Arepa and Co brunch review: Go for the tequenos alone

Stepping away from avocado on toast, Rachel Hosie goes east for a taste of South America

Go green: brunch out with some Venezuelan brekkie

Venezuelan cuisine may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think about brunch, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be on the cards.

One of the main players on the Venezuelan food scene in London is Arepa and Co, which has two sites in Haggerston and Bethnal Green, east London. The latter is blessed with a large outside terrace, complete with chunky bulbs strung overhead; metal furniture in shades of blue create a serene, summery and relaxed feel, and the little cacti in enamel mugs on each table almost make you believe you’re somewhere more tropical than a rather balmy Bethnal Green.

Unless you’re au fait with Venezuelan food, the brunch menu (served weekends and bank holidays between 10am and 4pm) is full of ingredients which are likely to be rather unfamiliar. Fortunately, the menu explains the difference between cachapas and arepas (both corn-based bread equivalents that come with most dishes) and, of course, staff are happy to explain anything else. What’s even better: these dishes are free of gluten.

Drinkswise, there are cocktails (starting from £8) if you’re in the mood for a boozy brunch. We stick to softs – and both go for an insanely thick, creamy mango milkshake, bursting with the scent of the gorgeous orange fruit as well as just a hint of sweet vanilla.

As we’ve gotten used to the small plate culture, we begin ordering and plan to share a selection of small plates as a starter and then order a main each, but as it turns out this is not the way to do things here, as our waiter kindly explains we were trying to order too much.

From the brunch menu is desayuno veggie (left), cachapa stack (right) and the desayuno criollo at the bottom

The small plates, you see, are not very small at all. They all sound so delicious that we still want them all but decide to share just one dish from the “big plates” section of the menu.

Everything comes at once, and indeed it is rather a lot of food.

But if you only order one dish, make it the tequenos. You’ll be offered three or five – order five (£7.50). Eat them all. Then, order more. They are pure comfort food: hot salty pieces of cheese encased in crisp pastry accompanied by guava sauce.

We also order the paprika yuca chips (£5), which are as crispy and fluffy as the best handcut pub chips triple fried in goose fat. They are salty and smoky and come with a creamy garlic and coriander dip.

But if you’re a plantain lover, then tuck into the tajadas (£5.50): essentially perfectly sautéed plantain covered in cheese, spring onion, fennel and lots of coriander (which, thankfully for the coriander-averse, is easy to pick off).

Our big plate is the desayuno criollo (£11.50), a huge bowl of tender pulled beef, black beans, sofrito scrambled eggs, grated cheese (that wonderfully melts into everything) and plantain, served with one of the soft cachapas.

The only thing that lets it down (ever so slightly, that is) is the coffee, which we find just a little bitter.

But whether you’ve never tried Venezuelan food, or are already a fan, it’s worth a trip to Arepa and Co, for the tequenos if nothing else.

254 Paradise Row, London E2 9LE; open daily; 020 3941 0199; arepaandco.com/bethnal-green