Guasaca

I do love this place — and I understand why the long is often out the door and down the sidewalk. It’s essentially the same concept as Chipotle, where you «make» to order whatever food you want — but the difference is the quality of the food is great and the taste is awesome. Definitely try this place — although I not a vegetarian, I often only order the vegetarian option they have and it never disappoints.
Don’t let that hell of a line turn you away from trying this place — it’s solid!

Loved it. Very unique and tasty. My son made me make a trip back.

Great place to grab a quick bite to eat — without having to worry about still feeling hungry afterwards! The arepas are very tasty and extremely filling!
Great value for the food that you get!

Great place for a quick bite. Everything is corn based and set up like a Chipotle. The staff is super friendly and for the money, it was good value. If in the area, I would def come back for a meal

I love this place. Wonderful food. Friendly servers and a good price. It can be a bit loud at times but that’s life.

Oh Guasaca, everything about you… I love! I just started working in your area a few months ago (hence the lack of reviews) but I now have lunch with you at least once a week, sometimes twice.
I get the avocado and chicken arepa… These things are big! One is more than enough for lunch and then I am full till dinner with no snacks. The service is fast. They are ALWAYS busy though. If you can — during the work day (come before noon or after two) to not have to wait in a 30 minute — 30 person line. :D
Sooo cheap too. Less than $ 5 for an arepa with as many additions as you want.
Delicious and budget friendly, I’m there.

The arepas here are on another level. They are also able to make bowls and salads (similar to that large Mexican chain most of us love), and I would always suggest getting some of their Guasaca!

the food is really good but one annoyance:
put the guasaca in the vegetarian arepas, please. you all have it listed as an ingredient in the arepa on the menu and i’ve ordered online numerous times and every time i have to ask you all for a container. they even list it in parentheses as (includes guasaca) so why do we have to ask for it?!?
it’s frustrating because i’ve gotten home numerous times without it being on the actual food. i hate complaining, but it’s just annoying.

I did not really enjoy my lunch here. The location is nice, with some pretty outdoor seating, but besides that nothing met my expectations. The menu was hard to understand and the staff behind the assembly line were not inclined to explain anything; they acted like we were stupid for not understanding exactly how to order. The restaurant is set up sort of in a Chipotle style, where you choose your dish «format» and then your fillings. However, the menu offers some pre-​decided combinations of fillings, but when one of my companions tried to order one of those, the staff did not know what was in it. The arepas are small but still cost the price of a full meal. The food was just average-​tasting. I’m giving this place only two stars for their unoriginality (in trying to be like Chipotle) and for the confusing menu and unaccommodating staff.

It’s my second visit here. Last time was about 2 years ago! I took my BF here this time since he heard it’s really good.
We ordered the steak, chicken and avocado chicken arepa. They all all good! I like the steak one most and my boyfriend likes the chicken one most. We didn’t order the chips. It’s the right amount for us. Will come back for the fish one!

This place get’s five stars from me! I’ve been to Guasaca about 5 times since I heard about it 2 weeks ago and I gotta say, the quality of it is always consistent. I’ve yet to go into the store and be disappointed. The Arepa’s in my opinion are absolutely amazing and are worth trying out. So far I’ve had the Mechada, the Steak and the Chicken and they have all tasted fantastic.
The Guasaca is also very tasy albeit slightly expensive. It cost’s $ 1.65 for a 4 ounce cup of Guasaca, but in my opinion, it’s worth the price you pay. Definitely get it at least once and mix it into your Arepa.

I finally made it out to Guasaca. I had been wanting to try it for a while now. I certainly lived up to my expectations. I had not had an arepa before. They are really good.
Atmosphere: 3
The atmosphere is fast food casual. What they do have that I we enjoyed is a courtyard with tables to eat at. It was a nice day so we sat outside and enjoyed our arepas.
Service: 4
Guasaca is basically a fast food type of restaurant so there isn’t a ton of interaction with the staff but they were friendly and helpful. We explained it was out first time there and they were very helpful explain our option and giving us some suggestions.
Food: 5
Arepas are quite good and Guasaca has a lot of different items to choose from for «toppings.
Price: 4
I thought for what I got the prices were definitely fair. You get freshly made arepa for what you would spend on a burger at most places.

Very unique and delicious! We arrived right at noon on a weekday and there was a line of at least twenty people. So — clearly a popular spot! The line moved pretty quickly. I’d say it took about fifteen minutes to get through the line.
I went with two build your own arepas — steak with black beans, caramelized onions, pico de gallo and the spicy red sauce in the yellow arepa and a pork with black eyed peas, plantains, cole slaw and the cilantro sauce in the white arepa. Both were sensational with fresh, vibrant flavors. Heads up, these are messy! Like juices running down your arms messy. But they are so darn delicious it doesn’t even matter. Just grab extra napkins! We also got some chips and guasaca (a guacamole salsa). I probably could have just eaten one arepa which would make it a super great deal for lunch. But, I took one for the team, my fellow Unilocalers, and went with two completely different arepas. Synopsis — you can’t go wrong, get creative!
The restaurant was very loud and it was a nice day so we sat outside in the courtyard. That was really nice! If I lived in Raleigh, this would definitely be in my regular rotation!

I can’t say enough good things about Guasaca. Everything that I’ve tried off of the menu is amazing. My favorite is the avocado chicken salad arepa with roasted plantains. I have a hard time eating only one, even though that’s enough to keep me full.
They have plenty of outdoor seating in a shared space with some of the other shops and restaurants next to it. We usually grab a beer from the Bottle Revolution next door to enjoy outside with our food.
This is always a must stop when we’re close to Raleigh!

My favorite is the white corn arepa with shredded chicken, cheese, and the guasaca sauce. It is messy but oh so good. One of these is a meal to me. You get a bit of a discount if you order two or more. You can eat inside if you like, but the noise level is pretty high inside, so I prefer orders to go.

Como venezolana que soy, no pude perder la oportunidad de ir a Guasaca. Ameno servivio, impecable lugar y la comida, como el del sabor de casa. Quedé impresionada por la cantidad de americanos disfrutando de nuestra cultura. Volvería sin pensarlo.

If you are looking for a yummy gluten free option this is for you. I have eaten this food twice. Once was in the restaurant and once was take out.
At the location there is ample seating both inside and outside. This is also next to a bottle shop so if you have the need for bottles and yummy food eating might be a good option for you.
This cuisine travels well, if you want have it as takeout instead.
The food:
1. The gluten free item that I reccomend is the arepas. You can get them with any filling you like. My favorite is the chicken arepas. The pork ones are good, but i like the chicken better. It is best with the res sauce. The verde is good too.
2. Another item that is also good is the salad. Again this item is customisable. My boyfriend order his with pork and no dairy.
If you are having taco Tuesday or craving a taco but want something a little different give this place a try!

Believe the hype! We were here on a Friday night, and we just beat the crowd. I had a vegetarian signature arepa and a side of black eyed peas; my husband had the steak signature arepa and chips with guasaca sauce.
The guasaca sauce is good, but very similar to guacamole. No, the real story is the cilantro sauce, which tastes like magic. The black eyed peas weren’t anything special. The arepa, though, was really surprising. I wouldn’t have thought that such a simple dish could be so good.
A minor point, but I’m also glad that water cups here are generously sized. No tiny little water cups!
I can’t wait for Guasaca to come to Durham!

So. Much. Food.
On this most recent visit, I ordered a Steak Arepa with Chips and Guasaca. The Arepas and Guasaca sauce are both highly addictive. Plus, the food is fresh, delicious and affordable!
Sit outside, of course if the weather is nice, and grab a beer from Bottle Revolution!

What a great concept and execution on a Chipotle-​style Venezuelan arepa restaurant. I’ve had arepas before, but Guasaca takes them to another level.
The awesome thing about Guasaca is the ability to mix and match. A single arepa here is actually fairly sizable and good enough for a light lunch or snack. For a big eater like me though, you will need two arepas for a full meal. Each arepa is $ 3.50−4.00, so Guasaca is very reasonable.
You can choose from a variety of protein: chicken, shredded beef, grilled steak, braised pork, braised tilapia and avocado chicken. You can also choose from a variety of sides: plantains, coleslaw, black beans, black eyed peas, caramelized onions, white cheese and pico de gallo. Finally you can choose from different sauces: red, wine vinegar, sour cream, Guasaca, cilantro and mustard. So yeah, the combinations are almost endless. If you don’t want to create your own, Guasaca has 7 «signature» arepas to choose from.
I opted for Guasaca’s signature arepas. I ordered a signature chicken (grilled Chicken, black beans, pico de gallo, white Cheese & cilantro Sauce) and signature tilapia (braised tilapia, baked plantains, caramelized onions, white cheese & cilantro Sauce).
The signature tilapia was my favorite. I really loved the baked plantains which added a nice touch of sweetness to the dish. Both the fish and chicken were well cooked and tasted fresh. I am very much of their cilantro sauce. Anyways, i’m surprised they only have one location, but i’m sure that will change soon.

I’m glad that I read the Unilocal reviews that said the line moves quickly because when we got there the line was pretty long and we might have left otherwise. I had the Signature Fish Arepa and we shared orders of chips and salsa and chips and guasaca.
Everything was very good. Even though the line was long we didn’t have a hard time finding a table.