The Venezuelan restaurant opened in Seattle\u2019s U-District in 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, Isamary (Isa) Herrera and her husband, Ulises Andrade, bought Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen from Felix Valderrama, their friend and daughter’s godfather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A year later, the co-owners opened the Bellevue location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Customers can choose from various dishes, desserts, and 17 arepas, all with traditional Venezuelan roots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArepa is really symbolic because it\u2019s our identity. Where you find arepa, you find a Venezuelan person,\u201d Herrera said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born and raised in Merida, Venezuela, Herrera moved to Seattle in 2001. She learned how to make arepas at 10 years old with her mom. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just that we are here making an arepa; no, we are making it with love,\u201d Herrera said. \u201cWe have in our minds, in our consciousness, that this is something we are making here in Seattle, but my mind is at home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pabell\u00f3n arepa is one of the best-selling arepas of Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen in Seattle. The arepa, filled with shredded beef, fried plantains, black beans and monterey jack cheese, is a traditional Venezuelan dish with origins in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Photography: <\/strong>Ashlyn Bowman<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers wait in line to order food and eat inside Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen in Seattle. The restaurant features a painting of co-owner Isa Herrera, painted by Venezuelan artist Alex Siniscalchi, with the Venezuelan flag woven through her hair to represent her home country. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Photography: <\/strong>Ashlyn Bowman<\/p>\n\n\n\n Valentina Bello, an Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen customer since 2016, dines at the Bellevue location every Tuesday night with her husband and two kids. Bello moved to the U.S. in 2003 from Caracas, Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can cook the food. I can make arepas,\u201d Bello said. \u201cBut we love the fact that we have a place where we can get this food that someone so lovingly cooks for us because I know they put all their heart and soul and love into it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Herrera loves the feeling of bringing her customers together through arepas. She aims to make customers feel like they\u2019re back at their mom\u2019s or grandma\u2019s home, eating arepas around the table with family and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe food is very homey,\u201d Bello said. \u201cIt doesn’t feel like you’re going to a restaurant. They use great ingredients, so it feels like I go to my friend’s house, and I have this homemade, beautifully, amazing quality homemade meal that really makes us so happy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Herrera hopes Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen gives Venezuelans a sense of belonging in a country so far from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cImmigration has been a part of our history in the last 20 years,\u201d Herrera said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As of December 2024, there were 7.89 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants worldwide, according to the Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bello has not been able to visit Venezuela since 2013 because she cannot obtain a new Venezuelan passport, and Bello\u2019s young children have never visited the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey are very much the people that are helping me shape my kids\u2019 relationship with their Latino heritage,\u201d Bello said about the Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen staff members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bello describes Herrera and the restaurant\u2019s employees as her kids \u201caunties\u201d and \u201cbeloved family.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Herrera said customers like Bello are what make Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen special and motivate the restaurant owners, alongside the core values of authenticity, passion, quality and service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen website, the restaurant seeks to be a place for non-Venezuelans to dare and try new foods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are bringing our heritage, our cuisine to new people, and they love it,\u201d Herrera said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unica Le and Gabriel Godina (aka GG) Espinoza had their first date at the Seattle Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen in March 2023. That was Le’s first time trying Venezuelan food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is the best food I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d Le said about an arepa. \u201cAnd so that became one of my favorite restaurants in the U-District.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Le describes Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen food as authentic, fresh, and comforting. In October 2024, the couple got engaged at their go-to table in Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unica Le and her fianc\u00e9, Gabriel Godina Espinoza, hug during their engagement at Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen in Seattle on Oct. 18, 2024. The couple connected through food and loved the restaurant\u2019s arepas and homey atmosphere, making Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen the perfect place for an intimate surprise proposal. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo provided by: <\/strong>Unica Le<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are also different cultures,\u201d Le said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Le is a Chinese-Vietnamese American, while Espinoza is a Mexican-American. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo it\u2019s even more special that it happened to be in a Venezuelan restaurant bridging different gaps of different cultures,\u201d Le said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The couple feels at home at Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen, reminding them of their first date and the memories they have created together at the restaurant, according to Le. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen’s original location on NE 50th St. has created lasting impressions for many, the U-District restaurant will soon relocate just a few blocks away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Arepa Venezuelan Kitchen on 50th St. will close in July because the building was purchased by new owners in 2023, according to King County public records. Herrera remains hopeful about moving locations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI vision that this is an opportunity for Arepa to step up and bring us to the next level,\u201d Herrera said. \u201cThis is just going to be a very special part of Arepa history.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/waln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/03\/Photo-2-Arepa-1024x683.jpg\")
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In the same building, Grand Illusion Theatre<\/a> and GoEBITS in U-District closed earlier this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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