Arepa & Co. (London)

As a devoted fan of their food stall in Camden Market, it's exciting see Arepa & Co finally with a permanent home in London, and their restaurant/cafe/bar is simply brilliant.  It's a quirky place with colorful hammocks and rainbow-tiled open bar but also simple metal chairs and humble wooden tables. Oddly enough you can see how it's a casual brunch place by day and a Latin-themed party venue by night with lots of rum. The atmosphere is friendly and lively and most importantly, the food is absolutely fantastic. 

www.arepaandco.com

They serve these sensational arepas, which look like English muffins but are corn cakes that are crispy and buttery on the outside and fragrant and soft on the inside.  They're generously filled with avocado and chicken, or plantains and beans, or pork shoulder, or spiced shredded beef, or strong goat's cheese and roasted vegetables.  They're also good just with a nob of butter, I tell you.  They also have cachapas, which are arepa's distant cousin made with fresh yellow corn and are much sweeter and softer and much like a glorified breakfast pancake. They, too, can be filled with the above but definitely try them plain as well.  Other than these specialty dishes, on the menu is also  a range of starters with amazing underrated Venezuelan cheeses.  What's Venezuelan cheese, you ask?  Don't fret, they also have an exciting Venezuelan cheese deli in the corner of the restaurant to satisfy all your curiosities.  

The place is humble.  The food is served in yellow-napkin-lined white metal bowls and it's filling foods that won't thin out the wallet. It's food that you eat with your hands and share with your friends and you can shamelessly lick your fingers afterwards. Good, humble food. 

Arepa & Co.
58A De Beauvoir Crescent
Haggerston
N15 SB
London
020 79233507
www.arepaandco.com
Mon: 9:00 - 18:00
Tue-Fri: 9:00-22:30
Sat: 10:00-22:30
Sun: 10:00-18:00