Patacon Pisao

“The Patacons, Cachapas, Arepas and Burritos have you covered on all these delicious fronts.”

“Reina Pepia
Avocado, chicken salad, Corn meal patty fried or grilled – The arepa was so crunchy without being dry.”

“The crispy plantain "bread" with such goodies in it like in the Patacon Paisa sandwich which comes with shredded beef, chorizo, egg, lettuce and tomato.”

Patacon Pisao

Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes

Price range.

$ Price range Under $10

8 reviews

  1. The cashier wasn't friendly, but she wasn't mean either. But she's also the person who handles  the money, brings the food to your table and probably has to clean the tables if you don't (you should since it's pretty self service).

    The food was good and definitely affordable. We got an area, patacon and a sweet corn cake. That came out to $29.40. Not bad for a 2 person  dinner!

    Order the fried version of the arepa. It comes out crispy and didn't really sog up, even after we let it sit for a bit. We ordered the cubano, and it was a solid choice, which I wouldn't hesitate to order again. This was the bf's pick of the night.

    The paisa  patacon is large and very filling. Sadly…the fried plantain 'bread' wasn't very tasty. It's kind of dry and you don't really get too much flavor from it either. The egg was over cooked, which always upsets me. To overcook eggs, is a sin. However, the flavor of the fillings were still good. Not good enough for me to say I'll order a patacon again though.

    We also ordered the cheesy sweet corn cake. If you like a sweet cornbread, you'd love this. It's a bit chunkier, with bits of corn. Gooey cheese also helps a lot. Would definitely order this again.

    The place is tiny and we nabbed one of the 5 two tops. Some people were putting there stuff and using multiple tables ; it can be hard to grab a seat when there are table hogs. That being said ; these tables are very close together.

    P.s. You will smell like grease when you leave. Embrace it…or do laundry

  2. They have an exciting menu filled with enticing stuff, but…

    I tried a Cachapa with pernil (sweet corn cake with roasted pork) and wasn't wowed. Even though the sweet corn cake was very good, the pork had a funky smell and taste… almost like it had gone bad. I had to leave all the meat on the plate.

    I think I'll go back and get something else, but never the pork again.

  3. I came to Patacon Pisao to get take out for dinner, and I felt really pleased with the experience. First, I appreciated that this eatery was easy to spot from the sidewalk, since the words "Patacon Pisao" are in bright yellow, which contrasts well with its black colored exterior.

    The cashier took my order swiftly, and I felt thankful that the wait wasn't too long– it was a bit more than five minutes or so. I ordered the El Gringo Tacucho (a Venezuelan burrito), with grilled chicken pieces, bacon, lettuce, and crema de wasakaka (some type of light cream). The burrito was scrumptious: the chicken was moist and had a slightly smoky flavor that I liked, the cream added the right amount of richness to the burrito, and the bacon slices added a kick of deliciousness to the dish. Since I ate it while feeling famished, I ate that thing like a wolf. Which makes sense, since I enjoyed every bit of it.

    I took one star off, because Patacon Pisao doesn't have a restroom– which I think is a problem and inconvenience for people who do choose to eat in at this place. Otherwise, it's a great casual dinner spot!

  4. This place was very interesting. It was my first time having Venezuelan food. The staff told us that their most popular dish was the De Panellon so we went for it. Flavoring wise, it was delicious. I guess I wasn't used to the hard plantain wrapping. I would give it a second try the next time I go.

  5. Arepas, you have to be my tacos because I am too far from my beloved taco trucks. And then one day, I happened to find Patacon Pisao. Admittedly, these are some of the best arepas I've had in the US – especially for the cost. The meat is flavorful, these cheeses are melted perfectly, and masa is perfectly crisp and chewy.

    The sauces are so prime. It enhances a great arepa into the perfect drunk food. They are a great fusion of Venezuelan flavors and American favorites.

    The spot itself is small – and across from Beauty & Essex (so essentially prime LES ground). During the day, it's great to stop in a have a quick bite and at night, it's just where you wanna kick it for a minute. The staff is super cool and friendly.

    If you're in the area and hankering for some good Venezuelan, I recommend stopping in.

  6. I had insanely high hopes for Patacon Pisao being a one $ spot with a 4.5* rating after nearly 180 reviews, unfortunately I was ultimately let down by the hype.

    The national dish of Venezuela is Pabellon which is super tender seasoned and shredded beef, black beans, sweet plantains, and a soft crumbly salty cheese such as queso palmita. The combination of these flavors is one of my ultimate favorite things ever and I've never passed up an opportunity to order it whenever it shows up on a menu. I typically seek out this dish stuffed in an arepa (grilled white corn patty), another very traditional Venezualian specialty, for the extra combination of soft and crispy texture while having the convenience of being in a sandwich type delivery system.

    Though Patacon Pisao has the pabellon arepa they also have that combination in a type of Venezualan burrito (tacucho), a sweet corn bread type of patty (cachapa), and their namesake option, the patacon which is a patty made entirely of flattened green plantains (they use two of these patties as the "bread" for the sandwiches). It's also worth noting that the menu on their website makes no sense of them having the pabellon option at all.

    It wasn't very clear to me whether they grilled, fried, or baked the patacon but the fact that they weren't greasy at all and were actually tasteless and dry makes me think they were likely baked. The cheese they used was not crumbly or shredded but rather a rubbery fried cheese patty. They add sour cream to the pabellon which I haven't experienced before (especially as there are three different sauces they offer in squeeze bottles at the tables if you wanted extra moisture or flavor), they likely add this to add moisture to the mix which shouldn't have a dryness issue. The beef also didn't have too much flavor and wasn't the most tender I've had before, resulting in several bites where I had to take extra effort to prevent pulling out a bunch of the beef from the rest of my sandwich. Overall the whole thing lacked flavor and the texture was just off and the super dryness of the patacon was off putting. Even if I were to remedy this by coming back getting the filling in something better like an arepa or cachapa it still wouldn't have made enough of a difference to make me a big fan of this place.

    It's also worth noting a few more things: The pabellon patacon was about $10 and was very large and filling (the same thing as an arepa was about $8). The place only has enough seating for 8 people and standing room for about 4 more. Also they take credit cards and their service was very good. Lastly they have no bathroom which is really unexceptionable when the majority of their food is messy to eat and meant to be hand held. They do however have plenty of wet-naps for cleanup.

  7. I ordered the reina pepia arepa (fried). The entire sandwich was literally mixed avocado and shredded chicken… and that's it. The first bite was good then I started to get sick of it. It was also a little too salty and oily but not surprised.

    The b/s part is the credit card limit. There's a $10 cc limit. Stupid. I had to get a drink to meet the limit. The passion fruit drink was a little tart but it was ok.

  8. First time having Venezuelan food…….very interesting, replacing the bread for a plantain tortilla. I ordered the most popular dish which was the De Panellon. It has black bean and shredded beef that blended really well with the nata (it is a cream that thickens and congeals from boiling milk), which was delicious. However, It was a little too dry for my taste, I suppose I wasn't used to the hard plantain shell. I would give it a second chance with a sandwich that will have a little more bite.

Rate and write a review

Essex Street 139
New York 10002 NY US
Get directions
Monday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Tuesday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Wednesday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Thursday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Friday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Saturday, 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Sunday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm