion sizes were more than adequate. Due to the vast menu, I wouldn’t mind coming back to try more empanadas, cachapas, pastelitos, and another burger (but made medium rare). While not a perfect 5 star review, it is still worth checking out since there are not many Venezuelan restaurants in the burbs.

-arepa seafood 4 - I appreciate the abundance of seafood stuffed into the arepa. The arepa itself was a little dry and broke apart very easily. Seafood was cooked properly. -chicken cordon bleu empanada 5 - the crust was crunchy, not overcooked. Chicken cordon bleu inside was savory and plentiful. -la caballota 4 - I like the idea of it and it sounded pretty good based on the description. However, I should have told them to cook the burger medium rare. It was too well done for me, so it came out as kind of tough and too chewy. The grilled chicken breast and pork...

This place is very cozy, cute, and has a pleasant atmosphere. The service is very friendly and fast, which I loved. We ordered tequeños and mandocas as appetizers, which were OMG, delicious!!! The tequeños had so much cheese and were an excellent size. We also ordered pastelitos de papa con queso, and WOW, they were indescribable (I 1000% recommend ordering these appetizers). For lunch (although we were already super full), we ordered empanadas with: Cheese and bacon (in my opinion the best!!! It was incredible) Plantain with cheese: It was delicious Romana (ground beef with cheddar): I didn't love this one because I was expecting dry ground beef mixed with melted cheese, but it was too creamy in my opinion Shredded beef with cheddar: It's the same as the other one, too creamy for our taste

We ordered the garlic and chipotle sauce, which was divine!!! And for drinks, we ordered passion fruit juice and peach Nestea (AMAZING!!!)

I honestly thought the place was super cool, and the food was 10/10, except for those two empanadas, but since everything else was delicious, those didn't matter that much.

I really...

I had high expectations of enjoying Venezuelan food, but the overall experience was disappointing. While the flavors are authentic and the food is good, there are several areas that need attention: Customer service: There is no table service; you have to pay, pick up your food, and manage everything on your own. Compared to other options like American or Mexican chains, the experience feels unwelcoming. Extra charges: They charge even for sauces, which feels excessive given the already high prices. This discourages customers from returning, especially when other places include these details. Value for money: While I understand it’s traditional food, the prices are not competitive for the level of service and comfort offered.

In summary, this is probably a place you’d visit only once. My recommendation to the owners is to work on providing better service and addressing these details because Venezuelan cuisine deserves to shine and compete fairly...