Pana Food started in Santa Cruz and they open up one in downtown San Jose in a food hall. It's my first time having Venezuelan food. I had Colombian arepas before but it was like arepas and empanada in one. I like the colombian one a lot so I had to try Venezuelan one. I walked past it last week with a friend on our way to Fox Tale Fermentation. My friend had Venezuelan food in Texas and was surprised I never had it before. I think San Jose is not known for South American food. We have them but not lots of them like Vietnamese and Mexican food. We ordered from the kiosk, which was simple and straight to the point. Our food was suppose to take "5-15 minutes" but we got our food half an hour later. It turns out there's only one cook. Our arepas came in a cute little box that taught as how to pronounce arepas. "ur-ay-puh". The food is messy like a taco. Fillings dripping because it was so full. I had the Pabellon arepa and it was so good. First bite was salty but the rest was muy rico and delicioso. My spicy sauce was the perfect amount of spicy. If your taste bud is only used to pepper being spicy; this sauce is not for you. The avocado sauce was very creamy and rich. The plantains is not oily when fried. It was sweet and taste good. It was an exceptional paring with the beef. The beef were shredded. It was moist and seasoned well. The owner/cook came out and asked if we wanted to try their empandas? on the house. I couldn't hear what was the name but I think it was empanadas. He remember that i didn't order my arepa with cheese and warn that there was cheese in one of them. We couldn't say no to free food and were curious to see what it would taste like. Thank god my friend gave me a empanada food history lesson after we ate it. I expected the empanadas to be packed with filling like the arepas. My friend pointed out that empanadas are usual carb based on her personal experience; that was good to know. We were presented chicken with black beans in the big one and chicken with cheese in the small one. I have to say I liked the chicken with black beans better because I'm not a cheese person. My friend said it's both good. We got avocado sauce and some kind of cilantro sauce to go with our empanadas. I ate most of it because my friend was filled from her arepa. I can only comment about the food since it's a dining hall and not a restaurant. I think the price is on point because the arepas and empanadas were on point. read more

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These are bomb. They are stuffed, and I guarantee the ingredients will fall out and you'll need a fork to finish it up. The arepa had a nice, sweet flavor. Plantains, beans, chicken, avocado, they got it all correct. The vegan version was also good according to my partner. Packaging is cute. read more

Pana was my introduction to Venezuelan food and their arepas were delicious--super flavorful and generously filled! We tried the Sifrina arepa (shredded chicken, avocado, cheddar, and mayo) and Pabellon arepa (shredded beef, plantains, mozzarella, and black beans), as well as a breakfast style arepa (eggs, green plantains/tostones, avocado, and mozzarella with a side of the avocado sauce (guasacaca)) which was definitely my favorite. I HIGHLY recommend the guasacaca sauce! All of the ingredients and the service were high quality. Ricardo, who brought out our food, was incredibly nice and checked in on us to make sure everything was good (of course it was)! Their menu is gluten-free and vegeterian/vegan friendly as well; I appreciate that there's something for everyone. So glad that I got to try Pana without having to make a trip down to Santa Cruz and I'm excited to come back! read more

Pana Food - Sifrina arepa (cheddar, shredded chicken, avocado, mayo) - Venezuelan Near Me - San Jose, California

+ SAP Center Review + Oh my goodness... I absolutely scarfed this down. The arepas here are incredible! Stuffed with so much stuff. I got the Sifrina, which I highly recommend! They add so much shredded chicken and avocado, it wS OVERFLOWING! Incredients were fresh and the arepa itself was sooo decadent. The corn flavor was present and fragrant. Delicious!!! Great for gluten-free friends too :) read more

Pana Food - Inside the SAP Center - Venezuelan Near Me - San Jose, California

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¡¡El día sábado estuve de visita por San José y moría de hambre!! En mi locación más cercana encontré comida venezolana y me había emocionado mucho; tenía en mente pedir Tequeños o unas buenas empanadas. El lugar se encuentra dentro de un food hall, no es tan visible sobre la avenida, tuve que llamar para confirmar donde era. Cuando llegué al lugar, me di cuenta que habían varios establecimientos dentro con diferentes opciones para comer (lo cual vi todos los menú y ninguno me llamó la atención). Yo enfocado en lo venezolano vi el menú de Pana y solo son arepas y unos tostotes nada más... y dije bueno, una reina pepiada (que es mi favorita del mundo) y unos tostones; demoraron como 20 minutos y tuve que preguntar si ya estaba listo? Porque no hay quien te oriente ahí adentro. Cuando me hacen la entrega de mi orden me emocioné porque la bolsa está lindisima y mi emoción estaba por las nubes, porque dije valió la pena la espera; sin embargo la realidad es otra: la arepa se deshacía muy fácilmente, mucho pollo que si sabor no era lo mejor y poco aguacate. Literalmente era pollo desmechado en salsa roja y un topping de aguacate. Los tostones te los dan en papel aluminio dentro de una caja, pero nada de variedad con las salsas o aderezos. Yo no regreso. Muy elevado el precio, casi $30 USD por todo y ni bebida ordené. Le falta mucho todavía. No hay atención al cliente. Mucha suerte. read more

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One of the best arepas I have ever had! The meat is beyond flavorful, portion of it is amazing as well! The sauces are absolutely delicious! The spicy one is the perfect touch of spice. Inside seating and indoor is clean and quiet. The staff are really helpful with any questions I had during the order process. This location is perfect for anybody going around downtown SJ and want quick, delicious food! 10/10. read more

Pana Food - Inside the building. - Venezuelan Near Me - San Jose, California

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First time trying Venezuelan arepas today, and Pana definitely made it a great intro to it! What great service also. German was incredibly helpful walking me through the menu, and I ended up going with his recommendation. the popular arepa loaded with shredded beef, sweet plantains, cheese, and black beans. It was delicious and super filling. The garlic and avocado sauces took the flavors to another level, and the beef was so tender and flavorful. The spot is tucked inside a food-hall style setup alongside a few other businesses, making it an easy stop for a quick, satisfying meal. I'm definitely coming back with friends and trying the dessert with extra plantain on the side! read more

Pana Food - Menu - Venezuelan Near Me - San Jose, California

Wahoo! Finally in SJ from Santa Cruz in the downtown food hall. (Without going to SAP to get it). Authentic delicious Venezuelan food. We had the Arepa Pabellon which was big enough to share and the tastes of home flood through. Don't forget to try the Guasacaca (avocado sauce). Owner was here and it was great to see him. The food hall is neat and clean, keeps costs down with kiosks which are easy to navigate. read more

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I have been customers for at least 5 years in Santa Cruz location, I'm from San Jose and travel all the way from here just because this arepas worthy. Now they opened this location in my town and I'm very happy, yesterday I ordered and is the same great flavor, quality and service. Highly recommend read more

Pana Food - Arepas box - Venezuelan Near Me - San Jose, California

I've been asking them when they were going to come make a SJ brick & mortar for years. I go to their Santa Cruz location almost every time I'm down there. When they started serving at the SAP center for Sharks games and other events, I was happy! But it still wasn't quite what I wanted. Now it's here! The arepas are always incredible. Everything. The Pelua with avocado slices and the avo sauce is my go to but everything I've had is great. The chicken arepas, the breakfast arepas. THE PLANTAINS ARE AMAZING. And you couldn't be supporting a nicer person. The owner is really nice and easy to root for. Please do yourself a favor and go! read more

Delicious! Very large stuffed arepa! Flavors are authentic. The person who brought the food out was very nice. I ate too fast for a picture :( read more

Pana Food - Venezuelan Near Me - San Jose, California

It's. So. Good! I had them for the first time at the SAP center during a game a year ago, and I was hooked. They have vegan options so being able to enjoy something vegan + gluten free for me is rare. The San Jose location is new and located in a new Food Hall. The kiosk wasn't working, but the owner of Pana took my order while the food hall people fixed the kiosk. I ordered a vegan arepa with plantains and tostones with watermelon water. I also ordered a chicken tinga for my niece. We both loved our order. Everything tasted so fresh and had so much flavor. I can't wait to go back for more. read more

Come inside to order at kiosk. May sit down and eat ! Food is 10/10. To ordene la Sifrina y estuvo increíble ! read more

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First tried this place in the SAP center, and oh my gosh! So delicious. I had the beef arepa, and the flavors are so good. When they opened this location in Santa Clara street, I was so excited and it did not disappoint. So good and also gluten free. read more

Amazing service and super tasty arepas! Ingredients taste so fresh, stuffed with tender meat, flavorful beans and sweet plantains, I was a big fan of this combination. I recommend this restaurant for a filling bite, not to mention the awesome hospitality of the owner German, definitely coming back and getting more soon :) read more

Pana Food - Venezuelan Near Me - San Jose, California

10/10 Arepa are AMAZING! Located in Downtown Food Hall with about 25 other authentic diverse food spots in one location! Definitely try it out if you're in Downtown San Jose or their Santa Cruz location! read more

Pana Food - Venezuelan Near Me - San Jose, California

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We drove from Oakland after find them in IG. Totally worthy! Delusional pelua and catira!! Tasted like home! Don't miss out, best arepas in the Bay! No time for pictures! I was hungry! read more

I ordered capresa with add ons of black beans, plantains, and tomatoes. I was disappointed because there was so little plantains. We also ordered the vegan one which comes with plantains and there was so so little of it in it. I was disappointed bc I've gone to the Santa Cruz location a few times and it was a hit and done well. We paid $20 including tip for each Arepa including all 3 sauces, would have been worth it with enough plantains and not overloaded with tomatoes. This location is within a food hall in DT San Jose, buzz to enter if you're early, paid street parking, kiosks for ordering, bathrooms on site, the food was packaged nicely. I wish I could mark no packaging since I didn't need it. I asked for sauce inside but it was set aside which some probably prefer read more

I've been waiting so long for Pana Food to come to San Jose, and wow, did it not disappoint! My favs are the pabellón and the sifrina! Definitely come and give them a try! read more

Love this spot. Have gone a number of times to get it in Santa Cruz so I was excited that it opened here. Delicious as always when I ordered one of the non meat arepas. read more

First time trying an arepa today went with the pabellon and it was amazing definitely recommend and Everyone is very friendly.

garlic naan was fresh and fluffy, perfect with the dal makhani. service was friendly but they got backed up with to go orders so it took a minute. chill spot with a laid back vibe, good for a quick lunch. read more