el porton cafe

the food is good but. lacking in salt, went here for my mothers birthday and ordered about $90 worth of food since all four of us had appetizers, the chef came out to check on us which was a nice touch but we/i haven't beenbacksince, personally i do not like to add salt after my food has been cooked. the ceviche was too citrus-ey nobody at the table liked it and the fresh juices are something different to try.

excellent service. four of us recently dined at el porton for the first time. i wasn't sure what to expect but my friend indicated that she had heard great things. i started with the chicken and avocado arepa. it seemed to be missing the avocado but was still very tasty! towards the end of the meal i mentioned to our waiter (finding out later that he is the owner, jose) that i needed to comebackand try the empanadas. he asked that we wait and he came right out with a couple of them for the four of us to try. they were very good as well. love that the menu items are homemade and made fresh. the live music was also a plus. thank you jose.

not familiar enough to have known about this gem if it weren't for the app. however they clearly had regulars they knew and recognized. fantastic place in a swank feeling building. i'll definately find my waybackhere again.

afraid to let people know it's so good. el porton does not go out of its way to be known or discussed. it's tucked waybackin a fairly empty strip mall off of roe, across from suburban lawn and garden, and those who do find their waybackthere are probably headed to brobeck's bbq and not el porton. but word of mouth is enough to keep this gem of a restaurant fully going, and its take on latin and cuban food is somewhat conservative in ingredients, but nonetheless some of the best food i have had. everything is made to order, and from all that i can detect (having eaten there regularly for over a year), most everything is made from scratch. the empanadas come out piping hot and beautifully fried to a golden crisp. what's inside--chicken or beef--has been expertly seasoned. arepas come in many varieties; my favorites are the vegetarian ones, such as fresh avacado and cheese. my kids love the chorizo arepas, too. the sandwiches are so tasty, particularly those that involve el porton's roasted pork. specials are wonderful: often a simply roasted, expertely seasoned chicken or pork served with black beans, rice, and a lovely salad of tender baby greens. my family swears that the tres leches cake is the best that they have ever had, and the portions of it and everything else are generous. live music on friday nights, and from what i can determine a bring your own wine policy makes this rather boring and hidden space come alive. "you're not in kansas anymore!" is what it feels like.

this restaurant is amazing. my husband and i are not very adventurous, but decided to be tonight. great idea! very nice people and amazing food! can't wait to gobackto enjoy a band with dinner.

very good. looking forward to returning often!. i went to el porton for the first time with my friend today. we were actually looking for a pupuseria that used to be in the same location, but when we saw it was venezuelan instead we were happy to go along with that.

i had the reina pepiada (arepa with chicken & avocado salad, $5) with the platanos maduros (sweet fried plantains $2) on the side and i thought they were outstanding. the arepas are a little softer and bigger than the ones i make at home, and i loved them. i think they are the griddled/baked kind rather than straight up fried kind.

i thought the plantains had great texture and flavor and i really liked the place. it's not so close to my house, but i know i will bebackmany times. i am really looking forward to taking out of town guests here for something special. the prices are reasonable and i had a filling lunch for only $7.60 (after tax, before tip).

i'm looking forward to trying some of the other arepas varieties, as well as the lechon, in future visits.

update. i have been there twice since my last review, and i am so pleased to say that i am close to adding this restaurant to my favorites! every time i gobackit gets better! the yucca fritas are just phenomenal every time (ask for their aioli for a dipping sauce) and the pernil (pork sandwich) and the pan con bistec (steak sandwich) were deeee-licious! great great value for the price! i will definitely be working my way through the menu at this place!


-----23 jan, 2011-----

tentative recommendation.. i will give it a tentative "like" because while my meal was just so-so, i really liked the atmosphere and there are other things on the menu i know i will like better. i had "the works" with the chorizo arepa, a chicken empinada, shrimp and scallop ceviche, beans and rice. they really packed the arepa full of chorizo, and it was very drippy and messy to eat. i literally ended up with bits of chorizo all over the table. it tasted good, but i don't think i would order it again. same with the chicken empinada, though i tasted my husband's beef empinada and it was delicious. the ceviche was good, but definitely lacked salt. once i added salt, it was much better. the yucca fritas we ordered on the side were hot and very crispy and tasted very nice, but the plantains on my plate came out luke-warm and strangely rubbery. the somehow tasted like they were not very fresh. my friend's tostones were much better. the rice was superb. i wish i knew how to cook white rice like this...makes it slightly sticky and sooo flavorful. the beans were so bland i hardly even touched them, but then i have had food from this region before and that seems to be par for the course. finally, the tres leches cake was just ok. i have definitely had much better and for a small piece of cake, i think it is a little nervy to charge $5.50. the service was awesome, we got our food very quickly and the lady, maybe the manager (?), was attentive and helpful with recommendations. i will definitely bebackto try some of the other dishes that i know i have liked elsewhere to see how they measure up.

it was off the beaten path for us we are headedbackto texas from iowa and i'm glad we took a chance. the cafe is small but has some very interesting art pieces on the walls. the service was great and the food was very good. it was the best south american good we have had in quite awhile. the food in austin or dallas can not compare. the next time we are in the area we will stop in to enjoy a good meal.

good food!. my husband and i have eaten here on 2 occassions. we went for dinner and liked it so much wentbackthe following week for lunch.

service and food was great the first time for dinner. for lunch, the service unexpectedly bad. when we walked in the server didn't acknowledge our presence and we were left standing while he finished his conversation with someone in the kitchen. after a couple of minutes, which seems like a long time when you are being ignored he sat us down at a table with lots of crumbs underneath it. all of the tables had crumbs underneath them and it was early in the day. we asked him questions about the food and he gave answers that were not helpful or descriptive. it was such a difference from our experience the week before. the steak sandwich however was wonderful,