The arepa sandwich was the best sandwich I've had. It was super tasty and filling, the best part is…read morethat service was super quick and efficient. Would 100000% recommend

Great little spot to get a quick bite. Have had the arepas a couple of times now and they are very…read moregood. Very messy! So, get some napkins when you are there too. Sauces are pretty mild, from what I have had so far. I like being able to build them like a burrito. The arepa dough is very good. Staff are friendly and are able to answer questions for folks new to these tasty meals.

I can't believe I haven't written a review about Rubamba yet! I've been stopping here for a few…read moreyears and they've always been consistent with the Arepas. I like to switch up the type of arepa that I get and this time decided on the orange Cuban, which came with rice and sweet plantains. I almost wanted to lick my plate. It was so delicious!! Their tacos are pretty popular too, and some of the arepas are big enough to split. There are a couple of tables inside, but I know most people opt for a takeout.

I've been here a couple times for the empanadas which i absolutely love! Got a toogoodtoogo order…read morefrom here a couple weeks ago and it was absolutely delicious! The chicken was so flavorful and the portion size was surprisingly large! I was greeted with warm Smiles when I picked up my food. I'm excited to try other items from their menu!

The staff is SO nice. The ambiance is amazing -- and my husband and I added a lock to the wall,…read morewhich was sweet. We were not starving, but needed a little something, so we yordered a beef empanada, a cheese empanada, and a Reina Pepeada - which was *more* than enough for the two of us -- but reheated perfectly in our air fryer the next day for a second meal. (In full fairness, we do not eat tons at a time, but even their appetizers are very plentiful.) It is a lovely place and while we cannot regularly afford it, it is definitely on our special date night list and somewhere we consider special to our relationship -- especially as, he is Mexican and Irish and I am Irish/Welsh and Syrian, so we were asking about the food and what we might like, and two different staff members were happy to recommend -- and also keep in mind I am allergic to seafood. Muy bueno.

Very fast service, although a little bit of pressure to order. I asked the waitress what her…read morefavorite was and she recommended the steak and cheese arepa fried. I also did the shredded beef and plantain and beans grilled. Steak and cheese arepa was the star, so crispy, juicy steak, cheese seared. I could eat it dinner every time. The other arepa was decent, it just had the mistake of going second, shredded beef felt slightly dry. It was al little pricier than expected, the steak was 14 and the shredded beef was 11. Will be back to try other dishes!

I've never had venezuelan food but I was SO happy to have tried it because it was fantastic! I…read moreliterally tried one of everything I was so excited. I tried their tequenos which has like a pillsbury croissant dough taste with cheese in the inside and they were delicious! I wish they warmed up a bit more but that's okay. I also tried their chicken empanadas and I love the cornmeal (i think?) dough they use to make them! The chicken could have been a little bit more tender and moist. I also had an arepa with their shredded beef and loaded it with toppings and just wow. it was seriously delectable, i was so impressed! and i did also get their cachapa and the cachapa alone had such a good taste, the sweet flavor blew me away. I got it with their pork carnitas which were just okay but with everything paired together, i enjoyed it. would definitely come back!

Definitely not entirely authentic Venezuelan arepas but still decent quality food. The best part…read moreabout authentic arepas is they are served very hot and are slightly crispy on the outside from grilling, but fluffy on the inside. These were served slightly warmed and dry on the inside. Still a good introduction to Venezuelan cuisine but it felt americanized. It felt like the food had been sitting a little too long too. I would have liked to see signature arepas alongside the full "make your own" such as pabellón or reina pepiada. I cannot speak on the authenticity of the other dishes they offered, but if you are looking for true authentic arepas this is not exactly the place. Although it was not a bad experience either. It was very clean inside the restaurant and the worker was pleasant.

The paella at this spot is pretty good, not amazing, though the price and portion size is off the…read morecharts! Made for a great second meal the next day, with tons of seafood and peppers throughout. Perhaps would come back to try an arepa.

Super food in this little place! It comes out policing hot and fresh. You can tell it is high…read morequality just by looking at it. I had the swordfish arepa which was out of this world and the chorizo and cheese which was also good, but I preferred the swordfish. Flavors were rich and the arepa was crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside-just perfect.

What an amazing experience and I definitely have to come back. It's not a huge place but the…read moreatmosphere and scenery is amazing. The bar area is nice and the seating area isn't the biggest but it gives a more intimate experience. I had the street corn to start and although I'm a fan of on the cob it was still just as good off and the chips to dip with were so good too. Then I got the barria tacos with queso. I tell you those were the best barria tacos I've ever had. I'm not really a dessert guy but the service was so great that I was convinced into getting the tres leches and it did not disappoint. This was overall a great experience and I can't wait to come back again for "Taco Tuesday"!!!

I went here this weekend right when it opened. It wasn't very busy . We were able to speak with…read morethe bartender and other staff are very polite and friendly. I ordered the horchata and birria rolls. Thr horchata came in a mason jar mug, not the biggest and was pretty good. The birria rolls were good too. My boyfriend had a burrito which was massive. My mom had a mojito pictured. The decor is phenomenal. They just moved to this location a few months ago. The bathroom is elegant. There are photo op opportunities. I found the prices too be to high for the food, but I guess you are paying for the ambiance.

This is a small local spot where you will find good tasty food. It's not a lot of ambience to…read morespeak, but the customer service is really good and you will enjoy your meal.

Reposting this because apparently me calling MYSELF the Spanish/Portuguese term for foreigner got…read moreme reported or flagged and the original was deleted. This was DoorDash, so keep this in mind. Delivery took FOREVER, so that could have affected the food. Also, I was working, so I was intermittently trying to stuff my mouth while completing documentation, meetings, and other tasks. I got several types of empanadas. Shredded chicken, cheese, shredded beef, pollo. My pollo mechado (chicken and cheese) and carne mechada/queso (shredded beef and cheese) were cancelled, as they were out of stock. I also got the club house pollo, which was disappointing, but that might have been affected by the fact it was delivered rather than consumed in-house. Made with grilled chicken, egg, bacon, cheese, ham, and accompanied by French fries, the sandwich fell flat for me. Pretty sure it would have been better hot and fresh, so I wouldn't deter anyone from trying it. But it could have used some seasoning. People rave about this Venezuelan place, so by all means try it . . . they have breakfast platters and sandwiches (mostly various combos of bacon, egg, cheese, ham), arepas, Venezuelan hotdogs. Other hot sandwiches like the Cubano and Philly cheese steak (but let's be honest--your corner bodega is better). Multiple types of burritos and other Venezuelan fast foods. Again . . . please try this place, especially in person. My food was delivered and took a long time, which again, isn't optimal. I'm not a fan of corn casings, which is a preference thing and a *redacted word that rhymes with bingo* thing, I am so embarrassed I can't make myself love corn tortillas and empanadas. And the mood was off, I was working. The empanadas, regardless taking so long, were delivered HOT! From what I read, the brick and mortar restaurant is clean, calm, and enjoyable, and they have a huge variety of Venezuelan dishes. Don't listen to me, and give it a try yourself, especially in person, not by delivery!

The restaurant has rebranded to Valencia Cocina. The menu has been streamlined. The food was…read moreexcellent as usual. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Cocktails were well made! They took what worked well before and made it even better!..

I was passing by on Cinco de Mayo around lunch time and decided to pop in. I had been waiting for…read morethe renovations to finish so I was pretty excited. Sadly, just like the rest of the recent reviews I was quite disappointed by what I encountered. Everyone working was super friendly and attentive which was nice but I didn't recognize anyone working there. I didn't pay much attention to that but when the menu came it was greatly reduced and trying to be more "upscale". it felt odd as the main draw of Valencia for lunch was that it was fast, casual, affordable and delicious. I usually get the lunch combo that came with an aerpa, empanada, rice beans and ceviche but that wasn't on the menu that I saw. I ordered the street corn to start and got the bowl with a pernil arepa. The bowl was a large portion and everything was fresh. Taste wise things were pretty good but didn't blow me away. The pernil was only ok and that should have been the star of the show. I had to ask for aji and I was only given a small dish with some hot sauce as well. In the past your server would just hand over a bottle of aji and let you go to town. The food was decent, but not close to what I remember. The biggest let down was when the check came. I know things are expensive all over but lunch was $41 for some street corn, a jeujed up chipotle bowl and a coke. That seems wild. There was also a charge added for the kitchen which I get but it still feels odd to see additional service charges on an already expensive meal. As far as the renovations go it honestly didn't really seem like anything changed inside, maybe some fresh paint and tile? Unfortunately I will probably not return any time soon or even at all.

Hidden gem! I came here for the first time last week and was excited to try this location as arepas…read moreare evidently their specialty. I ordered one of their signature arepas: The Joint and it was great. It was juicy, packed with a good amount of food and was a nice combination of flavors. As a plantain enthusiast this was the perfect arepa for me. 1 arepa would be filling for the average person. My boyfriend ordered the El Poco Loco for us to split which I wasn't too crazy about - it reminded me of a crispy chicken sandwich and I didn't care for the sauce on this. I didn't bother to eat this after the first bite. Additionally I got to try the tres leches and this was better than I expected. I'm always hesitant to try tres leches because there are so many ways to prepare it. This way was more classic and simple with just the cake and the 3 milks at the bottom. It came served in a square dessert cup. It felt a little small for the price but the taste was worth it. My only constructive feedback for the cake is that the cake would be even better if it was a little less dry as far as texture but that can be hard to balance as you don't want the cake to become too wet over time due to it soaking in the milk. I can't wait to revisit: I'll be getting the tres leches again and would love to try the El Guey.

Ceci's Arepa Joint is on Newbridge Road in East Meadow, NY. The Arepa are made of cornmeal bread…read morewith various toppings as sliced beef, chopped chicken or cheese as mozzarella. As a trial I ordered the minis and got one of each. The bread is light and fluffy and the meats sufficient with nothing special about the cheese. They come with different dips of 3. Id say by the color, hot sauce, russian dressing and maybe green guacamole. Also on the menu and purchased was noted sweet plaintains. They were well cooked and just ok for the sweetness. Now the Empanada of ham and cheese was perfectly cooked and fresh. They have a variety of specialty drinks and of course bottled water. (see pix) Their food is Columbian and or Venezuelan and was made fresh. They do not have desserts of which there is an icecream place in their shopping strip and a deli, the later having various puddings for sale.

I'm sure this is a very nice place and the food is fine, but: I stopped by for a drink and ordered…read morean Old Fashioned. It was now the most expensive drink I've ever had, about $17.00, which is fine, except the glass was less than half full and that included the large ice cube. I've been ordering this drink for years and I've never seen anything like that. I should have sent it back, but I didn't want to embarrass my friend. My wrong choice.

From the owner: We specialize in Venezuelan cuisine as well as Latin American delicacies. We also have traditional…read moreAmerican options like Salad, burgers, wraps, and large selections of appetizers and finger food. Watch your favorite sports team on our TVs at our large bar. Live Music Entertainment every week like Jazz bands, Classic Rock, R&B, Blues, the '60s, &0s, 90s POP & Dance Music Bands. Karaoke every other Thursday 7-10 pm. Live Music Fridays and Saturdays from 7-10:30 pm. Sunday Brunch 11 am - 3 pm and Piano Cover 2-6 pm. Our Arepas are Gluten Free and we also have some vegetarian options.