AREPAS EL CACAO
Is AREPAS EL CACAO clean? Not quite — only a C, 77/100, the last time the state checked (February 4, 2026). That visit logged 1 high-priority, 3 intermediate, and 6 basic violations.
Its latest visit (February 4, 2026) logged 1 high-priority, 3 intermediate, and 6 basic violations. Diners rate it 3.7 across 2,599 reviews. By health score it's safer than 15% of Orange County restaurants we grade. Menus here flag options for dairy-free diners.
Trend: improving · C (77/100) · safer than 15% of Orange County restaurants we grade
Get directions Call (407) 730-6068
Restaurant details
- Health grade
- C (77/100)
- Violations
- 10 total — 1 high-priority, 3 intermediate, 6 basic
- Address
- 5389 S KIRKMAN RD STE 102, Orlando, FL
- Cuisine
- Other
- Categories
- Venezuelan restaurant
- Price
- $10–20
- Rating
- 3.7 stars (2599 reviews)
- Neighborhood
- Florida Center
- Seats
- 18
- Phone
- (407) 730-6068
- Website
- Official website
Community Rating
Reviews via GoogleWhat diners say — our read
Reviews here split hard: 6 five-star against 11 one-star, with little in between. How guests are treated is the sore point: those reviews average 2.0.
1 star is the modal score, given by 11 of the 22 reviewers who rated. Behind those, wait times is raised in 18% of reviews (3.0 average). The split is 7 positive to 15 negative across 22 rated reviews.
The inspection lands in between as well: DBPR graded this kitchen a C (77/100), citing 1 high-priority, 3 intermediate, and 6 basic violations. That inspection was on February 4, 2026. The trend across inspections is improvement. Ranked against Orange County, it is safer than 15% of the restaurants we score. Among the items recorded were food-contact surfaces clean and sanitized and handwash sinks accessible.
The honest summary is that the evidence is mixed on both sides. The individual reviews are below, newest first, if you want the raw material.
Our own analysis of 22 reviews for this restaurant, set against its Florida DBPR inspection record. How we calculate grades →
-
Want some tequen̈os...
-
Food is pretty good, but no toilet paper in the bathrooms, no hand soap at the sinks? Kinda gross and weird.
-
Went for the first time today around opening time. The lady who took my order was very nice, and answered my question about the empanadas. Service was quick, food was tasty and fresh and they have nice sauces on the side.
-
Place is usually good , recently went everything is dirty, messy and broken it seems like things are not being maintained, also only one young worker which touched everything with there gloves and proceeded to touch our food and did not change gloves or washed hands . Seems like they need management in store to fix A LOT of things but mainly Hygiene
-
Very nice place, good food taste
-
Terrible service, food was raw, they say they close at 3am but we arrived before 2am and the guy told us he could only make the food to go. He made the food and was very rude. When we grabbed our bags he came behind us and locked the doors. I am not sure why it says 3am since they just close whenever they want. Food used to be very good years ago but isnt anymore plus with the terrible customer I can see why the place was empty. We own a restaurant ourselves and close at 3am on the weekends and never have we closed a second earlier for any customer.
-
Closed an hour early, rude staff Incredibly disappointed with Arepa's El Cacao. Their posted closing time is 3:00 AM, but when we arrived at 2:00 AM, the doors were already shut. We were forced to take our order to-go because the staff member was already cleaning and shutting down the kitchen an hour ahead of schedule. To make matters worse, he was very rude about it. If your staff doesn't want to work until closing time, management needs to address it. Won't be back.
-
Ariana nos atendió y es una niña muy dulce que hace muy bien su trabajo, habíamos dejado de venir porque últimamente no hacían las arepas igual, les faltaba relleno o estaba frío el relleno, pero ella supo escuchar nuestro disgusto, y la verdad fueron las mejores arepas que nos comimos en mucho tiempo. La mejor atención, gracias Ariani
-
Mala atención , empleadas con una actitud perversa.
-
Atención nefasta, un curso de atención al cliente sería perfecto, muy seguramente el dueño de este negocio ignora como tratan a sus clientes , las niñas que atienen cobran gracias a los clientes, ( no están haciendo un favor , están trabajando), por otro lado increíble que en un restaurante venezolano la cachapa salga seca y sin nata o suero ( no se como le llaman) cuando supongo que es un ingrediente principal en su cocina.
-
La comida estaba normal , la atención muy mala la cajera extremadamente grosera , y no solo conmigo con todas las personas .
-
Antes la comida de este lugar era muy buena Ahora la comida se sienta que ya esta hecha da a perder y pésimo servicio que tienen ahora
-
Cambien en horario en Google fui a las 2:30 y el chico no me dejó entrar, no cierran a las 3am
-
Las empanadas son regulares ,el servicio pésimo ,la limpieza del local es muy deficiente todo se ve sucio sin describir el baño 🫣 no recomiendo este lugar
-
The place is filthy. The grill is the dirtiest I’ve ever seen (visible to everyone). I visited at night (no other customers in sight) and no attendant either. He came from the back, I don’t blame the guy, probably has been working solo without anyone to cover a break. A few weeks prior it was the same thing, the girl had a HEAVY flu and was working solo and visibly in distress. The food is ok. The place really needs to be clean. Everything you touch, everything you look including the cooking area is immensely dirty. Imagine how the back looks.
-
Que arepotas jeje tan bacanas
-
Desafortunadamente debo decir que NO volveré a este lugar. Principalmente por dos razones, precios muy elevados para la calidad del servicio que prestan y no hablo de la atención de la persona que nos ayudó con el servicio, porque ella fue muy atenta, solo que un jueves en la noche y una sola persona, recibiendo órdenes, preparando comida, despachando pedidos y además atendiendo preguntas de los clientes, es absurdamente abusivo por parte de la administración. Con respecto a la comida, estaba sumamente salada y condimentada, principalmente las carnes, y la arepa en si, por ejemplo la cachara no tenía buen sabor y quedó sobre cocinada. Pedir un cambio, sería esperar nuevamente por mas de 20 minutos y no me parece justo. En conclusión, hoy perdí mi dinero. Unfortunately, I have to say that I will NOT be coming back to this place. Mainly for two reasons: extremely overpriced for the quality of service they provide, and I’m not referring to the employee who helped us, because she was actually very attentive. The problem is that having only one person working on a Thursday night — taking orders, preparing food, handling deliveries, and answering customers’ questions all at the same time — is absurdly unfair and abusive on the management’s part. As for the food, it was excessively salty and over-seasoned, especially the meats. Even the arepa itself was disappointing; for example, the chicharrón lacked flavor and was overcooked. Asking for a replacement would have meant waiting…
-
Muy buena atención, Jovana, muy amable y cordial. Buenas arepas son realmente un almuerzo, grandes y super rellenas y los tequeños super.
-
Great food but had to wait a while for my food
-
La atención pésima, 4 empanadas y se demoraron media hora y solo habían 2 mesas ocupadas y lo peor el señor que cocina estamos fumando.
-
I had a very disappointing experience at this restaurant. I brought a friend who was visiting from out of town and heading back to Los Angeles, and I was really excited for him to try Venezuelan food for the first time—especially arepas and tequeños. Unfortunately, from the moment we walked in, no one greeted us or acknowledged our presence. We stood there waiting, looked over the menu, and still no one came to assist us. It felt as though we were completely invisible. To make matters worse, the restaurant did not appear clean, which added to our discomfort. After waiting for quite some time without any service or even basic acknowledgment, we had no choice but to leave so my friend wouldn’t miss his flight. I left feeling very disappointed and honestly a bit embarrassed, as I had been so excited to share a part of my culture with him. The lack of customer service and basic courtesy was shocking. I truly hope this place improves, because no customer should feel ignored or unwelcome like we did. —————————- 🇪🇸 Tuve una experiencia muy decepcionante en este restaurante. Llevé a un amigo que estaba de visita y regresaba a Los Ángeles, y estaba muy emocionada de que pudiera probar comida venezolana por primera vez, especialmente arepas y tequeños. Lamentablemente, desde el momento en que entramos, nadie nos saludó ni reconoció nuestra presencia. Esperamos, miramos el menú, y aun así nadie se acercó a atendernos. Fue como si fuéramos invisibles. Para empeorar la situación, el…
-
La comida es buena pero la atención al cliente definitivamente no!
Overall Score
44 / 100
Composite score from health grade, dietary options, ratings, and inspection record — distinct from the state-derived health grade.
Opening hours
- Monday
- 9 AM to 3 AM
- Tuesday
- 9 AM to 3 AM
- Wednesday
- 9 AM to 3 AM
- Thursday
- 9 AM to 3 AM
- Friday
- 9 AM to 4 AM
- Saturday
- 9 AM to 4 AM
- Sunday
- 9 AM to 3 AM
Inspection history
The following records are from Florida DBPR public inspection records, most recent first.
-
February 4, 2026 · Routine - Food
Inspection Completed - No Further Action
1 high-priority · 3 intermediate · 6 basic
- 14 — Food-contact & nonfood-contact surfaces properly designed/maintained (×2)
- 22 — Food-contact surfaces clean and sanitized (×4)
- 31 — Handwash sinks accessible; handwashing supplies & sign provided (×2)
- 36 — Floors, walls, ceilings clean & maintained; proper ventilation
- 41 — Chemicals / toxic substances properly stored & used
-
August 15, 2025 · Routine - Food
Call Back - Complied
0 high-priority · 0 intermediate · 2 basic
- 22 — Food-contact surfaces clean and sanitized
- 50 — Current license, properly displayed
-
August 13, 2025 · Routine - Food
Warning Issued
4 high-priority · 2 intermediate · 6 basic
- 03 — Temperature control of foods (cold/hot holding, cooking, cooling, reheating)
- 08 — Cross-contamination: raw foods separated; food protected during prep/storage
- 10 — In-use food dispensing utensils properly stored
- 12 — Handwashing; employee eating/drinking/smoking practices (×3)
- 14 — Food-contact & nonfood-contact surfaces properly designed/maintained
- 22 — Food-contact surfaces clean and sanitized
- 29 — Plumbing installed & maintained; mop sink; backflow prevention
- 31 — Handwash sinks accessible; handwashing supplies & sign provided
- 41 — Chemicals / toxic substances properly stored & used
- 50 — Current license, properly displayed
Safer options nearby
Higher-graded restaurants close to AREPAS EL CACAO, by Florida DBPR grade:
- DOMINO'S PIZZA #5121
This grade is calculated by us from Florida DBPR public inspection records — Florida does not issue official grades. How we calculate it →
Data last updated: February 4, 2026