I love this restaurant! Their patio is big and since they built the walls up, you can't even tell…read morethe road is right there. They have a huge menu include many gluten free and vegan dishes. It was so nice to have so many options! The servers were very nice and although we had a reservation, we probably didn't need one. I tried the passion fruit drink - yummm! It was very refreshing on a hot day. I also got the vegan patacones, which here is almost like a sandwich (like a jibarito) and it was SO good. The portion sizes are huge and all the food came out fairly quick. I'll definitely be coming here more often!

Amazing authentic Venezuelan food. The food was high-quality and not salty and not oily either…read more Every dish was high-quality and tasted amazing. The drinks were good as well. Staff was very attentive and nice.

Always solid the food, my favorite dish to order always are the burguers and tequeños, you never…read moreget wrong with those. The people are amazing over there, and also on summer the patio is great to hang around and enjoy the weather.

We wanted some good food after enjoying some drinks at the nearby Right Bee Cidery. We know a good…read morearepa, so we were eager to try and they did not disappoint! We got a vegan 2 arepa (yes, they have vegan and vegetarian ones) and a ham & cheese empanada and both were delicious! The music / vibe was great too, and the staff was very kind and helpful. We loved this place and would highly recommend!

Food was excellent and plentiful Mixed grill for 2 would…read moreprobably feed 4 Sorry I just don't like yuca fries the potato fries were fine The green sauce gave a great zing to everything not spicey just tasty I will absolutely return

Unreal meal it was so flavorful and delicious with great portion! They have good brunch menu and a…read morereally nice heated patio on the inner building as well as a patio at the front with a few more tables - dog friendly to both! Very nice people also! Will go back.

I didn't see any White Sox players (that I know of) but I did see a messy, filling, and quite tasty…read morelunch. We ordered the Pabellon and the Tropical arepas. I balked slightly at the prices but stopped complaining as soon as I saw the size of the arepas. Both were stuffed to exploding and were very, very good. I'm full enough that I may not need dinner. The restaurant is small with limited seating and no public restrooms. It's reasonably clean and nicely decorated. It's quick serve - order at the counter and your meal is brought to you fairly quickly. Since this is the Loop they're not open late but there is a $9.99 Arepa Night promotion on Wednesdays. Get extra napkins.

A true Venezuelan gem in the heart of Chicago's Loop!…read more As a Venezuelan, finding a place like Bien Me Sabe right in the middle of Chicago's financial district honestly blew my mind. Surrounded by office buildings and big companies, this spot brings a real taste of Venezuela to the Loop and people know it. I saw so many non-Venezuelans coming in for lunch, which says a lot about how good this place is. They serve arepas with huge, flavorful fillings, cachapas, and Venezuelan bowls that look and taste amazing. Everything was fresh, and the service was super fast and friendly. The empanaditas come in orders of three, same with the tequeños, and they're perfectly stuffed, small enough to try different flavors, which I loved. They also have natural juices. I had a passion fruit one and it was delicious, perfectly sweet, super cold, and really refreshing. They even sell Frescolita, Malta, and all those drinks that make Venezuelans instantly nostalgic. There's plenty of space to sit, and the location couldn't be more convenient. Honestly, this place is a 10 out of 10. Whether you're grabbing something quick or sitting down for lunch, it's perfect. The portions are generous, the food is complete, protein, carbs, flavor, everything you need in one plate. It's not the cheapest spot in town, but that's just how Venezuelan food is, and trust me, it's absolutely worth every dollar. If you're in Chicago, especially around the Loop, and want something truly Venezuelan, Bien Me Sabe is the place to go.

We got the la puerca arrepas (shredded pork) and the sampler plate. The arrepas were just as tasty…read moreand stuffed with filling as I remember. I love the hint of sweetness of the green sauce, it goes well with everything. My favorite from the sampler plate was the plantains. The tamarindo we got was also huge and so refreshing. So good and filling. The staff are also great. The only minus for me was that the strobe light inside was a bit distracting. But overall, I highly recommend this spot.

Pabellon Arepas: Shredded beef, black bean, sweet plantain, cilantro sauce, cheese. These are like…read morethe slider versions of regular-sized arepas; although small, they are deceptively filling. They have a fridge full of hot sauce bottles inside and I def rec grabbing a bottle and dousing that sauce on these. Tequeños: Fried cheese sticks with a green sauce (sauce was sweeter than the cilantro sauce that accompanied the Arepa. You can't convince me the outside isn't just mini pillsbury crescent rolls (I dig it) Also pictured: Passion fruit juice and Hibiscus Juice served in Chalices. It's a party on Fabio's corner every night. Between the flashing OPEN sign by the entrance and the colorful patio looking out towards Argyle street, it's a sensory overload in the best way. Immaculate presentation on the food and drink as well.

Delicious! I had never been to a Costa Rican restaurant in the U.S. before so always exciting to…read moretry something new. Larger than it looked from the outside which made a walk in dinner easy. Casual friendly atmosphere, the patio was lovely. A friend and I split a skirt steak pepito and the casado, the national dish of Costa Rica, with coconut shrimp. The pepito was my favorite, everything about it was perfect. We had a lot of leftovers of the casado - so much food! Had never had that combination of items in a dish before and loved the combination of flavors and textures. I don't live in Chicago but have several friends that live walking distance from Irazu so I'd been wanting to try it for so long. worth the wait and I'm looking forward to coming back and trying more on the menu!

Chill vibe as soon as I walked in, pero como de esperaba para los Latinos…read more Cuisine: 5/5. Casado de pollo. First time ordering this dish and I'll order again when I have the chance. The menu says it's the national dish of Costa Rica. Pollo, gallo pinto, sweet plantains, cabbage, salad, over-easy egg. Hella filling and definitely tasty and filling. Service: 5/5. Friendly and attentive. Ambiance: 5/5. Chill, feels like I'm back home in SoCal/L.A. Buen provecho.

Yesterday was my wife and I 21 anniversary and the chefs table didn't let us down, the food was…read moreamazing service was outstanding he made a custom menu just for us because my wife don't eat red meat and it was still amazing. I just want to thank the chef for an Amazing experience Thankyou.

I went here with my best friend and my hubby to celebrate my birthday with a great birthday dinner…read more We were in the Chi already visiting Atlas Stationary as a self-proclaimed station and fountain pen freak so we figured why not?!? I had heard great things about Carnivale prior to so please note that prior reservations were already made but regardless, it was all our first times there and we were stoked to finally try this place out. When we first got there, the outside was very unassuming. Some awesome graffiti on the wall (yes, angel wings included) and lots of color which made me so happy! As we entered, we were greeted by lots of colored flora on the walls and the floor. It led to a beautiful lounge where we checked in. The hostess was quite kind and they escorted us to another room that had multiple floors, two I believe. We were sitting in the main dining area where dining tables were set up and the ceiling lights and decorations were super-duper colorful. It was brightly lit and festive. Seriously, the colors alone could make anyone happy and do a serious dopamine overload which was fine with me. We sat down, was introduced to our server, Oscar and then given menu's. I genuinely thought that this place was pretty small initially because it looked small from the outside but boy was I wrong! This place was MASSIVE. But! I digress, now that we had our menu's-- Let the party begin!! We started with the ceviche tasting which included four types of ceviche; shrimp, Yucatan style hamachi, salmon and tuna. All were really good with their own really distinct flavors but our top favorites were the salmon and the tuna. The salmon had a kick while the tuna had a great balance of heat and sweetness. Great way to start of this dinner! My bestie ordered coconut shrimp and smoked mushroom croquettes for her main meal. My hubs ordered the carne asado while I ordered the lechon asada. I also want to add that we ordered Mexican street corn on the side alongside mashed potatoes and Peruvian Jalea. Ah and before I forget, we also ordered our drinks which consisted of a: sangria, margarita, Cotton Candy Cosmo and Salva Honduran Pilsner. All were spectacular and made the night that more enjoyable as well! When we received our food. We were all really enjoyed it as we all shared our bites amongst one another. The coconut shrimp was well breaded and you tasted the coconut as well. The shrimps were large and juicy. The smoked mushroom croquettes were good with a smokey flavor and good breading, however, the breading may have a been a little thick because you couldn't really taste the mushroom,m unfortunately. The carne asado was the star of the show. Well seasoned steak, cooked medium rare which was juicy and succulent. The lechon asado was good. Although I'm not used to eating lechon asado that is covered in sauce, the sauce was super tasty so I didn't mind the tender, juicy pork that was covered in it. I really enjoyed it. I think the only thing that I wish was different with regards to my lechon asado is that I wish it were hotter because it was luke warm when I received it. Other than that, it was....*chef's kiss*. The Mexican street corn was alright, it honestly just tasted like regular corn with mayonaise in it with some cheese. Didn't add anything significant to the meal. The mashed potatoes were soft but not too soft and buttery. They were really good and then the Purvian Jalea was another favorite, super good! The calamari, fish and shrimp with the Purvian Jalea were absolutely delicious; fresh, tasty and well breaded. It was absolutely yummalicious. To top the night off, they gave me a little birthday treat of cotton candy and carmel popcorn. We also had some tres leches which was so yummy because the fruit was fresh and you could taste the milk in the tender cake and then we had the chocolate cigar. The chocolate cigar was also really good, everything except the label was edible, It was smokey, chocolately and delectable. It's presentation was also so creative. We all loved it. Overall, this restaurant is SUPER PRICY but SUPER WORTH IT. I am so glad that I was able to go there to celebrate a special occasion because it would not be a place that I could go to on a regular basis but as much as I wish I was, ya girl ain't rich like that. The service was superb, the employees were kind, the food was fire and drinks were scrumptious. If you're looking for a fun, Latin cuisine inspired, creative, yummy way to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion with a fun Latin twist--look no further, that is it! Check it out and you won't be disappointed. Now, I'm sorry for my novel and you may now go back to your normal programming schedule. If you do end up coming here and loving it -- i told ya so ;)

Venezuelan food is new to me but I've been having it a lot lately. I decided to go try it in a…read morerestaurant and I don't remember what this was called but it was essentially surf and turf and it was incredible. We tried a few different things and everything was good. I already have a list of what I will try next. Also I don't speak any Spanish and I didn't prevent me from getting what I wanted. It is a nice ambiance with a lot of people going in and out rotating tables. Very busy place but even still there was no wait. If you have not tried Venezuelan food you are missing out. Go try this place. Happy Fooding!!

This place was great, I don't know what some of the reviewers are complaining about! I always like…read moreto try Venezuelan food whenever I have the chance to. I tried numerous little items from this place, including the mandocas or corn fritters, pastelitos de queso or cheese pastelitos, and the shredded beef empanada. Everything was really quite good flavor wise, very cheap, and overall just gave a nice street food kind of vibe. The corn fritters were really good. Fried crispy on the outside and a bit oily, but not in a bad way. They were surprisingly quite sweet and fluffy in the inside. Cheap and delicious. The beef empanada came in a large portion, and I really enjoyed it. The beef was well seasoned, flavorful, and had a fantastic texture. It wasn't too bready. I loved the green and slightly creamy sauce they served with the empanada. Great. The cheese pastelitos were probably my least favorite of the few items I tried, I thought they weren't all that flavorful, but definitely weren't bad by any means. Filling was decent with a good amount of cheese, but just not a ton of flavor to them. All in all, a very nice place to get street food type of items and more substantial items too, like cachapas and arepas. I'd definitely recommend this spot.