Hola Arepa - Latin American restaurant in Minneapolis - 3501 Nicollet Ave, USA

The food is always consistently amazing and the fact it caters to the gluten-free and vegan foodies of the world. I always order a sangria when I come, beautifully crafted, flavors bursting through each sip, and not to mention how cute they present the drinks. Severs consistently amaze me with such kindness and welcoming smiles. I've been many times and not once encountered bad service, always informative and helpful when picking a menu item. Will always be back, a local favorite I can't get enough of. They do have a brunch menu and dinner menu, I believe it switches over around 3 or 4pm

Dinner as a couple. I went to the happy hour and was really surprised by the taste of the food. To start we ordered the slushie mocktail and the Tres cocktail, both were very tasty. The sweet plantain had a slight citrus flavor that made it very interesting. For the main course we ordered the slow roasted pork arepa, the green rice bowl and mofongo with pork belly. My favorite was definitely the mofongo, the plantain dough was soft and tasty, the pork belly was crispy. It was my first time trying arepas and I loved the filling and the fried yucca that accompanied it. The green sauce was unforgettable. The service was very fast and good. I will definitely be back for more arepas 🫓.

You can tell from my photos that I have been here for brunch, because almost non-arepa item is only available during brunch. Hola Arepa offers small plates for dinner on top of their Venezuelan-style arepas, which is great, but personally I think their highlight is their weekend brunch. Of course, if you are going for arepas, then dinner or brunch doesn't make quite a difference, but I can confidently say that every brunch plate so far has been a hit. I recommend this brunch spot for anyone in town and for friends from out of town. The brunch arroz verde, which contains a fried egg, sweet plantain, black beans, tomatoes, pickled cabbage, jalapeños, poblano sauce, and citrus crema, is always a solid choice! One can't go wrong with it, especially when one gets to pick a protein of choice among pork, chicken, or guacamole (not a protein but...). The vegan arroz verde is also available without the fried egg but if you are vegetarian, I suggest adding the egg as the yolk truly elevates the savory flavor. The sopes divorciados and the tostada chilaquiles are also good choices, both with tomatillo salsa as the main sauce. They both contain fried eggs, beans (one black and one refried), ans queso fresco, and are both garnished with cilantro. Now in terms of their arepas, every single one is a hit. It truly boils down to personal preference on what should be included inside. The cornmeal griddle cake sandwiches are fluffy and soft, while maintaining just the right level of crunchiness, and the yuca fries with aioli verde is the perfect side dish. For sweets, I have only had the hotchata pot de creme and thought it was solid, although not spectacular. But horchata, you know, is also something you can't go wrong with. I would love to give the mango chia seed pudding a try next time! I didn't snap photos of the drinks but Uno, Dos, Tres, or Cuatro would be good! They are a bit tiny for the price ($8 for the first three) and have nice little decorations on the top that would be perfect for pictures. I also think a major advantage for this establishment is the fact that reserving a brunch spot is not difficult. You can easily reserve a spot on a Saturday morning / afternoon for 30 minutes later and the establishment won't be packed to the point of having no seating available. However, it is quite noisy inside and spaces are small, so if you are trying to carry a conversation while dining indoors then I do not think this is the best place. Outdoors might give you a better chance, and their reservations allow one to reserve outdoor seating. So yeah, this is Hola Arepa and my review of it! Hope you enjoy it when you visit because I surely did when I visited there a few times in 2021 and 2022.

Love the decoration with live green plants as I walked into the restaurant! Food tasted amazingly delicious with beautiful plating. Good service

Delicious food - High quality and aesthetically artistic! Also the atmosphere is lovely - reminds me of being on an island. Great experience overall. There are some important things to note though - the music can be fairly loud combined with a full house of people. The patio tables and chairs are so close together I almost knocked over some glasses on the table next to mine trying to sit down. It's really tight quarters and no privacy as to quiet conversation, so if you're looking for that this wouldn't be a compatible choice. We had to request a table away from the speakers due to music being so loud we couldn't hear each other well. The super closely arranged tables and chairs also means it is not fat friendly, unfortunately. And definitely not accessible by wheelchair either in the patio section. Not sure about the dining section inside since we were in the patio section. Additionally, the parking lot attached to the restaurant has very few spots and both times we went there were no spots available, so we parked on the street a block or two down. This is something as well that affects accessibility.

Absolutely loved this place! Came here with my family, and everything was terrific, the service, the atmosphere, but most of all the food. Highly recommend and will definitely be back next time I am in Minneapolis, Minnesota!

Amazing food and atmosphere - every different arepa I have tried has been so good! A lot of vegetarian and vegan options, and most of the menu is gluten free. I would recommend making a reservation if you can since wait times can be long. Great place to bring friends and family!

This place is amazing! If you’re looking for a traditional Venezuelan restaurant, with servers playing the part, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for amazing gourmet twist on traditional Venezuela fare… then it 1000% is. We had the shredded beef arepas, fried chicken and cachapas, and sweet plantain appetizer - the food is fresh, well balanced, and tastes magnificent. It has been a long time since I’ve left a restaurant not feeling like salt has replaced my blood, or somehow something was off. BTW, my picky 8 year old blurted out “it’s as if they knew me!” when she started eating her kids guacamole arepa. 🙏🏼 Can’t wait to go back!