El Arepazo Latin Grill

This place is amazing. The brewery district location offers tons of seating with a patio and decent street parking. The patacon, fish tacos, and empanadas are perfection. the empanadas are made with a cornbread crust.

Super good! Came here with a client and coworker and they super loved it. I ordered some platter thing that came with a bunch of stuff (lol I looked at the menu but can’t remember) and it was so good! The plantains were awesome. My coworker also ordered an empanada on the side and it was HUGE and I would consider getting one as my lunch next time.

Found this place by accident this weekend while looking for a different place to eat while in Columbus for a volleyball tournament with the family. Outstanding food. I believe my girlfriend and I had the «Big Mexican» with Chicken inside. Loved every bite and can’t wait to come back when I visit Columbus again. Thanks for the experience.

Landed in Columbus for the first time and Unilocaled a restaurant near me for lunch– to my luck El Arepazo comes up! What a gem! Delicious authentic Colombian food (I’m Colombian!)… The tilapia Latina was just delicious and not overly greasy at all! The natural juices, just like mom makes them back home! Will definitely come back next time I’m in town!
Ps: the customer service is great!

Fish tacos and fried plantains. Doesn’t get much better! I’ll definitely be coming back here again to try other items. Someone else noted in their review about getting there early in the lunch hour to get a table. The dining area is small and they do have limits saying outside as well. But, it might give you a chance to sit and have some conversation with someone you don’t know.

Food is still great but the new remodel is terrible. No soda machine (forced to buy individual bottles), the tables aren’t in the alley anymore… They took away a lot of the self service charm without adding full service waitstaff.
They’re trying to «dinner up» the joint and it’s not working. Unfortunate.

Love this place! Food is fresh and drinks are refreshing! We ordered the patacon with talapia, crab cakes and the burrito! Everything was delicious! I suggest getting the spicy cilantro mayo.

My favorite eatery in Columbus, and my husband’s favorite eatery in Columbus. Fresh, authentic food that tastes delicious. They serve the food pretty quickly. The fried plantains are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside – amazing! Although I do wish they were open on Sundays, I still say, without hesitation, that this is one of the best places to eat in Columbus.

I am colombian and lived in chicago for a long time so I feel somewhat qualified to say this place is worth a visit. Tasty as far as «fast food» goes. The fusion of Peruvian/​Mexican/​Colombian/​Venezuelan works nicely unless youre a snobby purist :]

— Great atmosphere.
— Limited seating, so be sure to arrive early especially during lunch times.
— Had the Peruvian Lomo Saltado. Excellent.
— Would recommend.

I’ve tried several menu items. Today I had fish tacos. Delicious! So fresh tasting. $ 12. The Pearl Alley location recently remodeled. The staff is always friendly. I also love the empanadas. This is a great place.

Patacon with the spicy cilantro sauce… Nom nom nom. This is a small space and at lunch time there was no where to sit so we ordered our food to go. It was done fast and we got out and got to it. I thought it was going to be like a jibarito but the plantain was riper and not as starchy. The chicken was good and shredded topped with tomatoes cilantro and avocado. I poured in the spicy sauce and took a big bite and wowohwow. I loved every single bite of it. I definitely want to go back and try a few other things on the menu

My husband and I came to Columbus for a business meeting and were recommended to come try this restaurant. This particular day oxidant have a taste for anything but thought ok this seems different so we will give it a try. I have ever had Venezuelan food (Latin food) before. I was excited to try something new.
This food was really good. I had the tilapia entrée and my husband ordered the burrito. My entrée was very tasty. The fish was cooked perfect and it came with rice, beans, and a side salad. It also came with this house made Cilantro sauce that was awesome. I covered my fish in it and it was amaze balls. I really enjoyed this food. My husband said his burrito with plantains was very good. He has had Latin food before and said it was authentic.
My only complaint though is that it is a little pricy. For the both of us to eat and we ordered 2 bottles of water, it was $ 28 for lunch.
Overall, if ever in Columbus again we would come back. I also recommend this place to others as well.

This place is the bomb. I’ve had two dishes now… the Big Mexican burrito and the Cuban sandwich. Both are delicious. The burrito is huge and comes with Spanish fries. Very fresh tasting ingredients. The sandwich is loaded with flavor and is just as good as the burrito. I got the spicy version and it wasn’t too spicy… just right to add a little heat and flavor, but not overpowering. I used their green sauce on both dishes and recommend it.
I’ve never eaten inside, but it has a café feel to it and looks cozy. If you’re downtown and are looking for good food, you won’t be disappointed.
The only negative is that it’s a little more expensive than other lunch options in the area…$ 11.25 for the burrito and $ 11 for the sandwich. That said, the quality is there so it feels like it’s worth it. Bön appetite!

It’s been 7 years since first having a dish from this place. Only been here twice actually but it goes down as one of top three fav restaurants. Can’t stop thinking about that plate with plantains and fried egg. I’ll be back if I ever return to the boring state of Ohio.
–Len out

Deliciosa comida venezolana, comi un arepazo y mi esposo carne asada, definitivamente vuelvo aqui y nos sirvieron muy rapido

Great, great place in downtown Columbus. This place is so popular that there’s not much that I can add that hasn’t already been said on here.
Pro tip: GET HERE EARLY. If you come during the week for lunch, expect to wait out the door if you get here after 11:30 am. Everyone from all around downtown makes the trek to Pearl Alley to this hidden gem of a restaurant.
The food is Venezuelan. Their known for their cilantro sauce which is the BOMB. I put it on everything I order here. I’ve gotten everything from a burrito to a Tilapia salad to an arepa. Never have been disappointed. Ingredients are fresh and prices aren’t bad at under $ 10 for most entrees and a drink.
If you work downtown and haven’t been here, GO NOW!

You must try this food. It doesn’t matter what your background is. This food will feel like home. At least for me it did. We had great service. Extremely tasty food. And it’s worth the price. Everything tasted fresh and clean. We will be back for sure. This food is craveable!

My boyfriend and I were visiting from out of town, and I decided to check out the highly rated restaurants in Columbus. Unilocalers, you did well. El Arepazo was AWESOME.
Lomo saltado is one of my favorite dishes overall, and this place did great! Think of it as a Spanish stir fry. There are onions, tomatoes, french fries, and beef tenderloin. I ordered mine spicy, and it had a nice mild kick. It comes with Cilantro sauce, and I advise that you smother your entire dish in it. IT’S SO GOOD! They even sell it in larger quantities (12 oz). My lomo saltado was served with plantains and rice, with sliced avocado on top.
My boyfriend ordered the cuban. It came with deliciously crispy fries, but I wish they’d added more mustard on his sandwich. It was a little dry for our taste.
Definitely a must-​try, but make sure you don’t have big plans after eating here. I highly recommend going home, because you will eat yourself into a food coma.

Ah! No really, ahhhh, so good!
I’ve been looking for someplace to eat empanadas for like, oh, five years! Their is no place in Columbus that specializes in this dish :(So, the other nite, chatting with Bryant M., the topic of good empanadas came up, and his suggestion was El Arepazo. Since I’ve only been to the downtown Arepazo one other time (and I didn’t even know they served empanadas), I thought what better time than a sunny Friday afternoon to make it happen.
I got to the **small** joint around 11:20 am, and the ordering line was already starting to grow. Luckily it gave me just enough time to pursue the menu and decide what I wanted to try. I got one Ckicken Empanada and the Peruvian Lomo Saltado entrée.
Holy cow, all the Reviews I’ve read are exactly right, the Empanada was ginormous! The chicken was so tender! Slightly seasoned. Not spicy. I drizzled some of the cilantro sauce on it as I downed that sucker. I am so ecstatic I finally found these $ 4 morsels of ecstasy! I’ve gotta try their Mixed Empanada next time.
I had no idea the huge size of their empas, and was totally full after that. I had to get my entrée in a to-​go container, and ate if for dinner! Warmed it up in the micro. STILL had mondo flavor — good doesn’t even begin to describe the bold flavors of the onions/​tomatoes/​skirt steak! Mixed the rice and avocado in to make one jumble. So good. Just… So so so freaking good!
Oh, yeah, and the reheated plantains? Outta this world!

Boom!
Arepazo kicked off our around the country food tour as my wife and I road tripped through the States. Driving from Buffalo, we barely made it here on time. I think they were ten minutes from officially closing, but were gracious enough to let us order, sit and eat. It actually seemed like we arrived at the perfect time, because there was no line at all.
Looking at the menu, we decided to go with the Tilapia Patacon and we split a full order between the two of us. This was more than enough food for us to share. The dish was topped with delightfully ripe avocados (the melt in your mouth kind) and a dash of their cilantro sauce (which we are huge fans of). My wife and I both LOVE cilantro and were thrilled that they base a lot of their dishes around it.
The plantains in the dish were deep fried and flattened. I liked the contrast the deep fried plantains added to the meal in comparison with all the healthy lettuce, Tilapia, avocado and fish. Crunchy and delicious.
If you’re in Columbus, I wouldn’t hesitate to come here and give them a try. Very delightful.

I just had lunch at El Arepazo Latin Grill today and I was impressed. They are tucked away on Pearl Street (more like alley) in downtown Columbus close to where the biweekly Pearl Market is hosted.
I don’t have much experience with Latin food, so I don’t really have any basis for comparison. Based on pictures and previous reviews, I ordered the Tilapia Latina. I wanted a «lighter» lunch and thought that fish would be a good idea.
Described as «Fish Latino Style», I was sold. A generous portion of baked Tilapia came out with rice, a hefty serving of black beans, a sliced avocado & tomato salad and two mini-​arepas (arepitas). It also came with a side of their famous spicy cilantro sauce. All this for $ 9.95.
The dish exceeded my expectations and was exactly what I was looking for. The fish was moist and flavorful. Clean tasting and not overseasoned or salty. The avocados added freshness and the arepitas added crispness to the dish. The cilantro sauce was the icing on the cake and just pulled everything together. I wish they they bottled and sold it to the public.
$ 9.95 is an amazing value for a fish dish, especially with all the sides. Needless to say, I was full but not self-​loathing. It was a delicious and seemingly nutritious meal. Some plantains would have added a nice sweet touch, but i’ll save that for next time.
One of the best lunches i’ve had since moving to Columbus. I wish the downtown El Arepazo was open for dinner. I guess that means i’ll just have to visit their Gahanna and German Village locations.

Place is brimming with machismo. No problemo. I can hang with these hombres. I walk up to the gorgeous cashier. «Hola mi amor, una arepa con pollo por favor.» Sparks fly. There’s more chemistry than 1^st period 10^th grade.
The owner looks at me from behind the counter. His eyes write out, «Cabron, que estas diciendo a mi esposa?» Nada amigo. I take my arepa and some extra cilantro sauce and make my way out the salida before I get seriously hurt.
Also try the fries, they are amazing. As is everything else here.