El Rey de Las Arepas

You know that you are eating authentic and really good South American food when the restaurant is busy and filled with people mostly speaking Spanish. Also nobody is coming here for the ambiance or the location, they are coming for the FOOD and only the FOOD, That's how amazing it is. The service is great and the staff very kind and helpful in trying to explain what each item on the menu is. The pictures on the menu also help. Loved their empanadas, tostones, chiccharones and above all the arepas !!! The last time I had such authentic arepas was in Vegas. This is exactly the type of mom&pop shop you go to for hearty, tasty authentic regional cuisine. Loved it and can't wait to come back!!!

I have been waiting a year to visit this spot and MAN was it worth it!! The arepas was authentic and delicious. The restaurant was also clean and cozy, definitely a whole in the wall place with all the right flavors. The staff was friendly, and accommodating to allergies and dietary restrictions. Which is normally hard to find in Mexican town.I'm definitely going back!!!Mmmmmm QUE RICO !!Gluten free options and vegan options!!A must try!!

After binge watching Street Food- Latin America on Netflix, I had to seek out some Arepas near me. Found this restaurant not far from home. If it's good enough for the Venezuelan elite of MLB like Miguel Cabrera, it has to be good.I was not disappointed, No exaggeration, this was one of the best meals I've had in a long, long time.The passion fruit slush was wonderfully refreshing.The arepas were fantastic, got shredded beef with black bean and plantain. The arepa itself was crispy on the outside, soft and sweet.All the meats were tender and delicious. Guy Fieri needs to find his way to El Rey de las Arepas soon!

I returned to this place after 4 years and the arepas are still as phenomenal as I remember them. The front and inside facade of this restaurant is unassuming- but I promise you the arepas are not. You won't get a fine dining experience here, however, you will get warm and friendly service. I got an order of mini fried arepas with bean and regular arepas with the halal steak. I had them with the side of serrano sauce and it warmed both my belly and my soul. The passion fruit juice is house made and also a must to wash it all down. I will return to this family run business time and time again!

I learned about El Rey de Las Arepas while eavesdropping on some people talking about "that awesome Venezuelan food place" while at Jefferson Street Presbyterian Church! A group of 6 of us decided to get carry out for lunch one day. Who ever helped me place the order was fantastic (I don't remember the person's name). Everything we had was delicious and we tried so many things! From the simplicity of perfectly cooked beans and rice, to arepas (of course!), chicken, pork, shrimp, it all tasted fresh. I really loved the sauces we were given too - they were the perfect touch of flavor. Next time we will eat at the restaurant as a few things, we're guessing, are probably even better straight from the kitchen. I accidentally deleted my pictures of the feast we had.

Little divey, not the most updated spot on McGraw. It may even appear a bit dingy, has a small parking lot attached to it and the food is good. Would it make the Guy Fieri cut for dives, maybe. Parked on the road, so I could watch my car. Wasn't sure about the area. I started off with a passionfruit juice, then I ordered 2 cachapas with light cheese and chicken, 3 arepas, 2 with chicken and one with shredded beef, as was featured in the Metro Times. I added a fried egg to my arepa. I took 2 of ye arepas to go and 1 cachapa too.I am trying their sweet passionfruit juice, it's freshly made or so. Tastes good. Everything takes about 10 minutes or so since it is all made fresh. It's not a fast food spot at all, as mentioned on their black board. They can fry if you want it more crispy, and the arepa self contained, otherwise it's normally pan fried cut with a top and bottom, like a sandwich. I asked for the ones to go to be pan fried since they will reheat better in the toaster oven whole. You can order at the counter or sit down and order. There are about 18 seats in this space. The passionfruit is sweet, not too sweet. They gave me some hot sauce for my dine in food items. The cream sauce is the garlic sauce in the bottle and the other orange sauce is more sweet. The cachapas is delicious, nice melody of sweetness from the corn and there's actually some chunks of corn kernel in it too. The savory from the chicken and slight richness from the cheese gives this little entree/dessert food some real depth. I like it. I could eat the corn pancake on its own, it's that yummy. I could have eaten more of the Corn pancake, but after a while it gets too sweet. More hot sauce probably would've helped it to go down entirely. I tend to be more of a savory foodie than sweet. The chicken Arepa wasn't bad. The integrity of the corn flour on the bottom got too soggy. It is definitely a fork and knife meal. So is the cachapas. The bottoms of both were too soggy to pick up and wasn't like eating the soggy bottom with the fork and knife either. The waitress that waited on me was nice, Pleasant and diligent. She didn't say a lot, but she was informative and helped me order and quickly brought the food when it came as well as the bill.She packed all of the veggies and eggs separately so they wouldn't wilt the corn pancake or the arepa anymore during the commute home, that was thoughtful. The next time I come here I will definitely get the Arepa fried. When it's fried everything stays intact and enclosed. It would make it much easier and cleaner to eat.My carry out order was all wrong. Be sure to check your order before leaving the premises. Was supposed to be one fried beef and chicken arepas. They gave us just corn with nothing in it and I paid for beef and chicken. So unbelievably annoying and beyond disappointing.

Stop reading this review. Just go to El Rey de Las Arepas. This place may just be my all time favorite restaurant in Michigan. I'd never had Venezuelan food before, and am often reluctant to step outside my comfort zone, so I'm really glad that one of my friends dragged me to this restaurant and showed me the light. You may drive to the restaurant and be a little sketched out by the location, that's ok! It's not in the best part of Detroit, but if you can get past that, Food Heaven awaits you. The restaurant presents itself as what most people would think of as a "hole in the wall". It's something you'd never notice if you were just passing through, and unfortunately you'd probably go on not living your best life. Lucky for you (yes, you!) you've somehow found yourself reading this review, and may just be able to broaden the horizons of your eating experience. There's a decent amount of seating inside, I can't say if it gets packed during peak hours as my friend and I went in the afternoon on a Sunday, but we had no problem finding seats. Once seated, our server asked us if we'd ever been to the restaurant and gave us some time to explore the menu. If you've never had Venezuelan food, I'd recommend getting some suggestions from the waiter. Luckily my friend is a more enlightened being than I am, and was able to explain what to get. We ended up getting the Shredded Beef Arepa (with cheese), the Reina Pepiada Arepa, the Cachapa, and the Parilla Mixta. My friend and I follow a Ketogenic (Keto) diet, so we avoided the carbs in the dishes. You may get some strange looks from other folks in the restaurant if you follow our lead, but don't let it stop you from experiencing food bliss. All the dishes were fantastic in their own way, but the Reina Pepiada Arepa was especially delicious, do not miss this one!Are you still reading? Really? Well hopefully I've convinced you to make the trek and try out El Rey de Las Arepas, trust me, you won't regret it!

I am angry at myself for not coming to El Rey sooner. I've had arepas only three times in my life, but this was certainly the best. You want to talk about a hidden gem? this is a must try. Miguel Cabrera comes here when he needs his Venezuelan fix. Also, the family that owns this restaurant is wonderful and make the experience that much better. My cousin and I each got an arepa (one chicken/one beef) and one epanada (one chicken/one beef) with a side of savory and sweet plantains. The dough they make for the empanadas is just out of this world, I don't know how else to describe it. Look forward to coming back and trying the other flavorful menu items. You can tell everything is made to order with fresh ingredients.

Arepa!!! First when I saw it was Venezuelan cuisine, I thought beans, rice and lot of cheese, like Mexican food (no offense, I love Mexican food, lol). It did have rice and beans and some cheese, But I was totally wrong. It was amazing flavorful. Their speciality corn bread makes a huge difference. Super vegetarian friendly. They modify anything to make it vegetarian. Substitute meat for eggs, fresh avocados. So I got the vegetarian Arepa with cheese and plantains. Amazing,,, one of the best things I ever had. The beans and the ingredients were fresh. The corn bread was crispy and unique. The plantains add a juicy crispness. This was not enough as a lunch for me. The portion might be good for a light eater but not me. One was too light, 2 might be too much. My friend ordered the steak arepa which was amazing as well. Must try menu items, Fried plantains and the passion fruit juice.They had three kinds of sauces different spice levels. As usual I loved the spiciest one the dark red one. They had a wasabi sauce which nice as well. The staff, super friendly and helpful. The owner attends to everyone makes sure every one is happy. The girl who took our order explained the menu patiently and made some suggestions. The place is located in a corner. I guess the only restaurant/business around. The place like looks rundown from outside but nice inside (not fancy) hole in the wall type. With Venezuelan dive / decor. They have some dedicated parking about 4/5 spots fills up quickly. but there plenty of street parking. This is going to my frequent spot.

Overall score 4/5Pleasantly surprised! Came here because my friend and I were craving arepas for brunch and we were both surprised at how good and flavorful the food is. I should have known something good was about to happen when the sign in the restaurant said "this is not fast food, be patient as everything is home made...". There are about 5 tables inside this cramped building. The staff is super nice and explained everything well to us. They told us they are known for their arepas and boyyyyyy are they. We had the shredded beef arepa. It was super flavorful, super cheesy, the arepa was super crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside that soaked up all the juices from the meat. I believe you can add toppings on it if you asked (e.g avocado, black beans etc), we got it how it was intended to be eaten. They give you this mayo sauce and a garlic sauce to put on the food. If I could I would take both home and drench it on everything I'm eating. We also ordered the Tequenos which are their version of a cheese stick...crunch on the outside and cheesy in the inside. Reminds me of the ones I had in Miami.The least favorite item we had and it wasn't even bad, it was good but the arepa set the bar high. The breakfast plate they had which had an egg, tostones, meat patty, and fried cheese was okay.I have to say...if you haven't come here yet, come please come support this business and try their food. To my foodie friends...you HAVE to try the arepas. Top notch. I'll be coming back very often for sureFood review:- shredded beef arepa 5/5- tequenos 3.5/5- breakfast plate 3/5