El Chapin 3 — Restaurant in Wake Forest

AUTHENTIC and SO GOOD! It is SO hard to find authentic home cooked Latin food. I’m not going anywhere else in Wake Forest. (See below for what we ordered and how it was)

Overall everything tasted so fresh and flavorful. We got a ton of food for 2 people, paid $30 and took home leftovers. It is MORE than worth going for the amount of food you’re given, good portion sizes, flavorful, freshly cooked, prompt service and very clean restaurant (and bathrooms).

We ordered: Guatemalan style pork tamal wrapped in grape leaf. So tender and flavorful. It was loaded with toppings and perfection. Chicken Tamal: smaller than a regular size tamal (which the server told me) but loaded with flavor, sauce and toppings. So good. Maduros: (sweet plantains) Exactly what they should be, sweet and not over ripe. Comes with a crema dipping sauce. Elote (Street corn): Heaven. Mayo with tajin and perfectly cooked! Sopa: Caldo de pollo (chicken soup): huge bowl of veggie chicken soup with noodles. Comes with a side of rice, fresh hot tortillas, and grilled chicken. I added the rice and the chicken to the soup but you could eat it as is on the side.

Extras: They have a small bakery (panadería) with freshly made bread and sweets. Smelled like heaven and tasted like it too. Small grocery / corner shop: they have a small selection of medications, grocery items and other hard to find Latin cooking staples. Marinated meats to order for take home to grill fresh! I saw sausages, marinated beef, marinated chicken, marinated pork and tamales. Bar: they have mixed drinks and beer. Also have TV playing soccer (fútbol). Perfect little cafe style for dining or hanging with friends. Inside is very clean and well kept. Outside is adorned with...

Modifying my previous review. Last time I tried to go, Google showed it was open when it wasn’t.

However, they are now open and my wife and I finally went there last night, Friday, 4/26/24. It is such a nice place and the food is delicious! They have a little grocery section up front where you can get snacks and other little convenience items to take home, as well as bakery items, from breads to churros to cake slices (carrot cake, tres leches, etc).

El Chapin serves Guatemalan food, which is very unique from many of the other Mexican restaurants in the area. Can’t wait to go back and try other dishes! I had the Rollitos de Carne (sirloin steak wrapped with ground beef and veggies, served with rice and beets cabbage salad) with a banana milkshake, and my wife had the Plato de Chorizo y Longaniza (homemade chorizo and longaniza, served with rice, salad and black beans (she said these were the best black beans she’s ever had!)

I also bought a strawberry churro, an Oreo churro, and a slice of carrot cake to bring home. Can’t wait to dig into them!

So good! You need to try it out—we were the only ones there for a while on Friday night and we felt bad that no one else was...

We went to this restaurant because gonza's was not open and we are happy we did. At first looking at the menu it didn't look too exciting and there was almost no items with cheese which blew our mind, but boy were we wrong. We got the salsa and guacamole with chips and the chips were hot and fresh and the guacamole and salsa were delicious. Probably the best guacamole we've had in a long time. My daughter got the tiera y mar and the steak was good, the shrimp was delicious, the beans were delicious and it came with a nice salad. My wife got a chicken kebab dish and everything on it was delicious. I got the tacos de Papa and they only had three tacos so they substituted the other two with empanadas, absolutely delicious! They also have a salsa bar with all types of salsa, sauces and other items to put on your food. The manager was our waiter and he did awesome. You know you've done something right when your beans are so delicious they are something to go back for :-). You gotta try...