Arepera du Plateau ▪ Montréal

4050 Rue De Bullion
Montréal, Québec
514.508.7267
website

Another coupon (Tuango this time), another meal. My sister Elle has been mentioning "arepa this, arepa that" for so long, and has been bringing everyone and their grandmother to try arepas. I got my turn on an early Sunday afternoon. Arepas refer to patties of grilled masa (ground corn dough). Arepera du Plateau specializes in the Venezuelan variety, which consists of a thicker arepa patty split and stuffed with different fillings, such as meat and cheese, and accompanied by various sauces.

Produce, such as plantains and yuca are piled high by the cash, ready to be used in future Venezuelan dishes. Colourful juices are also on offer. On the day we visited, there was lulo, passion fruit, mango and blackberry. Elle was feeling adventurous and ordered the lulo, while I had a passion fruit juice.

Elle and I started with a plate of yuca (or better known as cassava) chips ($3). The yuca chips were incredibly crispy and perfectly salted. They were served with guasacaca sauce, which is a completely addictive avocado sauce. We completely devoured our chips in no time.

Elle ordered the Pabellon ($7.50), which consisted of arepa filled with shredded beef, black beans, fried plantains and cheese. The fried plantains gave the arepa a sweet note, while the beans and the meat make a hearty combination.

I ordered La Catira ($7.50), which was stuffed with shredded chicken and cheese. The shredded meat was cradled between layers of charred arepas, which were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Each arepa was served with a side of watercress salad dressed in the ubiquitous guasacaca.

We were also provided two sauce bottles, the aforementioned guasacaca sauce, and a highly spicy picante sauce. I doused my arepa with both sauces to add spiciness and creaminess to every single bite.

Arepera also has a good selection of both vegetarian and vegan arepas, the most enticing being the frijoles y platano (#28), or beans and plantains .

There are no pictures, but if you're looking for dessert, they also have some mousses on hand. I got the mango mousse to go, and really loved the exotic mango flavour in mousse form.

If you've never had Venezuelan food, this is your chance at very affordable prices. Not only was the food good, but the staff was very sweet. The restaurant is small, and was packed when we were there but Arepera also offers take-out. Do yourself a favour, and go try an arepa.