Got the shredded beef arepas which were fantastic.The Miguel Cabrera decor is awesome and I even got a pack of cards.Then there's the service,lightning fast 10/10 would recommend read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

Great authentic food and friendly staff. Nice atmosphere. My wife is from Venezuela and her thoughts are the same. Conveniently located in SW Detroit. Only comment (nothing against the number of stars) is there is not much parking. But we got the best parking space during our visit. read more

I grew up on Venezuelan arepas, and when coming to Detroit, I never thought I would have a place that took me back home. El Rey has a variety of other Latino specialties, but I truly come for the tequenos and the Reina pepiada. The tequenos are crispy and fried to order. The green sauce is everything you need and the Reina pepiada makes the usual dry arepa so flavorful. It's a no-frills restaurant that makes some of the best latino food in detroit, and it is so worth the visit. read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

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I love this place. Let me explain, The owners greet you with so much joy, pride, and sunshine EVERYTIME. The music, especially if you enjoy Marc Anthony. Now, the food. Ugh, I try to get here every Friday. Its consistent, its authentic, its made to the music, and its DELICIOUS. Every bite makes you want to take another bite. Papa rellenas is perfect and they aren't easy to make. You'll leave feeling as if you just left Tias read more

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Great food, fast service, authentic Venezuelan food, and amazing Sancocho and beef soups serve on Saturday and Sunday . Friendly staff welcome you to the place. read more

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!! read more

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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! read more

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My family and I were very excited to head to "El Rey de Las Arepas" because of all the great things we had read and heard about it. We were there on a Friday at 11am. However, we were very quickly disappointed. For starters, the parking situation is terrible. They have about 3 spots total. If those are occupied you are forced to find street parking in a very sketchy neighborhood. Once inside, the restaurant is very run down and not well maintained (furniture is old, etc). We usually don't pay much mind to those things as long as the food is good but it was pretty bad. After we sat down, it took the one and only waitress for the entire restaurant, at least 10 minutes to walk over to us and take our drink and appetizers orders. There were four of us and it took a half hour for us to get our drinks and two appetizers. It took about an hour from then to get our actual orders. We spent two hours there when we expected to only be there an hour-max. The food was good but the portions were pretty small and seemed overpriced. We have no intentions of returning again. Especially since no one even bothered to apologize for how long we had to sit and wait for our food. read more

The food is delicious and fresh. The staff is very friendly and attentive. They also have fresh drinks, love the mango and others. I highly recommend going and trying out a variety of what they have to offer. The Arepas are homemade and amazing, love their whole fish, coffee ect. And, make sure and try their green sauce. read more

Amazing!!! Food is so good I should have taken a pic but it was so good I couldn't. I will next time. Can't wait to go back.

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!!! read more

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! read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

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. read more

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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. read more

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! read more

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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. read more

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Overall score 4/5 Pleasantly 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 sure Food review: - shredded beef arepa 5/5 - tequenos 3.5/5 - breakfast plate 3/5 read more

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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. read more

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Note from 4 year's ago Yelp deleted hundreds of my reviews. Absolutely Unique Authentic Venezuela food only one in Michigan what a great family plating up classic Arepas with many choices of filling. Classic dishes with Rice, Black Beans n Meats native to there home country. A sandwich called the 4 X 4 has Pork, Ham n Steak that's big enough to share. Find them on Facebook and Instagram for updates n many photos read more

Very friendly staff and delicious food! I ordered Bandera Paisa and chicken empanada. read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Very friendly staff and delicious food! I ordered Bandera Paisa and chicken empanada. - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

Hi Cj, the food is outrageously delicious service was excellent very attentive as this was a hole in the wall type of place ambience is really keen on. Just you know what it is. I recommend anybody in Detroit once a hole in the wall I want some Venezuelan food? This is the place. read more

Fresh, perfect in every way, made to order arepas, fairly priced. Paired w their home made passion fruit cocktail and delightful service, under a picture of Detroit Tiger Miguel Cabrera (himself a Venezuelan who loves the place along w many other MLB Venezuelan players), we have ourselves here a gem, people. Partake and tip well, let's support these inspired businesses. read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

For real. As good as it gets, and this is coming from someone who took a Venezuelan to the restaurant! The place was great, SO good. Yeah, the place is situated on a corner of a side street, but oh well. The sign and sidewalk was covered in snow but the sign I needed/cared about was the one on the door that said "Come in, we're OPEN" Don't have to tell me twice. We were greeted by a friendly waitress who encouraged us to sit where we'd like. We ordered some delicious passion fruit juice and tamarindo juice and it was incredibly refreshing! We started the early lunch meal with some tostones, plain, with just a hint of salt and it was SO mouth watering. They came smashed (as they should be), hot, and had just a slight crisp on them that is making my mouth water just thinking about it. My personal favorite is what I ordered, the arepa with shredded beef and queso blanco. It was MASSIVE. Not lying. As big as my hand with my fingers fully spread out. I usually try and hold it together and eat it hamburger style but at one point I had to pull out the knife and fork, it was overflowing. The beef was pull apart tender and juicy, seasoned so well with a hint of smoke. The queso blanco was also toppled in heaps, no scarcity around this place. If there was anyone more excited about their meal than me, it was my fiance, who was born and raised in Venezuela and had always RAVED about how amazing a cachapa is. Too difficult to make at home, he had always talked about how marvelous and flavorful they were and now I got to experience it. It came out and was hot, toasted, and full of queso blanco. It tasted it myself - velvetty, buttery, and was like a hot, juicy corn cake filled with cheese and made like nothing else I had ever had. My tastebuds were singing WOOHOO! Long story short, the food is really kick-butt amazing and while the place is a little down the beaten path, I think it's one of Detroit's best kept secrets!! read more

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Finally made to El Rey de las Arepas yesterday, and I am in love. It was fairly easy to find, though we passed it once. It's in a fairly large location with decent neighborhood parking. Our waitress was friendly and very helpful with the menu, which was easy to understand. I was thrilled with the plantain options, both tostones and maduros, too. Essentially, there are a number of appetizers, arepas with a variety of meats, some sandwiches, and full plate dinners. The tostones are excellent. I love tostones, a lot more than maduros (the sweeter, more ripe plantains). They are just the right thickness. We had ours filled with mechada (marinated beef). When they are served the plantains are crunchy, but if you let them sit a bit the mechada will meld with the fried plantain for a richer flavor. Either way, they are delicious. We wanted to try as much as possible from the menu, since we had waited so long to visit, so we also had the mini arepas. These are fantastic. The arepa itself is sweet, but not too sugary. Its outside is just a bit crunchy, and the inside is steaming, sliced open, filled with a white cheese. My companion had the pabellon criollo. It's a full dinner with rice, black beans, meat (he had beef), and maduros (sweet, fried plantains). He loved it, and he even liked the rice, which is really saying something. I had a sandwich, which used huge tostones instead of bread. It had chicken, lettuce, tomato, cheese and mayonnaise, and it was .... too good. I need a knife and fork to eat it, but it was worth it. When the juicy goodness of the filling blends with the perfectly fried green plantain, it's a perfect blend. This was so much food for a great price. We ended up taking home enough for a wonderful breakfast this morning. All of it reheats well, especially using a toaster oven. I definitely won't wait as long to go back, and I am thinking of a way to order arepas and tostones ahead of time for a dinner party, so we can have a fill your own kind of set up. read more

This place was incredible. The staff was friendly and attentive, even though we later learned that their waitress was off for the day. We had the fried plantains and cheese sticks to start. They were amazing. Try the garlic sauce, you will love it. For the entrees, I had the beef arepa (as recommended by other yelp reviewers) and it didn't disappoint. My friend is vegetarian so they worked to create one for her that involved sweet plantains, avocado, a fried egg, and lettuce. She said it was amazing. Best of all the bill was $22 for all that food. We will be going back for sure. read more

This place is a must try! I had the chicken arepa and a cachapa. Will definitely be back. read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Hands down delicious. I ordered a chicken arepa and a cachapa. Will definitely be back often! - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

Oh. Em. Gee. The arepa de mechada (marinated beef) is amazing! I wasn't very familiar with Venezuelan food but the waitress was helpful and suggested a couple of things to our party. Everyone was completely satisfied. (Tip: if you know what you want to order, feel free to call it in ahead. The waitress suggested it to us to lessen wait time!) Definitely try the passion fruit drink when you go, you won't regret it. Parking lot is rather small but you can park on the street. read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Parchita (Passion fruit) aka Deliciousness. - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

This place is amazing!! Problem is I can't pronounce It so whenever I want to recommend or suggest it I get tongue tied and change the subject ... it hurts because I do want to support the business but my Damn uncultured butt doesn't know how to :( . I guess I'll just make business cards for this and hand them out !!! read more

I stumbled upon this place and had to check it out - I will be back. Meats and mayonnaise-based sauces? Can't go wrong. I had the parilla mixta and bandeja paisa and I recommend both. I didn't think they'd take credit cards but they do. read more

I stopped in for a late lunch last week and the place only had a few diners. That gave me the opportunity to look around and talk a bit with the owner. We had a nice conversation while my chicken and avocado arepa was being prepared. I also enjoyed a passion fruit juice drink as I waited and the gentleman kindly brought me out a refill to accompany my food. The chicken, avocado and mayonnaise were combined in my arepa as a kind of "chicken salad sandwich" and I loved it. The flavor was mild and smooth and was even enhanced by the garlicky mayonnaise served alongside the arepa. The actual arepa was prepared very well, with a crusty and browned outer crust and a lighter, airier interior. It held up to the tasty chicken and avocado filling very well. I will definitely be back to try more of the menu offerings and enjoy a taste of South America here in SWD. read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Chicken and avocado filling. Very rich and tasty. - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

This was some the best food and service I have had in a very long time! Nice and simple and delicious food and a great way to spend your money on a great meal!ohhh and you can talk to the staff about what's on the menu and how they came up with the menu! read more

So very glad they are open again. Love the food and the staff. Always a great meal. Have never had a bad meal. The Sancho is delicious and the best arepas in town. read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - people in a restaurant - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

"this is not fast food, be patient as everything is home made..." The food is delicious, freshly made and fairly priced. The staff is super nice, attentive and willing to explain every plate they have on their menu. Highly recommend arepas with shredded beef and cheese. read more

Today was my 1st Time coming to this restaurant with my girlfriend and her classmate. Food was GREAT!!!. I loved their passion fruit juice. Gotta visit this place again next time I'm in the area. Waiter was very friendly. Also he a big Tigers fans and Miguel Carbrera fan as well. read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

Really good arepas. We got a beautiful vegetarian one for under $6. Great spot for lunch-DPS teachers! read more

El Rey de Las Arepas - Venezuelan Near Me - Detroit, Michigan

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This place is one of my very FAVORITE Detroit restaurants - open in the afternoons - great food friendly staff. !! Arepas are little corn pancakes, stuffed w the good stuff (beans or meat or scrambled eggs, cheese , avocado etc. here they freshly made and everything is super tasty. Great plantains and pastelitos too! Don't forget the green garlic sauce or passion fruit juice!!! During Covid, you can call in your order and pick up from a take out window. This is a neighborhood GEM! Don't snooze! read more

Tired this place a couple of times now with some of my work colleagues and absolutely loved it. Tried the 4x4 sandwich and the arepas and loved it. Don't forget to try their passion fruit juice. It's amazing. read more

Looked promising but the hours listed on yelp are incorrect. It was closed even though we arrived during the listed hours.

Food so good I parked on th side walk! Until he told me it's a $45 ticket......it's worth it. No extra sauce needed. Just a fork and appetite. read more

Really tiny place that's easy to miss so keep your eyes open when you are looking for it. There is not very much seating inside but I was there for lunch on a Friday and no one was there so seating was not really an issue. I ordered the K-Rod which was basically a fried plantain sandwich and it was delicious. Loved the green and pink sauce they really pulled it all together and all the vegetables were nice and fresh. They had a lot of other things on the menu I want to try so I will probably hit up the place again. I will say I went here when it was 5 degrees out and inside was freezing! So make sure to wear a warm jacket if you go here. Server was very friendly and helpful with the menu, ask her for recommendations if you need it. read more