Sweetpepper

So disappointed. I’ve visited Sweetpepper multiple times in the off-​season and had a solid lunch every time. Today was a whole different story. I walked in with a group of five and was told by the boy at the counter that I should go somewhere else. There were two empty tables that would have fit us, but via some confused conversation with him, he told me they were for other parties who weren’t yet there but that he had to call to tell their tables were ready. «No problem,» I said, «how long is the wait?»
«You can’t wait,» he answered. When I asked him to clarify that he was actually turning away business, he confirmed that, yes, they had too much happening to allow us to wait. He had a side conversation with the owner, came back again and said «nope».
Frustratingly, we drove by an hour and fifteen minutes later on our way home from a great lunch at another place, and Sweetpepper was half empty.
It’s a shame, because the food is good and the owner is really sweet. Apparently, they just can’t deal with more than a few customers at a time.

The food was good but nothing particularly spectacular. We got the Venezuelan brunch (due to seeing many recommendations on Unilocal), empanadas, and the pork and chicken arepas. Service was pretty much terrible. After waiting so long and being told it was almost ready multiple times (about 10 minutes apart each time), our food didn’t come out together and was actually missing pieces. The Venezuelan brunch was just sad. It barely filled half of the plate and was missing the hash browns. It was definitely not worth the wait. And we ordered toast which came after we finished our meal. Unfortunately, this meal was simply disappointing.

Amazing Venezuelan and American food. My wife and I have been coming here for a few years and have never been disappointed. Friendly Service. You will always be treated like one of the family.

Sweet pepper is awesome! The owners are very nice and accomodating, I love the Venezuelan food and breakfast is great!

BEST. I come here ¾ times a month. I’ve had every Benedict, they are all great. Here’s where things get the realest — THE EMPANADAS! Holy mouth heaven. I’ve introduced multiple friends to this place after a friend referred me to it. Prepare to unplug from western civilization and enjoy an amazing taste of Venezuelan cuisine. Or don’t unplug and get your classic bacon egg and cheese (pork roll for you hardcore Jersians). I can’t say it enough, I love this place and can’t wait to bring more friends and family to enjoy the great food, atmosphere and laid back pace of life. Oh yeah! Fresh squeezed OJ for BYOB mimosas! What!!!

I got to say!!! I was looking for a place that is now close and found this incredibly good place…
Service was sooo good, we got to the place with out realizing that we only had 15 min before closing… Not only did they invited us right in, but we left over an hour late…
Food was very tasty and fresh (service was very fast)… We got to speak to the owners super nice people… I would highly recommend this place!!! Real Venezuelan food… A most try it’s the sweet red pepper sauce Supper good!!!

I have been meaning to try this place for quite a while now, they are only open for breakfast and lunch in the off-​season so today I finally got the chance.
I went in around 130 in the afternoon on a Sunday for brunch, the place was less than half full so it was easy to get a table.
The staff is very friendly and the service was good. The coffee is good and I got three refills without having to ask.
I got the Venezuelan brunch platter, and it was very good! It came with a spicy pulled pork side, and blackbean side, a pepper onion and garlic omelette, and some nice shredded cheese. It also came with a corncake type thing that was very good. Lastly, and most importantly, they had very good Verde salsa which I put all over everything.
It was $ 23 for two people. Very reasonable.
I definitely want to try the lunch/​dinner food here. I think it’s only Saturday dinner during the summer season here.

Waited forever for meal to be served. Hour at least. They told us after such long wait they were short staffed. I think it would have been nice to hear that before we were seated as a courtesy. Food was good. Young girl working zero personality. Not one smile. Perhaps she was having a bad day.

Corned beef hash was excellent, coffee is good, service is friendly, and it was pretty affordable… we wanted to find an easy place nearby to grab some good breakfast where we felt like we could bring our toddler, I think we found the place. We will be returning.

I really enjoy this place. I’ve had the eggs Benedict on top of crab cakes, which was delicious. It’s one of those meals that hits the spot. The waitress even asked how we liked our potatoes– extra crispy never hurts! The chicken empanadas are worth a trip alone– comes with this amazing cilantro sauce. Will definitely be a frequent breakfast eater here!

Pros: great food. Many options available on the menu. Went there for breakfast. Had the corn pancakes, sweet pepper poached eggs and my wife had an arepa egg sandwich. We will be back as we love Venezuelan food.
I personally find this better than the other breakfast location in Bradley.
Con: took 45 minutes to get our food. However, worth the wait!
My recommendation would be to provide Patrons with something (bread, muffins, etc) to hold them while they wait.
Increase the size of the kitchen. Be able to turn tables faster and you have a gold mine.

We came in at 10am and were seated right away. We were not offered water or anyone come to us for at least 15min. We got our food at 1120am. When I got my arepa it was burnt. I sent it back and ended having just a cup of coffee. This place is a joke.

So much better than the Buttered Biscuit… service and food! Eric got the Venezuelan American omelette which had veggies, onions, garlic and shredded beef. Mmmm, it was really impressive. I got the fluffiest most delightful homemade cachapas I have ever had. The orange juice was fresh squeezed and the server was so friendly and helpful. We were glad we walked down the block :)

Love this place! Family business. Fast service, great food! Why wait an hour at Buttered Biscuit when Sweet Pepper is right here and… so much better.

The food at Sweet Pepper was excellent. Nice, cozy restaurant on the main strip in Bradley beach. They have a nice patio out back, but it was just too got today to sit outside. Minus a star because we spent most of the brunch waiting… Waiting for a table, waiting the the server, waiting for food, waiting for the check. It is a great spot if you are trying to get away from the typical American breakfast.
Also — lots of gluten free options since many of the foods are corn based. The empanadas and corn pancakes were bomb.

I would give this place more stars simply because of the food but the service was terrible.
We were there for two hours from the time we went in and left, and our food came within the last half hour of our stay. There were only a handful of tables so not very busy at all.
It took about 15 minutes before we were acknowledged and given menus. Then another 10 – 15 minutes before they came and took our order. During our wait, we witnessed a table or two get up and leave from not having even been acknowledged or given menus. We waited an hour after our orders were taken to be served our food. When we asked if the food was coming out soon, the waitress shrugged her shoulders and said she has no idea and that she’s not going to lie and say it’s coming out when it’s not. No apologies were made.
If they could only fix their management and become organized and hire more help this place could be doing so well and become very successful. Luckily for them we were not in any rush, so there was no reason for us to lose our patience but I can see this becoming a big problem for someone who’s on a time limit.
Their food is good. The arepas were delicious, and so were the empanadas. The cachapa was not done well and you could tell they rushed it and didn’t cook it long enough. We were basically served corn mush — but other than that we enjoyed our meals.
It’s a pity to have to give this establishment such a low rating but their service needs some serious work.

I was disappointed because I heard such great things. I’ll try and highlight some positives. Outdoor ambiance and seating is adorable. Waitstaff pleasant and helpful. No wait on a Friday night.
But our experience overall was just no Bueno…
The special meal I wanted they were out of.
Took nearly an hour for food to come out.
The chupas tastes like Canned creamed corn and were burnt.
My Venezuelan brunch had no flavor at all. I could make better eggs and beans.
We ate half and left hungry
I’m sorry. I was looking forward to experiencing this place based on other reviews… I would like to think it was an off night but we were one of only 5 tables.

To start I would say it is hard to rate this place correctly:
in short, food is excellent, speed of service is a disaster, we will probably not come back.
Let’s start with the good:
— food is excellent, the Venezuelan brunch, the eggs benedicts are amazing and also the pancakes (all better than the other places locally).
— service is friendly and they are working hard but there is a lack of organization (i.e they are running everywhere but you don’t get your water refill, one service was missing we had to ask 3 times)
Now the bad:
we had to wait 55 minutes btw taking our seats and having our food served, we have too young kids and really I was thinking to leave after 30mn and I should have done it. We saw 3 tables leaving the place after not being even offered menu and water to wait.
When the food arrived our kids and my wife got their order and mine arrived when they were already done with theirs!
My recommendation to the Chef/​owner: you have a good food and keep it as is but if you cannot improve the speed (i.e recruit someone to help you) you will not make it. GOOD LUCK ANYWAY but we will not come back.
Prices are good not expensive

Very friendly staff and a change of pace for breakfast. If you’re into savory breakfast, this is definitely a place to check out, although some of their sweet choices sounded good as well.
I had the corn cakes with butter and cheese and my wife had the Venezuelan brunch. The beef was awesome. I’m not into eggs but they did look tasty?
We’ll definitely be back.

Open for about six months this Venezuelan restaurant seems to be gaining some traction. Their apera made with maize dough and filled with eggs and veggies was a hit with us for breakfast as well as their omelette and fresh squeezed orange juice.
Not cheap but a nice addition to Bradley Beach with something different to try.