Arepa & Co - Bethnal Green in Tower Hamlets

Staff super friendly and helpful. GREAT food with lots of vegetarian options. So happy that I spotted this place to try out. I will be back for sure.

Dog friendly venue with friendly staff. Food was tasty

The food was absolutely amazing with great suggestions from the staff. Highly recommend

staff super friendly. there was no free tables but as we explained we would be quick they made room for us. the chicken pancake type dish i had was a taste sensation. so good

Credit where it is Due. The food was very tasty. The staff was great. I had a great birthday meal here. I wish to send my appreciation to the team. Oh and the Arepa sour is great. Thank you. I rate this restaurant not just for the food but for the warmth of the people who work there and their kindness. I will return.

So so tasty, cachapa pabellon hit the craving I had for Latin food. 10/10 recommend

So surprised to find a Venezuelan restaurant in the middle of London with so much amazing food and the service was amazing

Especially the pancake style mains and yuka fries were great, the rice bowls were more average.

Delicious!! We went for brunch, very well served, very delicious food! We ordered the Criollo and Reina brunch. The tequeños with chocolate are crazy! My only criticism would be that the tea said “premium herbs” and it was a tea in a bag that didn't taste that good...I was expecting something with natural herbs...

Starters were nice. Arepa was small for the price, pulled chicken one was dry, with all cheese dropped down to the bottom and not enough sauce. It wasn't that busy when we went (6pm on a Saturday) yet we had to seek the attention of the waitress/waiter for every drinks order and food order, and to pay. Drinks took ages, 2 cocktails were forgotten. Would give it another go and try something else on the menu. Service charge creeping up, now at 13.5%! Service did not reflect this.

We visited Arepa & Co in Bethnal Green today, excited to return after a great experience a while ago. Unfortunately, this time, it was quite disappointing. The first thing we noticed was the limited variety of lunch options on the menu. There were plenty of breakfast choices, but very few proper lunch dishes. After struggling to decide, as there weren’t many options, I went for a cachapa dish. The menu mentioned it had some sugarcane, but I assumed it wouldn’t be too sweet since it was a main dish, not a dessert. Well… I was wrong. It tasted like a pancake drowning in syrup. I don’t know much about Venezuelan food, so I thought maybe this was a traditional way of serving it. But my Venezuelan friend assured me that this is not how cachapas are usually prepared. The dish wasn’t bad, but I didn’t enjoy it as I had hoped. When paying, the staff asked for feedback, and we mentioned the issue. To our surprise, they admitted that traditional cachapas don’t usually come with that level of sweetness, but this particular dish does. I then pointed out that I hadn’t seen other options on the menu, and they told us that they actually have a full menu, but they only give it to customers who ask for it. So basically, we had no choice but to pick from a very limited brunch menu, even though it was lunchtime. Apparently, on weekends, unless you specifically request the full menu, they only show the brunch one. This means that those in the know can get the full menu, while the rest of us have to settle for a restricted selection of breakfast dishes and a couple of lunch options. I don’t think this is fair at all. Had I known about the full menu, I could have had a much better meal. Instead, due to a questionable management decision (since the waiters are just following orders, so it’s not their fault), the experience was frustrating and disappointing.

If you are looking for good Venezuelan place, you have to come here. Really great food, nice quirky vibe and overall a fab experience! Oh and definitely order Yuca fries!

Good place - first time having Venezuelan food. Really liked the wings and chicken cachapa that I had. Although the latter was a little too cheesy for my liking to be honest

Twas bloody brilliant, and the staff was bloody fantabulous, and Anika was the beeest, coook was, the beeeest, everything was the beeeeest!

Delicious and nutritious - thanks Anika!!!

Anika gave us a full experience. We had a wonderful time I highly recommend this place. The food was so tasty and fresh and the staff very friendly.

Absolutely phenomenal service and food. Accommodated a group of 35 with ease and warm, friendly, smiles. Even let us stay later, turned the music up, and nothing seemed too much trouble. Would recommend for all occasions!

Unfortunately today at the Bethnal Green branch we experienced rude and uncalled for customer service. When we came in, the place was completely empty with no customers, however they were reluctant to seat us. Clearly the team had a big booking in the evening and failed to recognise that they had our (2 people) booking in place too. Instead of acknowledging their mistake about not seeing our booking, they tried to hit us with ‘you’re late’, when we were not. After failing to put the blame on us, they placed us in an awkward seating area next to the register. Before we even sat down, one staff member was eager to tell us to leave after 1 hour and a half. & when I tried to explain that’s no issue, we’re actually fasting and looking to order asap and eat. She went on to argue with me, ignoring what I had to say and trying to emphasis she’s just telling us about their policy. Side eye as she was clearly trying to say we don’t have space for you and make sure you don’t over stay. After avoiding to take our order and before we even finished our drinks, they began putting our tables together with another group. Yes the food was ok, who doesn’t like rice beans and shredded beef? But to be honest, due to the customer service this place will not be seeing me again. I was a regular and would recommend to loads of people, however never again. Due to the poor service and awful customer service our Iftar was ruined and my friend did not enjoy her birthday. Maybe try a different branch? Or there’s always rice at home.

My wife and I ordered Dirty Yuca and Tequeños for takeaway last Saturday (March 1, 2025), and we absolutely loved them! We are big fans of Tequeños. Arepa co most likely makes the biggest ones in London (and possibly in the whole UK). They are the perfect combination of delicious flavor and generous size. We also loved the Dirty Yuca, which is an original dish from this restaurant. It was very tasty and offered great value for money.

Empanadas that taste like soup stew, napkins for the poor, the lady at the bar with the aptitude of my wife when I get home on a Saturday morning, there are better empanadas in Madrid and cheaper, it doesn't cost anything to make a good empanada. At 7 in the morning the bar full of plates and napkins means eating on someone else's mess. CHICKEN PIE WITH BONES

Amazing food! First time trying Venezuelan cuisine and it didn't disappoint. Would recommend the set menu as it is a great value for the number of dishes included. Cocktails were also really good! Thank you to the staff for making our celebration special!

Great Lunch and margaritas! Thanks Carlos and Maria x

The food was excellent but the prices were a bit high.

A fun late lunch for 4, very tasty and fresh. A little pricier than expected. We had a variety of pabellon, mariana, and pernil flavors. The arepas were very good but the cachapa was marvelous. Indoor and outdoor seating along a row of other restaurants with indoor and outdoor seating. A short and easy 10-minute walk from the Tube.

Arepa & Co: Amazing Arepas and Cachapas! Arepa & Co in Bethnal Green is hands down one of the best spots for Venezuelan food in London. Their arepas and cachapas are simply amazing—fresh, flavorful, and just the right texture. The arepas have that perfect crunch on the outside with generous, tasty fillings, and the cachapas? Soft, cheesy, and absolutely delicious. The vibe is great, the service is friendly, and the food speaks for itself. If you love good food, this place is a must. Highly recommend!

A Taste of Venezuela in Every Bite❤️ Arepa.Co is a hidden gem for Latin food lovers. From the moment you walk in, the warm atmosphere and friendly service make you feel right home. Food simple delicious. They also offer vegan and gluten-free options, making it a welcoming spot for everyone. Definitely I will come back.

The cachapa was a bit in the small size but the taste was amazing. The arepa was amazing and the guasacaca add it an amazing taste to it.

Tastes like sex. So much flavor but a lil oily 9.5/10

The branch in Stockwell was much better, so sad they closed. Don’t get me wrong, the food is nice. The sauce is delicious, but expired. We ate it anyways. The service unfortunately is not very nice. The lady kept chatting on her what’s app and didn’t care about customers. We asked her to pay all on one and she started splitting the bill, and also split it incorrectly for some reason?.. anyways, also while ordering food the waiter didn’t remember the full order so I didn’t get my starter. There is absolutely no problem to use pen and paper if you can’t remember 4 people’s order. Wouldn’t come back only because of the atmosphere and service.

I had the pleasure of dining at this place, a wonderful Venezuelan gem, and I can’t recommend it enough. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with a warm atmosphere and the delicious aroma of authentic Venezuelan dishes. The food was outstanding—packed with flavor and expertly prepared. I particularly enjoyed the pabellon cachapa, incredibly fresh and flavorful. What truly made our experience memorable, however, was the exceptional service from Lecy. She was incredibly attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu. Lecy took the time to explain the various dishes and offered great recommendations, making sure we felt comfortable and well taken care of throughout our meal. Her genuine care for her guests was evident in every interaction, and she made the experience even more enjoyable.

Delicious! I've had Venezuelan food before but my friend hadn't and she loved it. Not too expensive and lovely cocktails.

Very nice staff! Delicious food - you gotta get the Yuka fries!!

February 2025: Still as delightful as how it used to be. Will be back!

Had a birthday meal here and had a lovely time. Carlos and the team were extremely friendly and attentive. Food was excellent and loved the atmosphere. Really recommend

Drinks were amazing! left feeling full. it has a wonderful vibe, good music & attentive waiters

Flawlessly balanced, hearty, flavourful, DELICIOUS food! Crunchy yuca chips, pabellon criollo (shredded beef rice bowl) and arepa pernil were my favourites. The different sauces were spot on and elevated everything; apple salsa verde, guasacaca (red pepper and avocado) and the picante - fantastic. Looking forward to coming back and saving more room for dessert (& cocktails)! Tea selection was also brilliant, loved the mint, lemongrass and saffron one. Warm and tasteful decor, a beautiful space and great vibes. Thank you Carlos for taking care of us, see you soon! :)

I liked this cute venue for lunch before going to The Young V&A across the street.

We ordered 2 cachapas during weekday lunch at 1pm, but we were not told about the lunch deal. They have a lunch deal on weekdays, you get any arepa/cachapa + lemonade at a discounted price. We only saw it on the windows while eating and confirmed it at the entrance when leaving. We left very annoyed that they didn't offer the lemonade to us after ordering cachapas, but most of all, that they charged the full price for each cachapa instead of the lunch offer price (which would have been lower), simply because we didn't know. Maybe it wasn't a huge difference, but it didn't feel transparent. Also, they charge 13.5% for service, slightly more than usual. It was a shame, because the food was truly delicious and we loved every bite, but we still left with a bittersweet feeling.

Amazing experience! Servers offered wonderful recommendations for vegetarian options and everything we had was delicious! When we shared it was my birthday, they put a candle on the Tres Leches and secretly gave it to us on the house! (We only found out when we asked). So sweet and great food! Highly recommend the yuca fries and cachapa!

Avoid. Incredibly rude staff and poor service. Plenty of better places to eat in the area.

Delicious food and desert. We had a great time and ate amazing food. I extremely recommend. Booking in advance is also recommended. We didn't have Booking and had to wait around 30min but was worth every second.

Viaje de negocios a Londres a una clínica de salud en Bethnal Green, pidió comida en nuestro camino de regreso al metro a King’s Cross. Servicio rápido y el personal muy servicial y amable. Tenía una cola simulada increíble seguido de entrantes y la arepa de cerdo rallada principal. Para Londres (y soy un norteño) la comida tiene una buena relación calidad-precio. El único restaurante negativo era un poco frío aparte de eso todo bien!

Great place...vibes, tasty fresh food..lovely people working there.

The Yuka fries and Arepa were both fantastic. It was my first time trying Venezuelan cuisine & I will definitely be back to try the other vegan options on the menu!

Delicious food, amazing staff, highly recommended.

Had the arepa pabellón, so tasty and loved the decoration and music:)

Authentic Venezuelan flavors—delicious food! We had lunch on December 31st with family after several days of traveling through Europe. We had “arepa de pabellón, teqüeños, arepa de pollo”, among others.

Amazing food, really enjoyed it. Great vibes and atmosphere too.

The Pabellon was good! They localized the dishes a bit too much (for my personal taste) but the food is good. Service was ok, nothing outstanding, specially not if they are trying to include a discretionary service charge without asking the customer

Aventurado por algo de comida venezolana en Arepa & Co. Hay tres ramas, así que fuimos a Bethnal Green, ya que era más accesible. La comida venezolana es de América Latina, por lo que algunos de los artículos son similares a los mexicanos con frijoles negros, aguacate, etc. Los principales artículos en la comida venezolana son arepas, cachapa y arroceros con carne tirada, frijoles negros y queso rallado. Como ya he probado arepas y los cuencos son similares a los cuencos de burrito desnudos tuve la cachapa que son tortitas tradicionales de maíz dulce hechas de masa de maíz fresca. Fue difícil decidirme por la cachapa porque decidí entre los tres quesos y el pabellón que tiene carne de res, frijoles negros, queso y plátanos así que al final me tocó el de res. En general, la tortita de maíz dulce era crujiente dulce y salado glaseado con jarabe de caña de azúcar, así que probablemente el queso sería más agradable porque prefiero salado en lugar de dulce y salado. De ahí que pueda entender por qué los estadounidenses aman esto tanto. Aparte de la comida, sentí que faltaba servicio, esperé en la entrada para sentarme, pero nadie se dio cuenta, así que después de esperar un rato, caminé hacia el personal y me senté. Había una oferta de almuerzo que no me dieron cuenta cuando pedí, pero solo tienes que conseguir una bebida y la cuenta es ligeramente más barato y eso es todo.

This was so disappointing. The Arepa was not fresh and it did not sit well after eating. And the price of it was not justified at all. Was really looking forward to it though will not return or recommend.

Ventured out for some Venezuelan food at Arepa & Co. There are three branches so went to Bethnal Green as it was more accessible. Venezuelan food is from latin America so some of the items are similar to Mexican with black beans, avocado etc. The mains items in Venezuelan food are arepas, cachapa and rice bowls with pulled meat, black beans and grated cheese. As I have already tried arepas and the bowls are similar to naked burrito bowls I had the cachapa which are traditional sweetcorn pancakes made of fresh corn dough. It was hard deciding on the cachapa because I was deciding between the three cheese and the pabellon which has beef, black beans, cheese and plantains so in the end got the beef one. Overall, the sweetcorn pancake was crispy sweet and savoury glazed with sugar cane syrup so probably the cheesy one would be nicer because I prefer savoury as opposed to sweet and savoury. Hence I can understand why Americans love this so much. Aside from the food, I felt that service was lacking I waited at the entrance to be seated but no one was aware so after waiting a while, I walked over to the staff and got myself seated. There was a lunch deal which I was not made aware when I ordered but you just get a drink and the the bill is slightly cheaper and that's it.

The food was very good, the service a little slow. But all very charming

Great vibes. Colourful place, with friendly staff and fun music. We had the Guarapita and PapeRum for drinks. Similar but both were delicious! Then the Pabellon Criollo and Arepa Pabellon. Again, similar. That's our fault for not ordering different things. But the flavours are great, and the banana lightens up the meal. Very filling.

Fabulous food Relaxed environment Super friendly people Great service

I travelled from Bristol and wasn't disappointed ♥️🫓 the arepas were flavourful and nostalgic. They also sell polar beer 🍻. The servers were extremely nice, 5 ⭐. Thank you for the wonderful experience

Great food Great service Will come back

Had lunch with my friends here today. First time eating Venezuelan food. Really enjoyed it.

We stumbled across this place on Friday. What a find!!! Food was beautiful and the staff were amazing

It's a nice cozy restaurant tucked away about 5 mins walk from Bethnal Green station. The food is great and great for gluten free choices. I love the sugar cane lemonade. I would recommend getting a jug. The staff are super nice and service is quick. I will continue to go back here again.

Delicious food and super friendly. Lots of veggie options Highly recommended!

Delicious food, prompt service, can't wait to go back again

Went there on a Sunday at 5.30 pm. Waited 30 minutes until someone came get our order, despite it not being at all busy. Food arrived without any serving cutlery, so we had to pick up some from another table to be able to eat from the shared plates. No one came to ask us if the food was okay and we had to spend a lot of time to get someone's attention to rectify a mistake they made with our order. Generally the attention from the staff was lacking, they didn't seem interested in us at all. To make is worse, the table next to us were very loud and at one point one of them was pointing to every dish we had ordered and asking her friend what they were. I know this isn't the staff's fault, but it didn't help our already unpleasant experience. The food was decent, but a lot of it was quite dry and without the sauces it would be really unpleasant. The margaritas come with ice cubes rather than crushed ice and in tumbler glasses, a bit underwhelming. When we got the bill, the server brought out the card reader immediately and didn't give us any time to check the bill. After such bad service, we weren't happy to tip (and when did the service charge go up to 13.5%?). This is the second time in 20 years that I've asked for the service charge to be removed, so it wasn't a decision taken lightly. I didn't use the loos, but my companion said they were quite dirty and that the toilet seat was covered in urine. Overall I can't recommend this place. Hopefully management see this and put in the effort to retrain the servers and to make sure the toilets are clean.

I had great expectations but the food was average.

An odd experience really. The food was very tasty I have to start off with. It took quite a while to get our order taken and for the food to come and there were only a few tables. They were blasting pop tunes for the full 1.5 hours we were there, slightly too loud so as it affected our conversation. 4 Ariana Grande songs was a lot... Finally the staff were rather different when I asked for the discretionary service charge to be taken off. That is something I have an issue with. It is discretionary and it shouldn't be added by default. Then for the staff to get cross about just doesn't make me want to go back.

Nice food and efficient and friendly service, reasonable prices. Music was a bit too loud to my liking.

Simple delicious food. Recommend the £12/13 lunch deal - meat and rice bowl or arepa plus lemonade. The hot sauces are great too

La segunda vez que he estado aquí y lo he pasado bien. Buena selección de comida (incluso para vegetarianos) y bebidas. El servicio era un poco lento y tenía que recordarles acerca de las bebidas, pero realmente no le importó, ya que estábamos teniendo un buen tiempo. Recomendaría pedir por el lado generoso, ya que algunos platos son más pequeños de lo que cabría esperar, pero en general vale la pena la visita!

Nice food and stuff very kindly. Thank you so mutch for dinner at late time. 🥑❤️

Fanstastic food on one of my favourite places. Service was a bit iffy as waiters took ages to attend us with not so busy room, but it was ok. Very nice people

Great place to eat - had the Cachapa Del Campo (black beans, plantain and avocado) and it was brilliant!

Beautiful and clean place, lovely staff and amazing food, I will come back!

Wonderful food. The Cachapa pancakes were delicious.

We took a school trip here yesterday and the experience was perfect. The pupils were able to practice their Spanish and try delicious dishes. There was a wonderful ambience and staff were so attentive. Highly recommend!

Great food. The benuelos were 10/10. The price point is good. I highly recommend

Hearty food and something different in the area if you're in the mood to try something new, enjoyed the food but the waiter unfortunately spilt sauce on me and wasn't particularly apologetic about it

Absolutely delicious Venezuelan food, friendly and welcoming service. The cocktails are delicious and they have a really good range of cocktails. I would be happy to come back for more.

This was one of the best restaurants I have ever been to. Food was 10/10. Staff was 10/10. Drinks 10/10. There is nothing further this resultant can do to improve. Everything was excellent and it was a wonderful experience.

Very nice food and atmosphere. The tables, however, are pushed a little too close together for my liking (you can clearly hear everything being said by the people on the tables beside you) and it's quite expensive for what it is, especially when an "optional" yet undisclosed 13.5% service charge is added to your bill. On the whole, though, we had a nice evening!

Food was really really good! Recommend going for the lemonade and if you can, bring someone so you can share some things and taste as much as possible

Food was grand. We were with a group of 11 and had everything drinks and food wise delivered fine. However when splitting the bill, the waiter then asks for £80 more on our bill. This was strange as we thought we had overpaid with a healthy tip. After further examination we realised that the staff were wrong and we were apparently £6 short. So if it wasn't for us having to go back and check the paid receipts, we would have been overcharged. When asked if they could give us a few drinks or a dessert to compensate, they proceeded to cuss us and the manager stormed out, smoking at the entrance to deal with the apparent stress caused. Literally no customer service and will not recommend. I dont think this company is used to accommodating large groups Small portions for price, even if charged correctly

I accidentally stumbled across this place when I staying over in London and decided to return with a friend! Loved the atmosphere, staff are friendly and attentive, food was super tasty and took me back to my own trip to South America. Would definitely go back. Great choice of food for vegan/vegetarian or meat lovers. Reasonably priced and well worth a visit!

Excellent repas , service parfait, allez découvrir vous ne serez pas déçu. Très bien expliqué, photos à l'appui sur le menu aussi beau que bon. Je recommande également leurs super cocktail 🥰 totalement conquise

Service was great! Food incredible and has a great vibe !

Ate here as four colleagues, the food was incredible and the service was fantastic.

Genuinely my favourite restaurant in London and a MUST if you are visiting. Stumbled across the Bethnal Green branch whilst on a walk and intrigued by the menu, tried the small plates to try a bit of everything and everything; the meat, veg, plantain, guac and even juice were SO FRESH which is what I think stood out so much to me. 10/10 service also and gorgeous atmosphere. Absolutely reccomend and will be returning!

I've been here of a lunchtime twice now for work leaving lunches. The food is fine and fairly reasonably priced. The staff are attentive and adept are looking after large groups with all that that entails.

Staff were very friendly! Food serves fast. Good to have gluten free and vegan friendly options! However the arepas I got was too heavy/oily and salty. And seems a small portion given the price. The fact that they use palm oil also make this less appealing. Glad I balanced it out with a side palm salad 😊 pretty busy in the evening so be sure to make reservations

Lovely food. Lovely staff. Highly recommended !

Nice place, tasty food and friendly staff.

The food was amazing, the service was amazing - especially Oscar! You need to go here!!! And give Oscar a raise pls

Nos encantó nuestro almuerzo en Arepa & Co, a la vuelta de la esquina del Young V&A. Las porciones eran generosas, la comida estaba bien equilibrada y muy sabrosa. El plátano en particular estaba delicioso. Nuestro servidor, Oscar, era amable y atento, y nuestras comidas salieron a su debido tiempo. Afortunadamente tampoco rompió el banco.

Arriving at the place, it makes you feel at home,

Good Venezuelan food, reasonable prices,good service

Welcomed quickly. Space was very pretty with lovely music in the background. Service was fantastic. Very attentive and quick. Food was fabulous. We had two starters, toston avo and pastelitos. Mains were cachapas pernil, arepas pernil, and arepas pabellon. So tasty and the flavours were amazing. Will def come back to try more!

We’d walked by and noticed a lunch deal previously so decided to come on a Tuesday at lunch. You got one main meal & a sugar cane lemonade for £11. BARGAIN - especially for London. The food was incredible, so fresh and flavourful. I’d never tried this kinda food before and I was not disappointed. The staff were lovely, very friendly.

This was so good. We came in for the lunch special, added in a couple of small plates, then another and then dessert and coffee. what started as a snack turned into a feast. Fantastic food, service and prices. Please could we have an Arepa open in Leeds? We wanted to take you home with us. High points: the Yuca chips, the dulche de leche, the home made lemonade and Arepas, and chatting with the owner at the end. Why wasn't it full? if i lived there I'd be in every day.

Mateo E me debe £1.50. No colocó el picante en la bolsa. Should feel proud of the food. Very nice arepas.

Very nice place and friendly staff. The atmosphere is great! Food not something exceptional for our taste but cocktails were great!

We were here for an early dinner, ordered a main. Each of us paid about £10 for a tiny bowl of food, as mentioned, supposed to be a main dish (see 2nd photo). They advertise "eat lots" (see 1st photo), but definiteley NOT there, or you have to leave a fortune to get full. Interieur and service were good though, but we won't come back.