La Arepa

So delicious!! The shredded beef arepa w/ avocado & plantain is one of my favorite meals ever. Add the garlic sauce & guacsalsa

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to visit The BEZ on 92nd Ave for the first time and it was such a wonderful experience for us. As a Latin couple, we so appreciated the variety of foods this location provided us. We really enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere and the delicious empanadas provided by "La Arepa" which has now become one of our favorite places to eat. La Arepa's owner Veronica is such a delight and our Latin community is so grateful to her and her family for sharing with us the delicious flavors of her home, Venezuela. If you haven’t yet come out to La Arepa, here’s an opportunity to come out and show your support for Portland Latin business owners in your community. Thank You again Veronica for such a wonderful and delicious experience. We will definitely be back for more of your amazing empanadas.

I ordered the Vegan Pabellon Empanada, and my partner ordered the Arepa Pabellon. I love that they have a vegan section on their menu so both my partner and I can eat. (Plus, all but one item is gluten free, which is great for me, as I have Celiacs.) We were both very happy with our meals. 🥰

So I’ve ordered the same thing at this place 5 times in the past month. Arepa pabellon - naturally gluten free. Nicely packed. Avocados and plantains nicely ripe. Always perfectly seasoned. And a fantastic deal! I’ve ordered both in person, online, and through DoorDash. I don’t know why but they force you to pick a sauce with a $0.50 charge but I didn’t mind. I recommend ordering online! It’s at The Zed which I think is a pretty cool, calm, cozy spot. Can’t get enough!

It was a great place to get a snack before heading out to the Pickles game down the street. The people working here are super friendly and kind. I ordered a couple of items to snack on and were impressed with how good it was. The Teque Tots and Tostones were great to share.

I’m a Venezuelan who frequently comes to Portland and have been coming back here since 2012. Service is good and food is consistently good. Today, I ordered a Cachapa and it was way too salty (it’s supposed to be sweet). I told the staff about it and they immediately offered a substitute. I had a beef empanada with garlic sauce which was perfect. My companions ordered a Arepa pabellón and a plátano con queso both which were quite delectable. I shall return

This food cart is located inside with the Zoiglhaus bar, on the left. It's one of my favorite food carts! Food is always phenomenal and they just text you when your food is ready. 100/10, recommended to everyone

I went in today and saw there was 1 worker by herself. She was very rushed by the amount if people that were coming in and ordering. Does management not care to atleast have 2 workers at a time? I felt really bad for that girl. She looks like shes not even 18 yet. Whoever is in charge should be more considerate about who they have working. That poor girl.

OMG the food was so fresh and good. I got two empanadas and good lord I was licking my fingers clean. You could taste that they were fresh, not frozen and reheated. I had the green mild sauce, it was good, and the white medium spicy sauce, oh damn so good. I'll definitely be going back.

You can't go wrong with an arepa for lunch. Delicious. Friendly staff. Parking lot come. Eat. Enjoy.

It was a great place to get a snack before heading out to the Pickles game down the street. The people working here are super friendly and kind. I ordered a couple of items to snack on and were impressed with how good it was. The Teque Tots and Tostones were great to share.

The Latin sandwich I have never really been a fan of. I don't like tortas nor do I really care for proper Cuban sandwiches. There's an Arepa place in Olympia my in laws like but I'm not a huge fan. They are an awful mess to eat and I'm left saying "that would have been much better as just a sandwich." No offense but this was my last choice but both of the other places in the pod were closed. I got the shredded beef and cheese. The beef had good seasoning and was portioned so there is one bite you take and are like "wow that's a lot of meat!" I like that the meat is moist enough to be yummy but dry enough to not make a mess. Speaking of mess, I really liked the presentation. I think this is the proper way to arepa. It wasn't an awful mess. The outside was crispy tasty and interesting. I actually thought about it the next day. I don't recommend the passion fruit juice. While tasty it's not really worth the price.

última vez que como en este lugar! Primero mi arepa tenía un pelo súper largo en la masa, nisiquiera estaba adentro estaba en la masa! Lo intentamos sacar y no salía Tambien estábamos con mi familia y nosotros somos colombianos, hicimos un chiste que todo el mundo hace "la arepa es colombiana" la señora súper grosera se ofendió y nos contestó súper súper grosera. No es la primera vez que en este lugar nos tratan así. Servicio 0/10, limpieza 0/10 que asco ese pelo que nos salió

It just gets better! First time I had the chicken Pabellón arepa. Solidly delicious. But the shredded beef Pabellón arepa I got the second time was outstanding! The beef alone is a juicy, savory flavor bomb, but add the sweet plantain with the salty cotija cheese and the creamy black beans and avocado--it's excellent and well balanced.

Although I think its cool that The Zed opened up the space to accommodate different food vendors I was not impressed with this place. You place the order yourself on a tablet and you will be picking it up for yourself as well. I don't have a problem with this, but as my friend pointed out, it takes a lot of gall to then ask for a tip. We were enjoying a beer and decided to get something real quick and easy - an empanada. First thing I don't agree with is mandating customers order a sauce, but then charging for it. How about giving a sauce for free like everywhere else. So now it took like 20 minutes to get a single empanada which is ridiculous. It's not handmade and you just toss it in a deep fryer so it should take about 5 minutes. Now on to the disappointment that was the food itself. The pastry itself wasn't quite golden brown and needed a little more time. There was absolutely zero flavor to the chicken. It was just very bland. Good thing you had to order a sauce, right? Nope. It was a thin liquid much like milk (less than 2%) and also had no flavor. If you can't get an empanada right I hate to think of what the rest of the menu is like. Plenty of other places inside to try so I'd avoid this one.

Been dying to come here. Drove in from 2 hours away with my partner. Didn't have to come to Portland, in fact, it was out of the way, but I wanted cachapas con queso de mano and patacón. It has been maybe a decade since I've had some. I made sure I came during their business hours... and they were closed at 2:50 on a Friday afternoon until 4:30 pm. Called the Halsey location and no one picked up. Y'all should make sure your hours are accurate on google and yelp. I don't know that I would try to come again.

I ordered the Reina Pepiada Arepa and the Tostones Solo. The Reina Pepiada is basically a chicken salad with some avocado stuffed inside an arepa. The arepa is made out of cornmeal which is gluten-free! The tostones were good too, I really wish I got it with something to dip it in. It was fried thin and crispy!

Excellent tasty food! The boy wanted to try something new, and chose this cart from among the options at this location. He absolutely loved it. I tried a bit myself and it was pretty tasty. Also, it's always nice when the cook is friendly and good with kids. Check it out!

This food truck is awesome! Being from Doral, FL originally, I've had the pleasure of sampling some awesome Venezuelan cuisine, and this place hit most of those flavor notes for me, so tasty. Would definitely go back! Highly recommend the loaded tostones, and the fried plantains and cheese. Mmmm.

We've been on a three-year quest to find empanadas as good as this place in Madison, WI, we used to go to. Everywhere we've tried in the Portland area has simply been underwhelming. Almost gross even. Until La Arepa. We should have known. The place in Madison was Venezuelan too. La Arepa makes amazing empanadas. I forget the name, but we got the #14 (the big one!). Seriously, it's huge. It can be a meal in itself, but it won't completely fill you up. We also got a black bean and cheese one. Both were excellent. We also got a chicken arepa. So delicious! My husband got a chicken, mustard and avocado arepa. That was amazing! It was so flavorful. I highly recommend both the arepas and empanadas. You won't be disappointed. If we lived closer, we'd go here often. I want to try everything on the menu!

The last thing I expected to eat in Portland was a Venezuelan arepa, but I did and I enjoyed it! Brace yourself for what I will tell you, but understand as well. I wanted a Pabellón Arepa, but my sister wanted to share and she does not eat beef. So I got it sans beef. Yea no longer really a Pabellón Arepa. LOL Yet, it was still yummy and hit the spot.

I order the pabellon arepa and instantly fall in love with this food. The domino empanada is yummy. Tostones also delicious. This place is my new go to at Portland Mercado.

Ridiculously good food. We ordered off the regular and vegan menus and both were incredible

To quote Natalie Imbruglia, "I'm torn." I want La Arepa to do so well because their food is incredible and they are my favorite food cart at the Portland Mercado. But I'm also really bummed at the thought of them doing so well and building a brick and mortar and no longer being within walking distance of my house. But La Arepa-- I wish you all the success for the many delicious things you've shared with this oft-overlooked corner of Portland. We don't deserve you. I'm literally drooling right now just thinking about their food.

You're stuck in the playground And I'm your hush-puppy now Considering you ate me You're expected to rate me So why act like you've had your fill I thought by now you'd know the deal Don't forget hot-pockets fried Empanadas on the side 'Cause it's Arepa I do, do Venezuelan cart Jessie J entree

I wouldn't consider these to be authentic Arepas. We ordered some Arepas La Rubia and we're incredibly disappointed. The cheese was something anyone can get out of a grocery store. Not even melted. The dough was undercooked. The one redeeming quality of the establishment is that the owner was accommodating to their patrons.

This place is the only good thing about Portland, Oregon! We ate here so many times during our stay and I honestly think about it regularly. I'd go back to Portland just to eat here again! MUST GO IF YOURE IN PORTLAND!

Fresh and delicious! Gluten free! The variety of salsas adds to the distinctive flavors of the arepas.

Absolutely love this place ! The food is amazing and the staff are always friendly. I recommend trying this place I can almost guarantee you will eat here more then once. From The arepas to the Pabellón criollo I've tried I was very happy of the great flavors. I also recommend a large a Teque tot ! Enjoy I know I do!!

Highly impressed by La Arepa. We ordered one each of beef, chicken and domino empanadas, beef and chicken arepas and a beef patacon. First, the cornmeal and the cook on everything was perfect, i.e., crispy on the outside, lighter on the inside. Nothing was greasy or overly oily. The beef was a tad salty, but it had really good flavor. The chicken was more subtle, which was nice. But to our surprise the domino empanada was easily the best part of the meal. The black beans are delicious, and with that parmesan-y hint of cotija cheese in there, if we'll be back for anything, it will definitely be that. As for the beef patacon, it was also quite tasty. If you're ever just wanting something that's more like a traditional sandwich, this is it. The plantains are awesome. Said it already, but we'll definitely be back.

This Venezuelan cart has excellent gluten free options. I love the #14 pabellon with fried banana! The #1 is really good too and the meat is tender and marinated. It's definitely comfort food and 1 item is usually plenty for me.

My family tried La Arepa for the first time this week. Wow, everything was delicious and the salsa was perfect! I can't wait to go back and try more items on their menu! They are taking orders online and the pick up was super easy.

I haven't been to a place where the flavors are above expectations, but I found it! A very satisfying meal plus a plantain on the side... perfect for a cloudy muggy day. The sauces on the side completely bring it all together. Try the aioli! 100% recommended.

First time trying the carts on foster and this was SO GOOD. La Arepa is Venezuelan food and was absolutely amazing. We tried a chicken arepa and a Pabellon Criollo (according to the cashier's recommendation) and both were so flavorful. I would definitely recommend trying this cart (especially the fried plantains!)

I'm new in the area and decided to check this place out on a cold and rainy Portland afternoon and I was not disappointed. The food was amazing and there's nothing to complain about. I'll be completely honest I was not expecting the person to be preparing my food to be white but I was open minded and he knew exactly what he was doing. If you're looking for a nice requeño or patacones locally, don't go anywhere else this little food truck is give you just what you want and do it all in an extremely friendly and expedient manner.

This is one of my top 5 favorite places to eat in Portland. I have a ton of food allergies so it's very hard for me to eat out. On top of the allergies im on a "seizure diet" high fat high protein super low carb. Needless to say my options are severely limited if I don't want to cook. La Arepa is the place is most often go. It is so so so so good. The arepa here is 10 times better than the one at Mercado.I love the shredded beef and cheese arepa with avocado added. All the sauces are bomb. The people working are so nice. I've never had something that wasn't good here. One of Portland's very best :)

I love getting the shredded chicken arepa with cheddar cheese. It's delicious by itself, but sauce 1 & 2 compliments it very well.

Ordered a chicken arepa & beef empanada on the app. Asked the person working if order was almost ready at the estimated order ready time and he mentioned couple more minutes. Ended up waiting an extra 20 minutes and order was still not ready. Cancelled my order due to poor customer service and not being able to deliver food on time.

Love love love! Some of the best gluten free options in town! The chicken arepa is my favorite!!! The sauces are delicious, a bit of a wait but always worth it. The black and cheese empanada is amazing as well! Highly recommend!!

These Arepas are so lovely! Everything is perfectly seasoned. The bean and cheese arepa is so yummy. They make the perfect sauces for each bight!. Try the specials! Try the fish! TRY IT ALL!!! I have never been disappointed.

My go-to cart at the Portland Mercado. They're the best! If you're unsure where to start, just ask for the number 15. Best. Cart. Hands. Down.

I tried this place for the first time yesterday. The pabellón arepa was delicious but if you are going to Order it with the plantain combo, please don't. I was disappointed because the whole fried plantain was uncooked. It seemed cooked from the outside though. I ended up throwing to to the garbage, money wasted.

We hit this pod of food trucks about a month ago. I love the chance to try a cuisine I see less often, and Venezuelan was it. I tried the Patacón, which uses fried plaintains instead of bread to make a sandwich. I got the beef and it was really good. The plaintains were a unique experience. I had my teenager (somewhat picky) try it and he thought they were legit. Service was quick, unlike what some other posters have mentioned. The only thing I didn't care for was having the salsa along with the ketchup and mustard. I'd probably get more salsa next time and nuke the other condiments. I notice they didn't have any dessert empanadas, which I have tried in San Francisco, so I was a little disappointed about that.

Addicted to this place! I think I've gone back like every 3-4 days since I've been there. The patacón and the empanadas are amazing! With this location being closed today, I'm about to head up to the other location. I've taken 3 different friends here and so far everyone has loved it. Easily one of my new favorites!

I was really excited to see a new cart in this pod, hoping to add some variety to my lunch time foraging. While I realize the carts only been here a few weeks, it's been shockingly inconsistent, especially considering they've got two other carts around town. The first time I ordered, it took probably 25 minutes to get my order. I ordered both an arepa and an empanada. No frills here - just an arepa in a container, and an empanada in a paper bag. They were both competent - not bad, not great, just fine, but definitely not worth a 25 minute wait. There was a single guy working the cart this time. I tried them again, maybe a week and a half later when I saw there was a woman in the cart in addition to the same guy (I think?), and was thinking/hoping that they'd got the wait times downs. Seemed much better this time, with it being maybe a 5 or 10 minute wait for my arepa. Things seemed to be going well, but a few days later, one my co-workers ordered some food here (with just one guy working), and it took 30 minutes for him to get his food. Looked like one person working was serializing everything, focusing on a single order at a time, and not looking ahead/doing anything in parallel/etc. Also it seemed he gave away my co-worker's order to someone else, as there was confusion when my co-worker went to pick up his food and it was completely wrong. The guy working was clearly confused, and it looked like he just started over on my coworker's food . . . The other miss would have been earlier this week when a coworker's partner ordered some empanadas, but when she opened the box back at the office it was a plate with black beans, rice, plantains, etc, but definitely no empanadas. I'll likely give this cart another try in another month or so when I'm bored with the other options, but clearly lots of training/work to be done.

My 1st time eating Venezuelan food, awesome!! I had the #15 with the medium & the spicy salsas, amazing! Also had the sugarcane lime drink, very refreshing. I'll be back!!

Takes a little while for the food to come out as everything seems to be made to order from scratch, but it's absolutely worth a few minutes' wait! We tried the arepas and empanadas and they were both fantastic. Not only is the food here amazing, it's safe for celiacs. The ingredients for most of the menu items are naturally gluten free and the staff are aware of cross contamination issues. They have a dedicated fryer for the GF items and a separate fryer for the one menu item that involves bread dough.

Fantastic food! I am always looking for good gluten free options and find it refreshing when the majority of the menu is naturally gluten free! I had one of the large plates for lunch and found the portions appropriate for the price. The food tasted great and fresh. I love that I had to wait a little bit while they actually made the food for my order. I will definitely return

Delicious! All of it! My favorite is the Patacon! Do yourself a favor and try it sometime. The people are ahead friendly too!

DANG La Arepa is good! Their arepas are stellar, their empanadas are commanding, but their patacon is the real hit. It's basically a delicious sandwich with marinated meat on the inside and fried plantains instead of bread. It seriously does not get better.

La Arepa is delicious, and the kindest people work here. Highly recommend!

The items we ordered contained black beans, cotija cheese, and shredded meat. Everything was tasty, and the corn meal items had the perfect texture. A very enjoyable experience.

We enjoyed the chicken empanadas which were fresh and filled to the brim with chicken! The home made salsas made the empanadas even better and we are talking about coming back again tomorrow. Very nice staff and fresh food! Delightful

Wow i'm addicted to this food I come here like once a week for the #9 sub with chicken. The meat is seasoned so well and tender. The arepas are hot and fluffy with a slight denseness to them. The homemade sauces are also really tasty. So gooood

Have you ever had an arepa? If the answer is no, this is an EXCELLENT place to start. If you, then this is an EXCELLENT place for your next. It was perfectly fried and packed full of black beans and cotija cheese. I'm getting hungry thinking about it. Please go enjoy. I can't wait until not taco Tuesday next week

I went there for 1st time just get the empanadas and thy were sooo Good !!! Much better than other carts / even inside marcado ( imo ) . And you can choose what sauce do you want . I tried with garlic aioli yummm ! We will be back for sure and try some other food on the menu :) keep it up !!

I got the #9 arepa that comes with beef, beans, avocado, cotija cheese and a fried plantain. It was unbelievable. It's one of the best things I've ate in a while. The spicy salsa verde I had with it was fantastic as well.

HOLY S**T!! Hands down best empanadas I've ever had!!! The owner is a sweetheart. Sauces are amazing! Highly recommended!