Costas – South American Arepas

Arepas!!! Yummm, yeah!
I love arepas and I love sweet plantains, so this place was LOVE at first sight!
You can make your own arepa (s) or you can choose from the menu.
My typical order is chicken, w/​sweet plantains and avocado sauce, ugh, I want one right now!

Wow! I wish this place was closer to my home. My wife and I found this small place just by accident, but now I will make it a destination. Being in Manhattan I expected big price with little food, but boy was I wrong. The price was reasonable and the portion was large and big enough to satisfy two hungry people. We ordered the short rib meat with chimichurri and it was excellent. Regretfully, we were already in our car driving when we realized how good it was. I would have ordered some for home. I can’t wait to go back.

This was my first time trying an arepa and boy was it delicious. We were sightseeing NY and just happened to walk past their outdoor order window & tried the build your own. Base price is $ 3.75 + proteins vary from $ 1-​$ 3 (highly recommend the short rib, it just melts in the mouth), ingredients are $.75 (wide selection) & includes a sauce. Although a little pricey, it was definitely worth it as they give you a lot of meat & ingredients. There’s no seating, but I loved that my arepa wasn’t soggy while we found somewhere to eat.
Really hope they open one in DC, would definitely be a regular!

Polite, quick and excellent food. This small arepa stand will see the likes of me at least 10 more times.

My coworker and I found this place and decided to give it a chance. I have never had an arepa before, so was pleasantly surprised to find out it is made of corn and not flour. So this is gluten free for those who have a gluten allergy.
I ordered the Columbian but you can build your own which is also good if you are a picky eater or just like certain combinations.
I found that because of my guacamole, it was a bit messy to eat. But the flavor was quite good. I found that it was stuffed quite nicely to the ratio of the arepa (corn bread/​tortilla) but I know some people will tell me otherwise.
Another note that this place only takes card which was a surprise but for a tiny establishment I can understand why they wouldn’t want cash on site. And because it is tiny there is no eat in area. Though you are by Herald square and can just eat at the little parks if the weather is nice.

The first time I went here I was a fan. My vegan friend recommended this place and I was impressed since it is not easy to find arepa places. Subsequent visits have not been as good. Now its hit or miss. Sometimes they are right on, but others I feel that the end product is sloppy. They definitely have potential and I will continue to go there on my lunch break.

I had my first Costas arepa today and I am already salivating thinking about going back. I ordered short rib with sweet plantains, caramelized onions, queso guayanes and chimmichurri sauce. I had a bit of a walk before I got to sit down and actually eat my arepa so it was a little cold by then but it was still insanely delicious. The options for fillings and sauces are extensive and make you want to keep going back to try new creations. I have to give bonus points for the great packaging too!

They were filming something here when I showed up for some reason. Had a plain arepa solely as the prices are way too high, especially for a take-​out stand. Woman was pleasant. Arepa was OK. Not the best I have had, especially for the price.
2.3

Stumbled upon their outdoor order window in Herald Square and happy I did! Super friendly and delicious arepas.
I ordered the Venezuelan with added chicken. The sweet plantains in this arepa is what made it great.

Obsessing over their short rib arepa with sweet plantains and smoky ricotta pepper sauce. Also try the pork shoulder arepa with avocado and mango salsa. DELICIOUS. Yes, it’s a bit pricey. $ 8.50 for an arepa with all of the trimmings but it’s so good that it’s worth it.

I am from Venezuela and felt intrigued to stop by this little nook in the wall since there aren’t many restaurants with Venezuelan food in New York. This is NOT Venezuelan food. I asked the workers if they or even the owners were from Venezuela and the answer is NO. It is like eating Filipino food at a Cuban restaurant. It was all wrong and tasted very different.
If you want to try Venezuelan food, I’d recommend going somewhere else like Patacon Pisao or El Cocotero
This place is a fraud

WOW. I think I just found my new favorite lunch spot! Delicious!
The staff is also very friendly!

Best option for lunch if you work in the area.
Everything is delicious especially the chicken arepas and the avocado tomato salad.
The lemonade is excellent as well.

Good food, but you have to fix your breakfast prices. Period. I think the answer is not charging $ 3.75 as the starting point for s build your own option. It’s about $ 0.15 in corn, adding $ 0.25 in egg results in an undifferentiated breakfast sandwich at $ 4.75 at over 1000% mark-​up.
They are at least $ 2 too expensive. Take it out of your empty arepas price. Rather than build your own, you should have $ 5.00-$ 6.00 breakfast sandwiches to choose from. Doubtful I will return for another’s $ 8.50 arepas, and I pass this place every day

I am flying to Colombia this weekend and was totally craving an arepa for lunch. My employer just moved to this neighborhood and I had no idea that Costas exists, let alone that it exists on the next block over — thank you, Unilocal!
I’m a huge fan of Caracas Arepas Bar and I was curious on how Costas stacks up. I ran there immediately. Here’s my review:
— I’m pretty sure Costas is a pop up window?
— line was decent and customers hang around and wait for their orders (it’s quick)
— staff is friendly
— they don’t take cash
— food is delicious! build your order
I had an arepa with short rib, avocado, cheese, tomato, onion, and chimichurri sauce. And a side of sweet plantains with cheese. I paid $ 13.25. I wish I could replay every. single. bite. My food was seasoned perfectly, not bland like many other arepa establishments. My arepa was not soggy when I got back to my desk. The plantains were ripe (win!).
Costas is a great place to quickly grab lunch and go. The menu accommodates all different palates, diets and restrictions. I only hope it’s not a temporary pop up so that I can treat myself to a carby-​but-​gluten-​free lunch in the future. Yum.
UPDATE :)
Day #2 of my newest obsession. I need to pump the breaks after today, I know.
I ordered an arepa with pork shoulder, tomato, zucchini, onions, sweet plantains, cheese, and mango salsa. Flavor explosion.
Too good!

So the owner reached out to me and because the customer service was great the first time, I decided to give it another shot. Apparently the day I went, the equipment was malfunctioning and it was truly an off day.
I went back and basically got the same thing as last time (wouldn’t be an apples to apples comparison otherwise) and it was good! They also adjusted their prices a bit, making it more competitive.
The skirt steak was tender and flavorful, arepa cooked just right, and I tried the plantain stuffed with cheese which was good, and the mango nectar was fantastic! It’s one of the most authentic tasting mango nectars I’ve had and I got to speak with the owner.

I love trying something new and enjoying it.
Walked by this place and instantly knew that I wanted to try it. There is no seating here it is pretty much a pop up shop, so be prepared to take your food elsewhere. They take your order via iPad and it is card only so no need to try and grab cash. I decided to go with the arepa with pork shoulder, Queso guayanes, cherry tomatoes and Green tomatillo sauce. Each topping including the sauce is an extra cost. For that matter it ends up pricey with the additional add ons so I didn’t stuff it with as many things as I wanted to but none the less that arepa was slamming! This is like a true arepa you would get at an authentic Columbian spot. I walked down the block to Herald Sq where there are tons of tables and chairs to eat. The pork was seasoned and cooked very well. The cherry tomatoes were very fresh and the sauce was great! Probably could have went w/​o the cheese because it did not have that much flavor and I could barely taste it. I will most definitely be returning here I cant wait to try the other proteins!

Exciting! With the great weather and the city fast pace, they have a walk up! Looks new and bery organized. Prices look faor and selection has a variety of fillings. A change of korea town, burgers. I like it!

If you’ve never had an arepa, you need to have one STAT. Costas is a great option for the midtown area. I usually go to caracas downtown when I’m craving arepas, but when I heard this place opened near my job, my friends and I met for lunch there. Someone takes your order via iPad. There’s no seating. Oh and they ONLY take credit cards. Yup, you heard me. NOT cash only, CARD only.
I got a short rib arepa with mushrooms, onions, and chimichurri sauce. Just 1 is super filing for lunch.
It was slightly pricey at $ 10+ (and I didn’t even get a lot of toppings). They packed it up pretty well but by the time I ate it, it was dripping all over my hands. They did include a wet nap though :) Only other negative is that my friend had ordered a side (plantains and cheese) and they said it would be an additional 2 minutes. It was an additional TEN minutes, which was super annoying.

I’m an arepa expert, I love arepas and these are not bad at all, I like the place, how fast they are and the one I tried was good, not to die for, not the best, but good. The problem is I PAID 18 BUCKS FOR ONE AREPA AND ONE PINEAPPLE JUICE!!! (And tip). That to me is absolutely crazy! Insane!
The price for an arepa starts at $ 4,75 with nothing in it, JUST THE AREPA which is made out of corn flour, salt and water. 1 kilo of corn flour cost less than $ 4.75 and you can make from 18 to 22 arepas from it. You make the numbers.
I would never eat there again just out of principle.