The old patacones taste terrible, the worst bandeja paisa, the Lengua with out taste. The maracuyá watery far from the original taste . Overprice , small portion and terrible experience . I would never go back again . read more

I really wanted to love this place as I just moved to Silver Spring and an easy convenient place to get Colombian food sounded like a WIN. But the food is just ok. Especially anything sitting behind the counter like the empanadas, buñuelos, pan de bono, they are re-heated, chewy and stale. The great items I've had are the soups. Also ordered the arepa de chocolo and was served an arepa with a piece of cold cheese on top, not at all what I'm used to. I just moved to the DMV and met a local who said it used to be a great place but in the last few years the quality went down. I also ordered a chocolate caliente con queso (hot chocolate with cheese) and after drinking a bit I realized they forgot the cheese, no biggie I figured I'd tell them and get a new one. Nope! After telling the young lady she handed me foil wrapped cheese and handed it to me LOL. Overall this place has major potential and could do much better. read more

La Fonda Paisa - Baked goods and hot food ready to eat - Bakeries Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

Needed some tequeños to get me through a rough day and am glad to have found this place. Friendly and fast service at reasonable prices, and the food was delicious. Also tried the patacones and a chicken arepa, those and the accompanying sauces all great. Arepa nicely crisped and to-go wrapping kept it hot until I was home and settled. There is a market with a selection of groceries (dry goods, refrigerated, and frozen) and beer. Looking forward to returning! read more

La Fonda Paisa - Chicken arepa, Patacones, Tequenos - Bakeries Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

I don't know if this place has a new owner or they just got greedy but agree with all others complaining about the horrible service. We had stopped ordering months ago because they raised their prices so much but today we wanted bandeja. As always they charged up front ($25 each), did not let us know until we got there that there is no chicharon, they did not discounted for that, they did not add anything else for that either, they simply charge the full amount for an incomplete meal. Not the first time, in the past, they have not given us beans. Tried to speak to someone else to get something instead, made up the excuse that the manager was not in. How is this acceptable!? Now we wont be coming back, too bad they have ruin the good thing they had going. read more

The food is mid. Doesn't compare to authentic Colombian eats. Service is horrible.. they take 15 minutes to serve you food that's already sitting there, buffet style... just unreasonably slow. You have to pay beforehand when you call in for a pick up order, so if you're not ok with giving your credit card information over the phone, then you can't phone in an order ahead of time. Ambiance of the establishment is half restaurant half convenience store. You have people grocery shopping as you're eating 10 ft away. Would not return. read more

This place should have a better rating! The bandeja paesa feeds your soul. The chicharrones were ON POINT!! I'm not even Colombian but it feeds my soul too!!!! The portion is HUGE and can feed two people. My boyfriend who is Colombian approves this message. read more

La Fonda Paisa - Bakeries Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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Soooo yummy! Authentic Colombian food and Colombian grocery store! Super small location and gets packed! Gets very hot inside and parking can get difficult so very worth it! read more

Love love love this place! Staff is so kind, food is great. Unfortunately there is barely any Colombian restaurants/markets near my home it's about an hour drive for me but worth it. read more

My wife and I decided to pick up food from here for ourselves and a friend for the first time before a picnic with friends across the street at Jesup Blair Park this past Saturday. The food was quite good as we shared a carne asada, chicken and beef papusas, chicken and beef empanadas, and plantains. We also shared some baked goods as well and a corn papusa (although I asked for the egg one). The portions are generous and the food is good. The service is also good as well. We would rate this place a four and a half, maybe a five if the baked goods were a bit fresher and they gave us an egg vs a corn papusa. They also have a grocery store in the back that sells various goods as well as beer and wine. Interestingly, one of their baked goods they sell are challot (plural for challah, the braided Jewish sabbath bread). Not sure if there is some Jewish staff or staff with Jewish ancestry (which isn't uncommon in Latin America) or if they are trying to cater to the sizable Jewish population in Downtown Silver Spring and nearby Shepherd Park. We'll definitely plan on coming back and may pick up a challah here for Shabbat as well. read more

Being Colombian, I love having La Fonda Paisa nearby. It's my go-to place for Colombian food although I could also go to Arepas Pues in downtown Silver Spring. However, La Fonda has a great menu, with fair prices, and a lot of authentic goodies to purchase. I usually get a baked good, which taste amazing and are fairly priced. In the past I have also ordered the Colombian breakfast which is just like my mom makes it, and the bandeja paisa which is the authentic Colombian dish. Although I have had better bandejas in other places, La Fonda's is pretty good and worth the price. Their soups are also delicious and come with a side of rice and avocado. This is my go-to place in the immediate DC/Silver Spring, MD area. I will say that the staff mostly speaks Spanish, so if you don't, use Google translate or do some research beforehand! read more

I don't get it...? I'm reading a lot of reviews on here that seem to contradict my experience. I've been to La Fonda Paisa a couple of times and I had very pleasant experiences. On my most recent visit, I came hungry, with a big appetite and prepared to eat. Perhaps what helped my particular experience was the fact that my friend is Colombian, so I had some guidance on what to order. Here's a list of what I had on my most recent visit: buñuelos arepa con queso empanadas - golden, crisp, and delicious! ajiaco - simply delicious! I can't begin to describe how euphoric this dish was and the immense amount of flavor with every bite! jugo lulo - this juice is everything that you need to dampen and sweeten your palate. Once you taste it, you won't be able to put your cup down. It's that good! In addition to the food, you can also shop for any groceries that you might need, whether it's coffee or arequipe or a specialty item, you can find it here. read more

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Pretty clean and great selection of arepa de chocolo. Personally, I think they are better than Arepa Pues read more

La Fonda Paisa - a variety of food items - Bakeries Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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Please do not eat here. They serve old food. My arepas were hard, dry and stale and the beans and cortija cheese tasted so sour and slimy I had to spit it out. I smelled them and they actually smelled like mold. I cannot believe they would serve food like this read more

The worst arepa beef I ever tried. No seasoning at all and the customer service... actually, there was no customer service. La peor arepa de carne (sin exagerar) que he probado nunca. La arepa en si estaba semicruda y la carne era simplemente carne hervida (sigo sin exagerar). La unica excusa que me dieron fue que la Cocinera era nueva, pero nadie se dignó en ofrecerme una alternativa. $30 tirados a la basura. Eso si, el jugo de maracuya estaba delicioso y la empanadas de carne tenían buen sabor, aunque la carne brillaba por su ausencia. Primera y última vez. read more

Las que trabajan aquí son unas perras, tiene mal customer service y le hablan a las personas mal, no saben cómo atender a los clientes y uno les pedí algo y caso rato a todo le cambian precio, que por chorizo le compramos más por ordenar carne asada mas. Deberas mal Servicio read more

the worst customer service!!! I had to ask for my food several times. A lot of people waiting for being attended. The people who work here seemed to be lost all the time. read more

I love this place! The arepas are amazing, the staff are really nice and the story is very good too

No es auténtico, pero está rica la comida............................................................................................................................................................. read more

In a sentence, all the food tasted a week old. I did not enjoy the Colombian food in this place. We ordered ajiaco, mondongo and bandeja paisa. The soups did not taste like these soups are supposed to taste: very watery and old. The bandeja paisa was tasteless: the beans, which are essential for this dish, tasted like out of the can. The fried pork skin was old and chewy, the rice was old and everything was lacklustre in general. The only decent piece was the chorizo but I'm pretty sure they just buy those in. They do have a good grocery section with tons of Colombian food variety. I'd come back for those but I'd steer away from the restaurant. read more

As a visitor to the area who was staying at the hotel across the street, this was a great option to stop in for take out food to feed the ailing relative I was escorting to nearby NIH Clinical Center. Two of us ate all we wanted for about $20 total, including two (non-alcoholic) drinks. Thanks to another Yelp reviewer, I bought the chicken soup (ajiaco) for my family member. Cafe counter staff was helpful with checking ingredients for me. I looked up a "typical" recipe, but wanted to confirm the absence of flour for my gluten intolerant relative with celiac disease. (I wouldn't risk it with a life-threatening anaphylaxis type allergy, but my relative doesn't suffer the usual GI effects from gluten for a celiac, and she felt fine after eating this soup from La Fonda Paisa. Her cancer is a bigger problem than her celiac disease right now.) For those of us who've never tried Colombian food before, the counter staff said ajiaco contains no flour, mostly chicken, corn, and potato. It tasted wonderful to two of us who were new to the dish. What a great, nourishing soup for someone feeling poorly. I wish there were a Colombian place near me; I'd get this soup every week! I also tried a small arepa con huevos. I was asked for input about how I wanted the eggs prepared. Since I wanted to try something more typical, I asked what she suggested. It was eggs scrambled with some vegetables (tomatoes & ...???) and tasted very good. This isn't a slick, modern shop. It is a convenience store environment with a food counter at the back and a few tables. (Maybe 7 tables?) While not immaculate, I didn't feel intimidated by the ambience or anything else as non-Colombian suburban dweller from out of town. One staff member didn't speak English well enough to talk to me about specific ingredients in the takeout food (gluten!), but she called another employee from the back who could easily discuss my questions. For takeaway, you order your food and get a slip of paper listing your items. Pay at the front counter, then pick up your food when it is ready. I can't compare La Fonda Paisa to any other Colombian restaurant, but I can say it is an affordable, friendly place to get delicious take out food if you are staying at the Silver Spring Holiday Inn Express! read more

La Fonda Paisa - La Fonda Paisa view into store/cafe from window table - Bakeries Near Me - Silver Spring, Maryland

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I just ordered Uber Eats from here. I ordered the bistek a caballo, empanadas, arepa con queso, chorizo con arepa, and the pan de queso. Firstly, the white rice was literally just white steamed rice. No flavor, nothing. The bistek was thin, over cooked, and had little to no flavor. It also had a TON of gristle. The chorizo con arepa was clearly from a package, so the flavor and consistency was acceptable and as expected. The arepa con queso had zero cheese in it, despite the price difference. The beef empanadas were 90% breading to 10% contents; contents that were unseasoned ground beef and lord knows what else was supposed to be in there. And worst of all, the restaurant sent NO AJI. No salsa. No nothing. I'm Colombian and this is by far the worst Colombian restaurant I've ever eaten from. read more

I went there recently and they have the best chicken empanadas, jalapeños, and the sancocho was very delicious. I highly recommend this place!! read more

Parceros bringing the spirit of Colombia to DC. If you are angry to leave bad reviews, go bless yourself with rice pudding. One of my absolute favorites. They also made shipping of packages to Colombia fast and easy. My favorite bakery. read more

I would only visit this place if you need to buy a packaged item that is hard to get elsewhere. I would never even consider ordering any of their food. The place is dirty and uninviting. read more

I wanted to go to arepa pues but my mom wanted to go to la Fonda paisa. Mistake. I got an arepa and it took about 30 minutes to get it to go. I also ordered an arepa relleno with cheese and chicken. SO DRY. I ended up going to Arepas Pues after to satisfy my arepa craving because they are so much better there and they come with this amazing sauce. read more

I've been coming here for years. The food is good and authentic. Nothing I wouldn't recommend. I used to go once to twice a week but they always got my order wrong and I got tired of it. They are always nice while not exactly being accommodating. Now I go once a month, they still get even the most simple orders wrong. Somehow the food and drink they get right are worth it. Really not much competition for quality and price point in the area. read more

Delivery was extremely slow - rude manager says it's "not our problem" if food sits out for 30 min awaiting Uber driver.

I love this place, been coming for years. Friendly staff and makes me improve on my Spanish conversations. It's a bakery and market all in one so I normally grab all of my Colombian favorites like postabon and obleas. The hot food is always delightful as are the juices. Recommend the empanadas and their fresh juices. Thanks for always being a neighborhood staple read more

Great place to go to for that great Colombian flavor. It's a small bakery/grocery store. This is one of the only places in the area that has vegetarian empanadas also. You can also reheat the empanadas the next day and they taste the same as the day before. Their service is pretty good. Sometimes I do carryout, other times I eat in, get myself a hot chocolate and my meal. I really enjoy their almojabanas, pandebono, and my meat eating family members love their chicharron. They also have a pastry called chicharron but it does not have meat. :) Their baby back ribs look delicious. They have a lot of delicious meals, you just tell them what you want. For instance, baby back ribs with rice and black beans, etc.. They also have sandwiches, carne asada, fish, and a lot more. read more

It is hard to find any good Colombian food places in Maryland, and these place will do until something better comes along. I do like that they have soups and some bakery items. And I really like that they carry the Alpina Avena (oatmeal drink, tastes better than it sounds). Their sancocho is pretty good, and I know I can at least say that their food is waayyyyyy better than the crap that Los Arrieros calls food. read more

I really love their empanadas, chorizo with arepas, almohabanas, and platano al horno. I order from them all the time for my company events but I have to say that I really have an issue with paying extra for the aji. I get about 30-60 empanadas and they charge extra for the aji which should come with each empanada. In Colombia aji is free, why is it that we have to pay for it here when it is something like ketchup to a hotdog? Besides that, great location and good food. read more

If you are in Silver Spring Area, you have to try this place. It has a latin grocery store and a nice homemade food and bakery from Colombia. I never tried it before, but the two times I came here the food was fresh and really delicious. I had Almojababas for the first time and they were delicious! they also have tamales, empanadas, pan de yuca, and the pollo guisado was tasty. As a peruvian, I will recomend this place to my friends. read more

worst service ever the people working there are very rude and needs training lack of accountability they blame each other for not making the food an they make you wait for ever for it and not even say sorry for their mistakes this is the second time I have problems there not coming back or ordering from the never again read more