El Peñol

We love this restaurant! The food is delicious and fresh, and the service is amazing. Everyone who works there is so friendly and accommodating. My son loves arepas and hamburgers, so when he saw that they added a new menu item, arepa burger, he of course had to get it. He loved it!

Super delicious and authentic Colombian food. Has a welcoming, home like feel. The pros: Food and drinks served quickly, food full of flavor and attention to detail, clean, friendly wait staff. They don’t take reservations but we got there after 7pm on a Friday and only had to wait about 10 minutes for a seat. Cons: our waitress seemed to completely forget about us and we had to ask for someone else to take our check and take our orders several times. That was the only negative thing I had to say. Otherwise this place is a great place if your looking for authentic Colombian/Latin flavor.

The most delicious cazuela de mariscos that I ate in this country!!! The flavors were amazing and the service was incredible. You must go either way time is very busy at lunch time on Sundays… highly recommended…

The Google reviews don't lie, as expected a very good authentic Colombian restaurant, food was very good, portions were right, friendly staff, clean place, sitting at the bar with a view of the kitchen which looks clean too, and clean bathrooms. ....

Pretty impressive how the bandeja paisa taste was! The chicharrón was delicious, rice and beans uffff the juices! During my vacation I went twice because I can’t get enough of this delicious food! The staff also is really friendly and quick service. 100% recommended!

Cute place in Boston. Authentic Colombian flavor. Tried the breaded chicken and French fries. Comes with a side of rice and beans. Come hungry to make sure you get a full meal. They also offer fresh juices. The empanadas also have a fresh taste. It’s a small place, but the service is generally quick to get a table.

The Bandeja Peñol was excellent. I ordered the mini version and still couldn't quite eat it all. The blackberry juice was really good, too. The service was quick and the staff was all smiles. A really nice little restaurant.

Best Colombian food anywhere!!! I might dare to say that the food tasted even better than the food I had over in Colombia on my many visits there! Outstanding!!!

Umm ESPRESSO MARTINI is all I have to say! On a serious note, the food is delicious here and the staff is kind. Mostly Spanish speakers, but they will assign someone who speaks English to you if they see you might be struggling like I was. Very relaxing atmosphere. Even at the bar. Decor for Easter cute as well!

As a Colombian, I really wanted to love this place. Overall, the food is okay and prices are fair compared to other restaurants in Boston. Portions are also pretty generous. The food was a little bit of a let down in terms of flavor. Perhaps my expectations were a little too high.

My favorite Colombian restaurant around. This review is based on delivery. The food came on time (45 mins). It was well packaged and secured. The food was still hot. Both my empanadas were still warm and crispy. My fried pork was still crispy. Highly recommend trying one of their many restaurants around the Boston area.

Came to Boston to watch a Red Sox game and made the drive to El Peñol and it was sooooo worth it. I am Colombian and loooved everything we ordered. The food was delicious, the music was great, and our waitress (Astrid) was awesome! She even offered to make a few updates to the plate I ordered so I could try two plates I wanted (bandeja paisa & sancocho). Muchas gracias Astrid! Highly recommend and if I come back to Boston this is a for sure stop!

A must go Absolutely delicious! Excellent service and atmosphere. Delicious food. Best Chicharron in town.

This is your Typical Colombian restaurant. Good Eats, LARGE portions & CHEAP prices. I always order the same thing when I eat Colombian food because i live for variety in my plate. And the bandeja paisa is the definition of variety.

Food are the best number 1 Colombia great people and great work there are wonderful so alway be back again

Cute place in Boston. Authentic Colombian flavor. Tried the breaded chicken and French fries. Comes with a side of rice and beans. Come hungry to make sure you enjoy a full meal. They also offer fresh juices. The empanadas also have a fresh taste. It's a small place, but the service is generally quick to get a table.

I came here with my husband when we were visiting Boston. The staff was very friendly and sat us right away. Our waitress recommended a great fish dish that I loved! The food was very authentic and reminded me of eating in Colombia! The inside is very cute and comfortable. I'm glad we got to try this restaurant while visiting!

Delicious food, excellent service, an authentic vibe. Brush up on your Spanish because you've landed in Cartagena.

Everyone mentioned this was the best spot for Colombian food in Boston. It did not disappoint! I really enjoyed my meal here. It was also my birthday so it was nice to see the surprise dessert as well.

My goodness, this gem of a place just replaced Vello in Brookline (they are still in the process of undergoing name change, but simply go to Vello near Coolidge Corner and you will be pleasantly surprised), and damn am I one happy clam. We started with the Chicharrones ceviche, I didn't know fried pork and lime was a match made in heaven. Also tried the beef empanadas, yum. Moved on to our entrees, which we were (guilty) too full to devour, but we made sure to go to town on the delicious leftovers.

We had a delicious Colombian lunch here. The hot chocolate is served in a huge bowl $3. It served as a drink and dessert. The breakfast special for $15 included scrambled eggs, a strip of fried pork, and an arepa. But the star of the meal was the Beef steak with 2 eggs and onions, fried plantain, beans and white rice for $17. The portion sizes are huge. Pretty good bang for the bug. The service was very good too. The entire dining room was almost filled by 11:30 AM.

Got to come back and try dine in this time! We came on a Saturday night in which they were more than half full by 7 pm. Parking can be a little tricky since most streets are for residents but I was able to get a spot up front. For appetizers we shared the Chicharron and yuca frita. The Chicharron was slightly over fried in my opinion but still delicious nonetheless. We waited too long to eat the arepa as it had cooled down significantly and lost the freshness. The yuca frita were great and even better with the spicy Mayo on the side. I appreciated the size and that they were thoroughly fried. For entrees my friend got the paella Valencia and I got the grilled skirt steak with cream and mushroom sauce. Let me start with saying the portions are huge! By the end of the meal we were both too stuffed to touch the other half's of our meals. The paella came with chicken, steak and sausage and had a beautiful saffron color/flavor. The cream mushroom sauce had an Alfredo like taste served over a large thinly sliced steak which cut like butter. The plain white rice was anything but bland served with tostones which I personally wasn't crazy about (maybe I should have dipped them in the cream sauce). Overall great food experience even though service was slow, would definitely come again.

I was in Boston for a week near long wharf and if you aren't familiar with the area, most of the food there is only bar food. Desperately looking for a home cooked meal that wasn't fried I stumbled upon this place. The food here was amazing ! Very simple, reasonably priced , hospitality and service amazing. I ended up here back to back nights because of how much I enjoyed this place . Wish I would've found this place during my visit sooner, I probably would've eaten here every night.

Very bad service. Very expensive They throw my food and throw my familu out in my wife's birthday. They even called the police and at the end the same police told me how to defend ourselves. Never seen latin people so racist

Simply amazing food! You will feel like you are in Colombia people are so nice and ready to make sure you feel great!

This restaurant was a recommendation from the rental car agent at the airport, I have to say it was some of the best food we had in Boston. The service was fast and friendly, we were among one of the few that did not speak Spanish.

**El Penol will check your vaccine status prior to allowing entrance per Boston state regulations. This was my first time trying Colombian food in boston, and all I have to say is that I can't believe it took me THIS long to come by! My friends who are regulars to this location swore to me that the hot chocolate (with milk or water, not pictured) was super good, and I expected them to bring out a small cup of chocolatey goones.... instead they brought this gigantic bowl full of it! It's a MUST TRY! I can't remember the names of the dishes I ordered, but I couldn't even finish my dish because the portion sizes were huge and the food filling. I wish I had enough room in my stomach to try some of their desserts, but I guess I'll have to save that for next time. Service was efficient and friendly. Don't be intimidated by the all Spanish speaking staff and locals that frequent the restaurant, just try it!

The food was not what we were expecting. The taste was okay but not good. We are not planning to go back.

Yea, I will fear no evil; thus!, I was within El Peñol on a pleasant September day and imbibed on its juices and ingested its foods. There was a short wait for some at the time, but fortunately no wait for me. And so our tale begins: A well-decorated and lively venue, El Peñol offers everything one might wish for in a Colombian restaurant in the Boston area or in the Northeast at large. A weighty menu saturated by innumerable options adds to the excitement. I had the pleasure of sampling two dishes: a BANDEJA PAISA and BISTEC A LA CRIOLLA. El Peñol does the quintessential Colombian dish justice: the BANDEJA PAISA is locked and loaded with a full crown of chicharrón, rice, bean, a chick's egg, grilled steak, and plantain. A hefty and tasty dish, quite satisfying for customers of all shapes and sizes. And the BISTEC A LA CRIOLLA is also served with great heft and taste: several slices of a cow's flesh, roasted to suppleness and served with potato and yuca and rice and bean and a delightful salad of cabbages and potatoes and spices and herbs of all breeds and genres. And perhaps the most exciting--at least for one accustomed to the difficult climate of Greater New England (although, of course, a far better climate than that of old England)--is the wide array of fruity juices and juicy fruits. The restaurant boasts a robust assortment of NATURAL JUICES, based in water or milk fresh from a cow's teat, including delicious strains such as passion fruit, soursop, lulo, papaya, mango, tamarillo, and guava. A lovely treat for one's lips and tongue(s) and gullet! Portions are generous, prices are reasonable. Far better than some of the trash you'll find elsewhere in this city. Verily, I would recommend coming to El Peñol.

First time trying Colombian food and I have to say, love at first bite! foodgasm, indeed! Every single bite gets me going Ummm, oooh--it is a way of expressing intense pleasure. In food form. Not only was the food amazing. The hospitality of this place is muy bien! Such a welcoming place. You can tell the staff genuinely wants you to be here. Get the bandeja peńol and empanadas! Don't forget the empanadas!

The go-to spot for great Colombian food and the service is always friendly. There's a reason why they're expanding around metro Boston, but the Eastie location is the OG, go check it out.

After trying it again recently, I'm hooked. I got the bandeja paisa twice. Everything was seasoned and cooked well, but the stand out was the rice. At so many restaurants the rice is just a filler and it comes plainly cooked, sometimes even dry. I'm eager to try other dishes.

The best Colombian place in Boston! Friendly staff and quality food. Me gusta la bendeja peñol

Amazing food at El Peniol! We ordered the Bandeja Penol ($15) and Picada for 2 ($30) and Arepa con queso ($3.50) and they were all fantastic! It ended up being way too much food for only 3 people, but it was all delicious. The service was warm and friendly and the servers were very attentive. We went on a Friday night at 7 PM and there were a few open tables, but by 8 PM the restaurant was full. Highly recommend El Penol and we can't wait to go back and try more dishes.

Food is excellent and the waitstaff is so nice. We will definitely be back. Restaurant is small but clean and cozy.

The food is so yummy, just like home!!! I have been here quite a few times and it does not disappoint!

The food was very good and authentic. I came here with a large group and the service was still excellent.

Great Colombian's food for family gatherings and friends. Amazing service and people are very warm!

This was my first time at a Columbian place. Language barrier play a big part. I just ordered what was on the menu with the picture. The pork was delicious, plantains was very soft and flavorful, sausage was also good. I also ordered their mango smoothie with milk.

So glad we were able to get dinner here! Very generous portions and amazing Colombian food, particularly the paella and chicharrones. Highly recommend splitting the Bandeja Penol with another person or two, as it is preposterously filling. Would also recommend the Tostoncitos Marinero as a nice shared appetizer, as the shrimp is lovely. Waitstaff were very attentive and accommodating for our large group!

I ordered the bandeja paisa and it was amazing from the egg, to the steak, to the pork and beans it was out of this world. The seasoning was not too much and you could tell this Colombian dish was made with love. The waitress was very busy but she truly understood the value of good quality customer service. I would definitely go back and they give you a lot of food for your buck. Food service: 5 stars Customer service: 5 stars

Great food! Really tasty Staff is really friendly Prices are cheap Great place!! 10

Was just tagging along with my bf since his co workers decided to have an early lunch after their holiday party last night. We came and ordered after them since we came later. Food was great! I love the sauce that they give us on the side too. The empanadas are amazing and delicious, I like the chicken one better tho. My bf got the shrimp ceviche and I got the fish with a side of rice and some salad. I loved the food so much. It's very tasty. But the service is not that good in there. The waitress doesn't pay attention that much and even if we only asked for water it took them like 10 minutes to bring one for us, the service is just pretty slow but just make sure when you go there, you are not actually starving or else it's going to be a long wait for the food

I guess the jokes on me! In a quest to prove to my wife that there are other exceptional Latin American / Caribbean cuisines other than Cuban(not sure what the Cuban obsession is) I zeroed in on El Penol. I am pretty familiar with Colombian cooking. Being from South Florida, Latin cuisine was an every week occurrence once upon a time. For what it's worth, I don't feel anyone does it better than Colombians. What I wasn't prepared for was this being the best Colombian cooking I've ever experienced! Any true Bostonian knows Easty is full of hidden gems. El Penol sits less than a 5 min ride outside Logan, just before you hit the tunnel into the city. The neighborhood itself is vibrant, full of Colombian influence, from salons to corner stores and of course a hand full of Colombian restaurants. The menu is traditional with favorites like empanadas(Colombian style with corn flour), chicken stew, and yuca. Seafood, chicken, and even breakfast is being featured. But as far as I'm concerned, the bandeja paisa will always be the star attraction. If it's not on a Colombian menu, gather your belongings and quietly exit the premises. The mountain of all meals: steak, pork strips, over hard egg, beans, rice, plantains. That's all on one plate...for one person. All perfectly prepared, well seasoned, technically sound. And on a plate with endless options, the pork is king! I've had these pork strips in countless other restaurants. I never even knew this could be prepared in a way that would make it tender or 'melt in your mouth'. What a revelation! El Penol is an absolute must for, well, anyone. If you're breathing and your taste buds work as intended, it's for you.... Extra credit: get the soursop juice, with milk. Soursop, what's that? Who cares, it's awesome! No but really, it's some mysterious tropical exotic fruit and I'd be willing to bet you couldn't find this in more than 3 places within a 100 mile radius. You are very welcome.

Absolutely delicious Colombian restaurant in East Boston. There's street parking and a small parking lot, but T/blue line is probably the better way to get here since the parking can be hard to find. I've never actually been able to eat in since every time I've come, it's been completely crowded to the brim - seriously I've never been here on a weekday or weekend when there hasn't been some kind a wait. Been lucky enough to try some of the menu via takeout. If you're here for takeout, just walk straight to the bar at the very back where they will take your order. They aren't very good at picking up the phone / calling ahead, so the best bet is to just show up and try your luck for a table, or order takeout. Interior can be pretty chaotic and not all the staff speaks English. They seem to be in a perpetual state of understaffed. The default menus are in Spanish, but they have English menus if you ask for them. Serving sizes are absolutely massive and most of the options are delicious. My favorites: Bandeja Paisa/Penol: Absolute favorite. A huge platter, the perfect hangover Sunday comfort food. Comes with a heap of rice, beans, fatty crispy pork, slightly sweet starchy plantains, and eggs. The penol is the paisa with the addition of sausage. Massive portions of comfort food will leave you stuffed. Arepa con queso: Crispy corn patty with a heap of soft cheese and butter - very simple yet extremely crave-able. Absolutely worth the trip out to East Boston.

La comida tiene muy buen sabor,estilo casero y son muy amables,pero el servicio de delivery toma demasiado tiempo. Entiendo que están muy ocupados pero que la comida por la que estoy pagando y dando una buena propina llegue fría es inaceptable.

This is a lovely place, a true Colombian gem. Food was amazing. Our serves were attentive and polite.

Talk about so much food. This was enough food for 2 people. I love a good beef soup. The soup was flavorful and the salad was just the right amount to make you feel healthy. I love guava anything so the fresh guava juice hit the spot. This place is popular and I can see why. The price point is good and the service is consistent.

Best Colombian food in Boston. I recommend El Penol from East Boston. As a Colombian who lived in NYC for many years I find the quality of the food at El penol to be amazing and even much better than some of the Colombian restaurants in ny where there's a bigger Colombian community.

Safe to eat at this friendly restaurant. Great food:price = very reasonable. Awesome delivery service

Just be prepare for a 1 hour wait... Was it worth the one hour wait?! No!!! Food was not good. I had bandeja paisa. The meat was very tiny and chorizo tasted kind of sweet?! I had way but way better Colombian food and this one was not even close. The only reason I gave two stars is because of the dessert and the water. I will not go back to this restaurant.

Great family spot the food and portions are amazing. Definitely won't go hungry eating here. I ordered to go but service was quick and friendly even though they were dealing with a packed house on a weekend night. I was just in the area for the night and wanted some authentic food and they delivered. Will definitely go back if I find myself in Eastie for whatever reason. For the price and quality and quantity of food you can't beat it. I got rice, beans, steak, pork, and sweet plantains for under $15 and it was all delicious. Only thing about this place is that parking is tough but it's definitely worth looping the block a couple times for a great meal.

phenomenal. just *chefs kiss* i got a bandeja paisa mini and this plate was MASSIVE. juicy chicharron and tender steak, the beans had the most amazing sauce/broth that took the rice to the next level.

Great Colombian food. Staff is very polite and the food is amazing! Bring cash. I ate the casuela and It needed a little more sea food. But otherwise excellent!

The staff workers were very nice and the food was delicious!! I had the bandeja paisa and i had enough food for a second meal later in the day!

Delicious. All the menu items were priced reasonably and everything was seasoned to a T. I got a dinner plate with rice, beans, steak, and sweet plantains for under $15 and it was soooo worth it!

I had a great Sirloin in Cream of Mushroom Sauce here once and I happen to know Colombians swear by this place I found it to be delicious.

If you haven't tried authentic Colombian food before, this is It! Exceptional food and service. Amazed by the price/quality/quantity ratio. Had the empanadas with a couple of natural juices that were perfect. As an entree my friend had the tostones with carne asada (it comes with rice, arepa, beans and a salad on the side. It's huge!). I had the Paisa platter and it was perfectly made, just how you would find it in Colombia. Prepare yourself for a food coma and enjoy! If I come to Boston in the future will definitely make a stop at this place.