Arepa & Co come to Bethnal Green with Venezuelan brunch and cheesy pastries

Vibrant Venezuelan: Arepa & Co
Ben Norum26 February 2018

Ask Venezuelans in London where they eat for a taste of home, and one name is the recurring answer: Arepa & Co.

Fans will find their dining options double next month, when the team launch a second site in Bethnal Green, not far from the Haggerston original.

Gus and Kathe Salguero, the husband and wife team behind the restaurant, opened the first site close to De Beauvoir Town in 2014, and will open the new site on Paradise Row at the end of March.

This time round it will pull in influences from across South America, while sticking to its Venezuelan focus.

Founders: Gus and Kathe Salguero

Gus explained: “We will be offering a brand new menu which is a combination of the authentic all-time favourite dishes from Arepa & Co and new creations which mix the core Venezuelan flavours with other ingredients from the region.”

Additions to the menu will include small plates of ‘pastelitos’, light and fluffy puff pastry parcels; ‘hallaquitas’, steamed corn dough balls; ‘tequenos’, cheese-stuffed pastries with guava sauce; and crispy fried plantain.

New fillings to go with the restaurant’s trademark arepas (corn bread sandwiches) will include fried chicken, soft shell crab with chilli mayo and the Sabich, with roasted aubergine, pineapple and coconut chutney and pico de gallo.

At the heart of the mains will be pabellón, a traditional dish of shredded beef with black beans, fried plantain, rice and cheese – Gus describes it as “Venezuela on a plate”.

The site will feature a mezzanine level with space for private dining, as well as a brand new selection of cocktails centred around rum, including the Arepa Sour made with rum, lime and gomme syrup, and homemade soft drinks such as a sugar cane lemonade.

A South American start: brunch at Arepa & Co

It will also offer a Venezuelan brunch including a dish known as Desayuno Criollo, a big plate of scrambled eggs with ‘sofrito’ (stir-fried peppers and onions), black beans, fried plantains, shredded beef, cheese and avocado along with a choice of either arepas or cachapas (sweetcorn pancakes).

“Our customers love our brunch because is a different proposition to the regular weekend brunch,” said Gus. He believes Venezuelan food more generally will also grow in popularity for the same reason.

He said: “Over the last few years London has been discovering and fully embracing the beauty of the Mexican, Brazilian, Argentinian and Peruvian cuisines, but the time is now for Venezuelan cuisine to arrive and further surprise Londoners by adding even more flavour, variety and vibrancy to an already rich South American offering.”

Arepa & Co Paradise Row will open at the end of March. Visit arepaandco.com.

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