Hola Arepa

You can tell from my photos that I have been here for brunch, because almost non-arepa item is only available during brunch. Hola Arepa offers small plates for dinner on top of their Venezuelan-style arepas, which is great, but personally I think their highlight is their weekend brunch. Of course, if you are going for arepas, then dinner or brunch doesn't make quite a difference, but I can confidently say that every brunch plate so far has been a hit. I recommend this brunch spot for anyone in town and for friends from out of town. The brunch arroz verde, which contains a fried egg, sweet plantain, black beans, tomatoes, pickled cabbage, jalapeños, poblano sauce, and citrus crema, is always a solid choice! One can't go wrong with it, especially when one gets to pick a protein of choice among pork, chicken, or guacamole (not a protein but...). The vegan arroz verde is also available without the fried egg but if you are vegetarian, I suggest adding the egg as the yolk truly elevates the savory flavor. The sopes divorciados and the tostada chilaquiles are also good choices, both with tomatillo salsa as the main sauce. They both contain fried eggs, beans (one black and one refried), ans queso fresco, and are both garnished with cilantro. Now in terms of their arepas, every single one is a hit. It truly boils down to personal preference on what should be included inside. The cornmeal griddle cake sandwiches are fluffy and soft, while maintaining just the right level of crunchiness, and the yuca fries with aioli verde is the perfect side dish. For sweets, I have only had the hotchata pot de creme and thought it was solid, although not spectacular. But horchata, you know, is also something you can't go wrong with. I would love to give the mango chia seed pudding a try next time! I didn't snap photos of the drinks but Uno, Dos, Tres, or Cuatro would be good! They are a bit tiny for the price ($8 for the first three) and have nice little decorations on the top that would be perfect for pictures. I also think a major advantage for this establishment is the fact that reserving a brunch spot is not difficult. You can easily reserve a spot on a Saturday morning / afternoon for 30 minutes later and the establishment won't be packed to the point of having no seating available. However, it is quite noisy inside and spaces are small, so if you are trying to carry a conversation while dining indoors then I do not think this is the best place. Outdoors might give you a better chance, and their reservations allow one to reserve outdoor seating. So yeah, this is Hola Arepa and my review of it! Hope you enjoy it when you visit because I surely did when I visited there a few times in 2021 and 2022.

Delicious food - High quality and aesthetically artistic! Also the atmosphere is lovely - reminds me of being on an island. Great experience overall. There are some important things to note though - the music can be fairly loud combined with a full house of people. The patio tables and chairs are so close together I almost knocked over some glasses on the table next to mine trying to sit down. It's really tight quarters and no privacy as to quiet conversation, so if you're looking for that this wouldn't be a compatible choice. We had to request a table away from the speakers due to music being so loud we couldn't hear each other well. The super closely arranged tables and chairs also means it is not fat friendly, unfortunately. And definitely not accessible by wheelchair either in the patio section. Not sure about the dining section inside since we were in the patio section. Additionally, the parking lot attached to the restaurant has very few spots and both times we went there were no spots available, so we parked on the street a block or two down. This is something as well that affects accessibility.

This place is amazing! If you’re looking for a traditional Venezuelan restaurant, with servers playing the part, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for amazing gourmet twist on traditional Venezuela fare… then it 1000% is. We had the shredded beef arepas, fried chicken and cachapas, and sweet plantain appetizer - the food is fresh, well balanced, and tastes magnificent. It has been a long time since I’ve left a restaurant not feeling like salt has replaced my blood, or somehow something was off. BTW, my picky 8 year old blurted out “it’s as if they knew me!” when she started eating her kids guacamole arepa. 🙏🏼 Can’t wait to go back!

This was my second visit to Hola Arepa and I had a great experience both times! Parking is tough, so if you see street parking, grab it. They have a regular dining room, covered patio and uncovered patio that are always packed. We started with chips and salsa and the server explained the spice levels, which was perfect for my spice-sensitive family members. Their drink menu is very inventive and we were googling ingredients to figure out what was in them. Some are a bit ice-heavy, so it might be worth asking them to go easy on the ice so you have more than a few sips of drink (looking at you, sangria). Our food came out really quickly and everything was delicious. I'm looking forward to going back again!

Amazing, high-quality food at great prices. Nice patio, covered, perfect for sunny days. Brunch menu has some unique items, including drinks. Service was solid, maybe a little slow (but consistent with brunch).