8026 118 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB

Last week I went to El Fogon Latino. There aren’t too many places in Edmonton to eat authentic Venezualan and then El Gofon Latino popped up, and Avila Arepa popped up around the same time.

Passion Fruit Drink

It’s located on 118th Avenue and 80th street and has a large parking lot, so parking is no issue. It’s family-owned, and kind of a hidden gem type of establishment. There is some Venezualan decorations and art pieces and it’s a relatively small venue, seating mabe a dozen people. They offer Arepas (which are split into hot/cold fillings), empanadas, cachapas, tequenos, pupusas, and many other options. We opted to get a good mix of dishes, and started off with their mango passion fruit drink.

Our table was set by the cutest old man. He spoke very little english and warned us that the sriracha and tobasco sauce were spicy so to be careful. On top of the commercial sauces, they also make their own red and green pepper sauces to enjoy with the food.

The tequenos are fried breaded cheese sticks. These were really simple, and delicious. Not too greasy, and went great with their sauces. They come in orders of 6 and 12, and great for sharing. Definitely recommend getting this!

Nice up were the arepas. Arepas are corn-based, so good for people who are celiac and gluten-intolerant. They come with a variety of fillings, and we opted to get one with BBQ pork. It came out and was stuffed with meat! It was nice and tender, and it went great with their homemade sauces. After eating some of the other dishes with cheese, I’d recommend trying a hot filling with a cheese and meat. Delicious!

Mixed Pupusa

Cachapas with White Cheese and Shredded Beef

Next we had their mixed pupusa and cachapas with white cheese and shredded beef. A difference between the outside corn shell from Venezualan arepas and pupuas is that theirs are slightly sweeter than the Columbian counterpart (or so the owner told me). You can really taste the sweetness in the chachapas. I ound the pupusa to be bit dry and was my least favourite dish out of everything i te. These two are quite large and filling so sharing might be a good idea.

Last but not least, we got their empanadas. To be honest, I think these were my favourite dish out of everything. The shell was nice and crisp and we got it with chicken filling. They are small so I’d recommend getting a few different ones to try!

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at El Fogon. The owners are very friendly, and the food is great to match. It’s a bit cheaper than Avila Arepas, and in my opinion, similar if not better. It’s great to have options in the city, but definitely give them a try if you’re in the area!